Velo Orange or Ritchey Classic for bars, stem, seatpost.
You can still get Campag Athena in alloy, though you might want to change the rear shift mechanism so you can do multiple downshifts
Haha no, V1-R. I prefer the look for certain, and the geometry prefers me. I’ve learnt an expensive lesson already this year, road bikes with horizontal top tubes (or even near horizontal) are no good for my fairly inflexible shape!
Velo Orange or Ritchey Classic for bars, stem, seatpost.
Already got some rather bling FSA Carbon bars and stem (and frame comes with its own post), and I’m afraid I’m a complete heathen when it comes to gears and it will have my SRAM Red on it too…
Not even the Campag crap, the white bar tape and saddle or the horrid head tube spacers can stop that from looking utterly glorious!
The spacers are the step too far but the rest I’m ok with : )
That De Rosa, has to be a chinese look-a-bit-a-like? Awful
Nope. It was a real thing.[/quote]
I didn’t even bother googling it but I’m genuinely suprised. How did that happen? I expect in Italy there’s Colnago vs De Rosa forum banter like Hope brakes vs Shimano on here and that thing gets dragged up every time.
My lbs has just built this up,
A Saronni red X-lite – it’s really hard to get much better than that.
I have a 2000 era Chorus groupset, silver Deda 26mm bars and white rolls saddle, waiting for a Master, and the thing stopping me from buying the white frame above is that I prefer the AD20 colour scheme, and I am hoping they will offer it again:
andylaightscat – Member
Velo Orange or Ritchey Classic for bars, stem, seatpost.
Ritchey Classic bars and stem are 31.8mm, which is out of proportion to the narrow tubes of the Master X Light, which really needs a 26mm or 25.8mm handlebar. Cinelli has reissued the 64 Giro bar, but it has no cable grooves. Some Nitto bars have cable grooves, although I think many/most are single groove. I think the Nitto S83 seatpost is now possibly the best looking silver aluminium seatpost.
have a look at Soma bars etc, last time I looked the bars were silver and had cable grooves.
I’ve 31.8mm bars on my Seven Axiom, Paulos Quiros, both skinny tubed and they look fine.
IMHO its the black, carbon groupsets that look out of place on most ‘classic’ looking frames
Someone said there weren’t enough pics of Colnago’s, so here goes…
C59 #1
[url=https://flic.kr/p/VWAum3]IMG_3312[/url] by simonpearson, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/Vik4WB]IMG_3318[/url] by simonpearson, on Flickr
Halfway up Alpe d’Huez… the graffiti says it all really. Words to live by. 🙂
[url=https://flic.kr/p/WtiVz3]IMG_0476[/url] by simonpearson, on Flickr
Arty shots (sort of…)
[url=https://flic.kr/p/VWAvsG]IMG_0356[/url] by simonpearson, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/VWAvKf]IMG_0349[/url] by simonpearson, on Flickr
Col du Soulor – Pyrenees
[url=https://flic.kr/p/Vik7Uk]IMG_0304[/url] by simonpearson, on Flickr
C59 #2
[url=https://flic.kr/p/VWAuW1]IMG_3291[/url] by simonpearson, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/VWAuDs]IMG_3293[/url] by simonpearson, on Flickr
CLX 1 (2008)
I’ve owned three CLX’s now and this was my favourite. Sadly, I don’t seem to have any pics of the complete bike.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/WtiUgw]P1030433[/url] by simonpearson, on Flickr
The CLX is a fantastic-riding bike. It has a special blend of precise handling, great steering, plus incredible comfort. I owned this one for 7 years and it handled the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders with the same grace and aplomb that it handled the climbs and roads of Sussex and the Surrey Hills. So much so that many of my mates who test rode it ended up buying Colnago CLX’s.
I have since owned a CLX 2, ridden several CLX 3’s and I think the CLX 1 was the best of them. They’re all good, but the version 1 simply rode the best.
I now own a CLX 4 but that is a completely different bike. It rides much more like a V1-R with which it shares many design attributes: stiffer, harsher than the 1st gen CLX, not as comfortable (yet it’s not an uncomfortable bike). The difference in power transfer versus the 1st gen CLX’s is very noticeable when you stand on the pedals – it really picks up its legs in a racier manner.
Me and my mates’ bikes at the Madonna di Ghisallo, Lake Como
[url=https://flic.kr/p/Vik8cV]IMG_0243[/url] by simonpearson, on Flickr
Me, spring 2017. Yes – we found some cobbles in Sussex 🙂
[url=https://flic.kr/p/WkfVFp]IMG_3141[/url] by simonpearson, on Flickr
Before I get accused of being a blinkered Colnago fanboy, I’ve owned many other very worthy road bikes such as Lemond, Specialized, Trek, Serotta, Ritchey, Steelman, Giant and others.
There’s one simple reason I love Colnago’s: ride quality. Nothing else has quite the same feel as the Colnago’s I’ve owned.
No-one can say that a Serotta, Steelman, Specialized Tarmac or Trek Emonda aren’t great bikes, they are; but for me, Colnago has it all: superb handling, delightful steering, extremely predictable, solid, confidence-inspiring descending. The fact that it’s a Colnago, with its little bit of magic and heritage, just adds a little but more 🙂
I’ve 31.8mm bars on my Seven Axiom, Paulos Quiros, both skinny tubed and they look fine.
I am not familiar with Paulos Quiros, but all the Seven Axioms I’ve seen do not have skinny tubes. They have oversized tubes which are in proportion to their 1 1/8″ headsets. The Master has traditional diameter tubes and uses a 1″ headset.
To some extent, the stem diameter is more important than the diameter of the bars, because it is the stem that is closest to the narrow tubes and 1″ headset. It’s all in the eye of the beholder, but to me the stems on these look just that bit too chunky for the svelte frames and forks:
I think the Soma bars are single groove. Depending upon your own personal preference and how you grip the top of the bars, the lack of one or both grooves* either may not matter or it may be something you will not want to put up with. The Nitto M190 has double grooves, although some may not like that it’s an anatomic – rather than curved – bar.
At the end of the day, having a Master X Light frame like jameso which is waiting to be built up, and trying to decide what components to use, is the very definition of a problem which is nice to have.
* Obviously I’m assuming Ergopower levers will be used. Anyone who puts Shimano on a Master should be disemboweled with a Campagnolo corkscrew (with the possible exception of a Mapei team frame with period correct Shimano).
I didn’t see a C50 on my way through so here’s a picture of mine! Mostly Dura-Ace, Mavic Kysrium Anniversary wheels. It’s been well used so isn’t pristine. It’s by far and away the best handling road bike I’ve ridden in 40+ years of pedalling around 🙂https://photos.google.com/u/1/photo/AF1QipOW2j1fCDQvgZfX-OI2xYb7DGdzr5wtjCPnaEgG
Damned if I can get Google Images to work with this 🙁
At the end of the day, having a Master X Light frame like jameso which is waiting to be built up, and trying to decide what components to use, is the very definition of a problem which is nice to have.
I am also in this boat. I’ve decided to strip my sram stuff off another bike and just get it built. If the love is there then I might furnish it with the kit it deserves.
The Enigma painted C50 isn’t the purist’s choice and it wouldn’t have been mine, but I think it’s a fine job. Hey ho. Maybe I can redeem myself with this C40 Gold edition: Colnago C40 Gold
Finished building it last night, christened it this morning. Only done 60 miles on it so far but felt pretty comfortable on it straight away, no nasty surprises lets say. Descending it was as solid as a rock, hit 45ph a few times today (the speed my Wilier Zero7 would start getting a little flighty) and nothing. It kinda just feels like an exceptionally good bike, doesn’t stand out as being particularly good at any one thing, yet it draws plenty of admiring glances still!
Has anyone ever had a Colnago bi titanio? I was a gnat’s chuff away from buying one years ago when I saw one in the flesh in Van Eyck in Belgium. But it looked a bit too delicate.
Did you mean to contradict yourself, or have I just not understood what you’re saying?
An Eps in Pr99 and A c59 in Nero.. they are both 15lb.
Nice! My V1-R ain’t heavy, comes in at 7.2kg ready to ride… Meaning inc pedals, Garmin mount, bottle cages (which for some reason people seem to weigh their bikes without!) which is under 16lb still… my Wilier Zero7 was a touch lighter, but then it didn’t fit as well and the front end wasn’t as direct and it went light at high speed.
GtiJ and I went to the London Olympic track last summer and York this summer to test ride a stack of super bikes at the invitation of Cyclist magazine – it’s a track day really as you have to pay.
Last year we were blown away by the Bianchi Specialissima and this year the Colnago C60, both bikes were head and shoulders above all the others we rode. I would have a C60 in bare black carbon and red if I had the money, it’s gorgeous.