Frame Design
The perfect bicycle must be balanced. It must be made to fit you, not the other way round. That’s why we make as wide a range of sizes as possible of our frames, with 22 off-the-peg sizes in our C59 Italia and the option of custom fit for riders with special requirements.

Balanced handling is vital too. Colnago invented modern bicycle racing geometry and has refined it to perfection with handling that is unwaveringly accurate but stable at speed, so a long day in the mountains is a battle against the gradient and your rivals, not against a twitchy bicycle.
Colnago ride quality is rooted in the idea of balance too. A frame must be stiff, to convey your power to the road, but it must not be harsh. Features like our 3PRS internally-ribbed tubes and over-sized chainstays with leaf-shaped seatstays simultaneously improve rigidity and dissipate road shock.
Frame integrity is a crucial aspect of Colnago design. Our frames and forks are tested in the Colnago Lab to withstand impacts far beyond international standards, and to retain their strength after impact. That means your Colnago can still be ridden to the finish if the worst happens.
We’re always looking for ways to improve our frames. New ideas start with Ernesto Colnago’s sketches, and then computer-assisted design, finite element analysis, and rapid 3D prototyping allow us to test new ideas in days. Tomorrow’s Colnagos are already on the drawing board.
Find out more about our Technology
Disc Braking

WHY DISC BRAKE VS RIM BRAKE?
- Safety first:
- No rim damage (specially carbon clincher beat or glue on tubular)
- No pressure changes inside the tire (blow off the carbon clincher)
- Same braking performance in any condition
- Less rotating inertia (rim weight saving, moved the mass toward the rotating axis)
- No weight penalty
- Aerodynamic and clean looking on front side
- Can run even on a non-straight rim (i.e. spoke failure)
- History of MTB already tells the way to go
Colnago’s disc brake features: higher pivoting, speed-lock available (internal routing), wide range of lever reach adjustment, finger clearance on top position (forefinger can hold the grip).
WHY HYDRAULIC DISC BRAKE INSTEAD OF MECHANICAL ACTUATED (CABLE)
- Weight saving:
- Hydraulic caliper is so much lighter (mechanical’s needs camshaft and rolling balls, external lever and sliding system)
- Cable routing: hydraulic hoses are super light compare to mechanical cable and hits routing. Hydraulic hoses flexibility can’t be compare with mechanicals
- Much better behavior in dirty conditions (i.e. cycle-cross)
- Self-pad’s wearing compensation on hydraulic disc brake (mechanical needs to be hand adjusted often)
- Pistons on hydraulic caliper has a double symmetric action (on mechanical only one piston is moving and bend the rotor toward the other, reducing drastically the rotor life in high temperature and torque stress)
Materials
Colnago was the first frame builder to see the potential of carbon fibre in the evolution of the cycling. He chose to match the latest technology with the concept of custom geometry frames. Muscular extension, flexibility and personal preference for position combined with aerobic and pedalling efficiencies are too many variables for a rider to be locked into the confinement of only a few frame sizes. This is why all the top Colnago frames offer lugged construction to fit all riders. Whether for one of the 130 Colnago-sponsored professional cyclists or one of the millions of demanding amateur riders around the world, there is a Colnago that offers the perfect fit. With this concept, Colnago takes age-old craftsmanship into the future.
