Do not Drool on My Bike: Colnago C68 Gravel Evaluate

Colnago. Few manufacturers awaken the feelings of street biking aficionados greater than the artisan bike model that rose out of Cambiago, Italy. The trademark clover emblem elicits admiration and respect for the craftsmanship and heritage that spans 70 years, from lugged metal to carbon fiber. And Colnago bikes have claimed victories way back to the 1957 Giro d’Italia and as lately as this yr’s Tour de France.

Since I used to be 14, I’ve all the time needed a Colnago. However the bikes have been by no means inside attain of my meager funds, so like Ferraris and Lamborghinis, they have been strictly to admire. Once I bought the e-mail stating a C68 Gravel was heading my method, I truly bought nervous, identical to I’d if a Ferrari was coming.

However once I regarded up the value, it doused me with the truth that this bike can be troublesome to evaluate. With a frameset-only worth of $7,100, a motorcycle construct may simply run north of $14,000. It’s arduous to justify a worth like that, particularly for a motorcycle that Colnago stresses shouldn’t be a race bike.

I rode the bike for a month round my dwelling in Central Texas on largely hardpacked filth roads affected by embedded limestone rocks. Chip-seal roads that desperately want upkeep join these dusty tracks. I used to be a bit miffed on the price ticket. So, I flogged the C68 Gravel arduous over the numerous punchy hills and rutted-out descents on a mission to squeeze out justification for a motorcycle few can afford.

In brief: The Colnago C68 Gravel is an incredible bike for gravel aficionados who need to journey quick but stay snug. It’s stiff in the best locations and compliant the place it issues. The dealing with traits are spot-on for higher-speed gravel-riding terrain. However … the value. In the long run, the C68 Gravel is for the bike owner who’s prepared to pay for greater than pure efficiency. For a buyer who values aesthetics, custom, craftsmanship, historical past, and the intangibles that solely a model like Colnago can ship, the bike is smart.

The Colnago C68 Gravel Specs

Colnago Bicycle Hierarchy

Colnago tags its pure race bikes V-series, and the model states they’re “designed to be the quickest within the professional peloton.” The model can again that up with a number of Tour de France wins, together with this yr’s version, piloted by Tadej Pogačar. Though the V-series bikes are on the pointy finish of the professional peloton, Colnago manufactures the frames abroad and sends them to Italy for ending and meeting.

In distinction to the V-Sequence, Colnago makes the C-Sequence bikes 100% in Italy. The C-series contains the C68 Gravel alongside an Allroad and Highway model. Regardless of the model’s assertion that these should not pure racing machines, the C-series sits atop the V-series within the model’s hierarchy.

C-Sequence Gravel vs. C-Sequence Highway

Colnago raises the stack and shortens the attain on the C68 Gravel in comparison with the C68 Allroad and Highway variations. And the model widens the tire clearance to 42mm.

The highest tube on the C68 Gravel additionally has a special form from the street variations. Colnago states that the refinement particularly enhances the journey high quality on gravel.

As is the development on high-end bikes today, Colnago follows go well with by gracing the C68 Gravel with an built-in rider cockpit with a one-piece bar and stem. Just like the body, the bars differ from the CC.01 cockpit on the road-bound fashions; the CC.01 Broad bars have a wider flare. The frameset contains this built-in cockpit (accessible in 5 sizes) and seat submit.

Colnago C68 Gravel Particulars

The C68 Gravel body has three units of mounting bosses: one bottle cage mount on the downtube and seat tube and a set of bosses for a body bag on the highest tube. It additionally comes with an NFC tag that aligns with MyLime Polygon Blockchain, which completely proves possession of the bike. Colnago was the primary bike model to make use of blockchain safety.

The Colnago C68 Gravel frameset with rider cockpit is appropriate with all 1x digital and mechanical drivetrains.

The claimed weight of a 54cm body, full with the derailleur hanger, seat submit wedge, and fork, is 1,630 g. My 56cm check pattern with SRAM Crimson XPLR drivetrain and Zipp 303S wheels weighed a verified 17.7 kilos. It was arrange tubeless, with bottle cages however no pedals.

And, sure, the frameset alone is $7,100. It’s not a typo.

Unusual Carbon Development

It was visibly obvious that Colnago didn’t use commonplace carbon bike body development on the C68 Gravel. Though the angular tube shapes advised the same old monocoque in-mold methodology, the “lugs” informed a special story.

Colnago makes use of a modular system to assemble the C-series frames. Six separate carbon items mix to type every body. The high-modulus carbon tubes are lugged, and these lugs can slide barely on the tube with which they mate. This permits the builder to barely alter issues like stack and head tube top utilizing the identical tube set. These lugged junctures are clearly seen, and Colnago accentuates them in a method that creates a singular search for a carbon body.

Though this modular body design is exclusive within the bike business, it’s not new to Colnago. Within the early Nineties, it was the primary in biking historical past to introduce carbon frames to skilled riders. The lugged carbon Colnago C40 famously received essentially the most arduous race on the calendar, Paris-Roubaix, 5 occasions between 1995 and 2000.

Colnago C68 Gravel Journey Traits

First, the gloss black end on my tester was gorgeous (it’s also accessible in an equally gorgeous pearl inexperienced). Within the solar, it revealed pink hues hiding beneath the black, and it was arduous for others to not inch in and actually have a look. Nearly everybody needed to contact one of many iconic Colnago clover logos, which make uncommon appearances. For any even semi-serious bicycle racing fan, the bike clearly pulled at heartstrings.

Match and Journey Impressions on the Flats

The geometry and cockpit dimensions fortunately match me properly out of the field. The nonadjustable stem/bar mixture, at 100mm lengthy and 40cm huge, appeared tailored for my shoulder girdle. I felt comfortably stretched out and aero however nonetheless “compact” on the bike, and the entrance finish felt impartial in place.

If I closed my eyes, sat on the bike, and outstretched my arms, they might land the place the hoods have been proper out of the field. The one factor I may have modified was to decrease the stem top, however I used to be completely snug with the best way the bike arrived.

The Colnago 68 Gravel journey high quality suited me and my native gravel grounds exceptionally properly. My standard tracks are hardpacked caliche clay with limestone rocks embedded inside them, from pebbles to tabletops. Vehicles clear slender, bullet-hard tracks, however something from talcum powder mud to baby-head boulders pepper the rest.

Line selection is super-crucial; getting off the correct line at velocity and nearly any quantity of lean will trigger a low-side crash. As I sort, I’m nursing wounds from this precise state of affairs brought on by a second of inattentiveness.

On the straighter gravel sections and the blown-out chip-seal roads, the Colnago felt amazingly quick and environment friendly for a gravel bike. The right positioning helped, however the chassis positively had a road-first really feel to it. At these greater speeds, I couldn’t have requested for something extra out of a gravel bike chassis.

Climbing Efficiency

The Colnago C68 Gravel climbed properly on the quick, steep, and punchy slopes which might be in all places round my dwelling. Seated or standing, the front-to-rear stability felt nice. I not often struggled for rear-wheel traction on the tremendous steep and slick sections that give lots of bikes suits. The quantity of lateral stiffness delivered a wonderful and difficult-to-achieve mix of effectivity and springiness.

Bombing down the always-rough descents proved that the entrance was calm for a motorcycle that felt so good on the tarmac. No loss of life grip on the drops or hoods was ever vital. And I didn’t really feel I needed to squeeze the saddle with my legs, which is frequent with racier gravel bikes.

Into the Tough

Because the floor grew chunkier and extra unsure, the C68 surprisingly maintained composure for a motorcycle that felt so road-inspired. With 32 psi within the rear and 30 psi within the Pirelli gravel tires, I couldn’t blithely hammer sections, however I may flick the bike at will to stick to the right strains.

The boldness on this capability is what gave me the willingness to run these decrease pressures on tire and rim-wrecking terrain. I normally run greater for 40c rubber because of the numerous sq. rock edges.

When on lean within the unfastened stuff, I felt that the front-to-rear stability was on level; I didn’t should make tire loading changes whereas leaning over in what’s all the time a precarious place in my neck of the woods. The suggestions from the tires on lean was wonderful and jogged my memory of street racing bikes.

Within the larger chunder, the journey wasn’t soft, however I didn’t think about it overly harsh or troublesome to deal with for a motorcycle constructed to go quick. I may really feel the jolts, however the bike didn’t unpredictably bounce round. I reacted to the chassis motion with out thought, and it got here naturally. On some bikes, it takes fairly a little bit of time for me to learn the way the bike will bounce. Not so on the Colnago C68 Gravel; brainless reactions got here instantly.

The Ultimate Say on the Colnago C68 Gravel

So, who’s this bike for? Nicely, first off, the truth is you want deep pockets, or it’s such a precedence that you just scrimp large time in different areas.

The chassis match for me was excellent, and the journey high quality was among the many greatest I’ve ridden. On the street and quicker sections of gravel, it was chic.

The Colnago C68 Gravel shouldn’t be a motorcycle for chunky tracks, journey biking, or bikepacking. It’s additionally not aero, and it’s not that mild, both. And, bear in mind, Colnago states it isn’t a race bike.

Justify the Cash … Or Not

These latter factors beg the query, “Why spend a lot on this bike?”

The Colnago C68 isn’t a motorcycle for everybody, nor do I really feel that was the model’s aim. If I have been a profiler, I’d say it’s for somebody who appreciates the deep historical past of the Italian model and is most probably a street racer, ex-racer, or fan of the ProTour. This bike owner additionally appreciates artisan craftsmanship in different areas, like automobiles, furnishings, and watches. And sure, they want uncommon and hard-to-get gadgets.

I solely match a part of that profile, however I did really feel the intangibles. I had fleeting visions of an older craftsman in Cambiago, Italy, assembling the modular body in a jig, sporting a leather-based apron, and smoking a hand-rolled cigarette. He’s not in a rush; this isn’t an meeting line with a day by day quota. I felt the satisfaction of the particular person packing the body right into a field, taking one final longing look and smiling on the information {that a} bike owner can be equally proud to journey the C68 Gravel.

The Colnago 68 Gravel is for the one who has an emotional want for driving and connects to the historical past, way of life, and biking neighborhood. They don’t store for a motorcycle by taking a look at millimeters and grams; they make bike buying choices with coronary heart.

This bike is supposed to dwell inside the home, so its class may be displayed in the lounge or workplace. It’s meant to be ridden for the enjoyment of biking and to understand the craftsmanship and Colnago’s historical past. Then, it’s rigorously washed and introduced inside as a result of its mere presence is felt.

Sure, this bike shouldn’t be for everybody. However for the best particular person, it’s the one selection.