A History of Colnago Bicycles
No one could have realised the impact Ernesto Colnago was to have on the design and production of road racing bicycles back when he was a boy on his parent's farm in Cambiago, Northern Italy during the 1940's.
Turning his back on continuing the family's farming traditions he went to work in a local small bicycle factory which he then turned into a shop where he could service the local's bicycles.
 |
 LANDBOUWKREDIET COLNAGO 2012 PRO TEAM JERSEY S 2 US $89.99 |
 LANDBOUWKREDIET COLNAGO 2012 PRO TEAM JERSEY M 3 US $89.99 |
 LANDBOUWKREDIET COLNAGO 2012 PRO TEAM JERSEY 3XL 7 US $89.99 |
 LANDBOUWKREDIET COLNAGO 2012 PRO TEAM JERSEY XL 5 US $89.99 |
 LANDBOUWKREDIET COLNAGO 2012 PRO TEAM JERSEY 2XL 6 US $89.99 |
 LANDBOUWKREDIET COLNAGO 2012 PRO TEAM JERSEY L 4 US $89.99 |
 SPORTFUL MAPEI BRICOBI COLNAGO 1998 JERSEY CYCLING TEAM MD FULL ZIP US $20.50 |
 SPORTFUL MAPEI GB COLNAGO KERABOND 1996 JERSEY CYCLING TEAM MEDIUM US $14.50 |
 New COLNAGO Cycling Jersey XL US $39.00 |
Like many young Italian men at that time Ernesto Colnago had dreams of becoming a professional bike racer and enjoyed some success until a particularly bad accident scuppered his dream leaving him with a broken leg. At this point he chose to focus solely on bicycle components and mechanics and joined a racing team as a mechanic. The team enjoyed success and rose to prominence when the famous Eddy Merckx joined - infact it is one of the most iconic teams of its time and one most afficianados of cycle sport have heard of - the mighty Molteni squad.
|
 WALLONIE COLNAGO LOTTO 2011 TEAM BIB SHORTS XL 5 US $69.99 |
 WALLONIE COLNAGO LOTTO 2011 TEAM BIB SHORTS 2XL 6 US $69.99 |
Ernesto Colnago didn't just service the bikes for Molteni, he started making the frames as well. Originally they were painted in the colours of the team and had the team branding on them but eventually people were clamouring to find out who was making the frames that Eddy Merckx was riding and winning aboard.
With Eddy's compulsive attention to detail and Ernesto's engineering genius an awesome partnership grew - Eddy could tell Ernesto exactly what he needed from a frame in order to be the most successful cyclist that ever raced meaning Ernesto could build it exactly to his specifications and would in turn go on to develop one of the most prestiguous bike brands.
|
Look out for a future article on the Colnago frames that have been ridden at the very highest levels of the sport
Check out Colnagos For Sale:
No related posts.
1687 total views, 6 so far today
