Colnago singlespeed...

[iLB]

For £1400 I could build my own fixed and still have alot of change.

just amended that for you lee...

 

[threebikesmcginty]

For £1400 I could build my own fixed and still have change.

You could build 2 and have change!

 

[Bigtwin]

You could build 2 and have change!

You could have built a very nice fixie and a nice geared bike, and had change and changes.

 

[Joe24]

For £1400 I could build my own fixed and still have change.

Damn ****ing right.
I will never buy some fixed thats off the peg like that.
Im not a fan of that.

 

[fossyant]

Mine was over a grand....just..... so £400 for other bits...

 

[Joe24]

Mine was over a grand....just..... so £400 for other bits...

You got ripped off.

 

[ed_o_brain]

The fact that the singlespeed only has lugs and the headtube and fork crown causes me to speculate that they are a facade and the bike is manufactured in (probably) the traditional taiwanese fashion.

A recent trip into evans (it is just around the corner from work) revealed a glut of 'cheap' Colnago's in the door way. They looked in no way distinguished from any other bike they sold. I was dismayed. I'd always lusted after a Colnago but the illusion of my dream bike is now shattered.

I'm sure my Focus is every bit as good and I didn't have to sell body parts to buy it.

 

[fossyant]

You got ripped off.

Nope - parts spec'ed were fairly 'high level' - that includes the wireless computer and XT pedals.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Certain names in the bike business might have a difficult future, Colnago being one and maybe Pinarello another. How do they position their 'High-end' products in the market, when the likes of Giant et al are undoubtably the technology leaders with the big R&D and Marketing spend? Like Dellzeqq said, if Colnago's manufacturing quality is not as good as the mass producers then what do they have to sell other than a name and faded glories? OK, lairy and unique paint jobs, but that could soon be covered by the big names as well. Colnago needs to be really special in design characteristics that makes their product desirable and in particular product finish... a Colnago in a store should look like you should hang it on your wall over the mantlepiece, when the Giant sits in the Garage, the Giant is for the training runs, the Colnago for Sunday best, for the love of it... Giants are wives, Colnago's are femme fatales..

My 2004 Giant TCR is perfectly executed from an engineering and finish perspective, it looks dull, but it's perfectly formed.

 

[simon_brooke]

I'm sorry, I think they've completely lost it. How is this any better than the Langster? I've been saying this for three years now, despite the fact that I ride Colnago, the brand is going right down the toilet.

Well the C50 was a less elegant version of the C40 and from then on the whole craftsmanship thing went out of the window. Maybe the time has gone. Maybe there really is no need for craft. Computers can do the lot. Maybe it would be better if you called it a day, or simply said - 'yes this is a re-badged whatnot, but the badging is the best that you will ever see'. Instead of which you have bikes retailing for about £1200 that are, to all intents and purposes, Giants by another name. And the finish is frightful.

The thing is, only the top of the line Conago frames are now built in Italy. The rest really do come out of the same Taiwanese factories as all the rest - and if you're going to ride a Giant or a Merida, it might as well say 'Giant' or 'Merida' on the frame, because that way you save a lot of money to spend on a better groupset.

The thing that used to set Colnago apart, for me, were those glorious art deco paint jobs. and I don't agree with Fab Foodie...

Like Dellzeqq said, if Colnago's manufacturing quality is not as good as the mass producers then what do they have to sell other than a name and faded glories? OK, lairy and unique paint jobs, but that could soon be covered by the big names as well.

No, they won't. Those paint jobs that Colnago Supers and Masters - and, latterly, some C50s - used to sport were individual hand done works of art; there isn't a process available that can mass produce that. And it's highly specialist skilled work - you cannot hire monkeys off the street and stick them on a production line. Of course, it costs - that paint job must be adding at least a hundred quid to the actual cost of producing the frame. But it's something that people are prepared to pay for - I think it's a great mistake for them to move to paint schemes which can be emulated by every other maker. But then, I assume the frames arrive from Taiwan ready painted - possibly even fully assembled as bikes.

At which point you have to ask, how much value do Colnago add, exactly?

Colnago needs to be really special in design characteristics that makes their product desirable and in particular product finish... a Colnago in a store should look like you should hang it on your wall over the mantlepiece.

Exactly. If we're going to pay a big price premium over what is essentially the same product from the same makers, then they need to make it special. And at present, it just isn't.