On the top floor of Colnago's headquarters, a museum houses dozens of historic bikes, including this 1980 Olympic champion track bike - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
When the head tube simply cannot be short enough, you can always go this route to get low - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
At 82 years old, Ernesto Colnago has enjoyed quite a life with many people, from world champions to the Pope to his wife of more than 50 years - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
This gift to Mrs Colnago, who lives with Ernesto literally across the street from Colnago headquarters, was handpainted to commemorate their 50th wedding anniversary - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
Ernesto Colnago presented this bicycle to Pope John Paul II in 1979. After the Pope's death, the bike was auctioned off to a collector from whom Colnago later repuchased it - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
Many amateur riders have their names on the top tubes these days. But do you know anyone with self-branded chainrings? - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
Naturally for an Italian company and an Italian Pope, the bike had Campagnolo - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
The original hoods are showing their age - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
The C59 Ottanta celebrated Ernesto Colnago's 80th birthday - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
As bicycle supplier to many of the sport's top names over the years, Colnago often experimented with new designs - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
This prototype from 1980 featured a few wild concepts - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
In addition to an incredible amount of handlebar drop, the prototype had a direct drive with an extra mechanical advantage - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
Long before anatomic cut-outs or split-rail saddles, Colnago tinkered with this design - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
Before the UCI began banning various designs for excessive aerodynamic advantage, framebuilders were allowed much more freedom - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
For the world team time trial, Colnago used small front wheels so the Italian team members could ride closer to each other for a better draft - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
Italy won the world team time trial championship in 1990 with these bikes - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
If one down tube is good, aren't two better? - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
The bikes of world champions abound in Colnago's museum - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
Paris-Roubaix is always touted as a convincing proving ground for new techology, and with good reason. While some were skeptical early on about carbon-fiber bikes on the pavé, Colnago's five victories make a strong case - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
From the days of quill stems and Ballerini to threadless steerers and Museeuw, Colnago enjoyed a good run at the Hell of the North - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
If you wash off this mud you will be fired - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
Tony Rominger's bike for his 1994 world hour record-setting ride - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
Rominger used a 60x14 for his hour record. He completed 55.291km in that hour, the same year he won the Vuelta a España for the third time - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
The 1972 machine of Eddy Merckx's hour-record ride. The Cannibal set a mark of 49.431km that stood for 12 years. Note the drilled handlebars - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
Colnago and Ferrari worked on a bike with internal gearing and hydraulic braking - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
Too early for its time, Colnago said of the Concept bike - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
Colnago hydraulic brake levers never made it to market — until the recent collaboration with Formula - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
The way hydraulic brake calipers might have looked - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
Internal routing? Nothing new here - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
The internal gearing was functional but not exactly light - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
The car-racing inspired down tube shifter controlled the internal gearing - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
A 4.5kg/9.9lb bike is impressively light today. In 1975, when it was produced, it was incredible - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
The axle and nut were minimized, and the bearings left uncovered for every possible weight savings - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
Handlebars just had too much material in them. This problem was remedied with a drill - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
A Colnago-branded Delta brake caliper - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
The first bike of Ernesto Colnago, as restored and somewhat recreated by the company - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
File this one under "You know you're an old-school cyclist when…" - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
The 'sticker flicker' could be of use today - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
Lugs have long been a part of Colnago's life. Even today, the top-end carbon machines employ lugs - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
There are Campagnolo derailleurs on Colnago's today, but they function a tiny bit differently - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
The next time you find yourself out of gears on a climb, remember this - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
The Master line of bikes included a number of prototypes as well as stock machines - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
On this 1983 prototype, two down tubes were welded together to form a unique split design - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
Not every bike in the Colnago museum hails from road or track racing - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
Recently, Colnago's design work has taken the company into the wind tunnel - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
The strings were taped on to observe air flow around the bike - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
The K.Zero was a big step forward, although installing brake calipers behind the fork was done by the company decades prior - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
Tiny aspiring roadies, Colnago has a bike for you - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
Many decades of machines, many decades of great stories - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
Colnago was late to get into mountain biking, but the company is embracing new trends like 1x drivetrains - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
Thanks to its partnership with Formula, Colnago was the first brand to market with a disc-brake road bike - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
The co-branded Colnago/Formula electronic/hydraulic levers beat Shimano to the punch - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
The shifters work similarly to Campagnolo, with one thumb lever and one index-finger lever - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
One day this carbon-fiber road machine with an electronic 11-speed drivetrain and hydraulic disc brakes will look old, too. But not today - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
For a relatively small family business, Colnago has a huge amount of history. Just across the street from where founder Ernesto Colnago has lived for years, Colnago's factory and headquarters host a museum with machinery that has been under the ownership of everyone from Pope John Paul II to scores of world champions and victors of the world's biggest races.
Wild-shaped prototypes that never saw the light of day sit next to production bikes that won Paris-Roubaix, still encrusted with the mud from the Hell of the North.
Among the many notable designs are not one but two distinct milestones in road hydraulics. Colnago was first to market with a fully hydraulic disc-brake road bike with electronic shifting, the C59 Disc, in 2012. (BikeRadar took a test ride on an early prototype in April of 2012.) But Colnago's first attempt at hydraulic braking came much earlier, in a collaboration with Ferrari in 1986.
Take a closer look at these bikes and many, many more in the photo gallery at above right.
Colnago hydraulic brake levers never made it to market — until the recent collaboration with formula: - Ben Delaney/Future Publishing
Colnago/Ferrari hydraulic brake levers, circa 1986
Ben Delaney is a journalist with more than two decades of experience writing for and editing some of the biggest publications in cycling. Having studied journalism at the University of New Mexico, Ben has worked for Bicycle Retailer & Industry News, VeloNews and BikeRadar. He has also previously worked as Global Brand Communications Manager for Specialized. Ben covers all things road and gravel, and can be found logging big miles in the Rocky Mountains that nestle alongside his home in Boulder, Colorado. He has covered the most important bike races in the sport, from the Tour de France and Tour of Flanders, to the Unbound gravel race, and specialises in tech content, showcasing what the pros are riding and putting everyday equipment through its paces.
This website is owned and published by Our Media Ltd. www.ourmedia.co.uk
