Wandering around the maze of halls that is Core Bike show, I was struck by the surprising sight of this e-bike hybrid from Colnago.
The quite unremarkable looking Impact-01 sat in striking juxtaposition against the £10k super bikes placed mere feet away from it and was truly the last thing I expected to see from the storied Italian brand.
A bike for the masses… from Colnago?
The step-through bike is only available in the pictured shade of pearlescent white and is built around a Bosch Performance motor and has the full complement of e-bike cockpit gadgets, including Bosch’s own display.
As you’d hope of any e-bike, the bike is fitted with hydraulic disc brakes and a wide range 1x drivetrain. 40mm Schwalbe tyres should improve the ride on rougher terrain.
The cockpit — with its adjustable stem, ergo grips and swept-back bars — is positively palatial in comparison to the rest of Colnago’s more usual racy offerings.
A full gamut of accessories, including mudguards, a neatly integrated rack, a kick stand and dynamo-powered lights round out the build.
Pricing and availability is TBC.
So why has Colnago made an e-bike hybrid?
I cannot help but feel this one may have been ‘called in’ — the bike is quite unremarkable and there’s nothing that separates this run of the mill e-bike hybrid from the masses, save for the Colnago logo on the downtube.
While I’m not really one who subscribes to the idea of brand loyalty or prestige, I have no doubt that some will decry the perceived sullying of the legendary clover marque that this bike represents.
On the other hand, it’s very hard to pour scorn on Colnago for trying to diversify its range of bikes in what is, as always, an increasingly competitive market — people aren’t put off buying top-end Treks just because it also produces cheap hybrids, so why shouldn’t Colnago be allowed to cash in too?
I also can’t help but love the idea of a stubborn elderly Italian who has spent their life riding Colnago bikes — and who refuses to buy anything else — scooting about on an e-bike hybrid that bears the brand name. I have a feeling Colnago perhaps had this target market in mind when designing the Impact-01.
