Colnago has announced the Steelnovo, a “modern” steel road bike with 3D-printed lugs and joints, celebrating the brand's 70th anniversary.
According to the historic brand, the Steelnovo is “an ode to the excellence of Italian craftsmanship” and was “entirely developed in Italy”.
Available as part of a limited-edition run of 70 bikes, the Steelnovo is built with premium Italian components, many of which are customised specifically for the bike.
In contrast to its recently launched rim brake C68 frameset, the Steelnovo features hydraulic disc brakes and a full suite of contemporary features, such as clearance for wide tyres and integrated cable routing.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Colnago Steelnovo doesn’t come cheap – at €17,500 (roughly £14,580 / $18,475 at the time of writing), it’s one expensive bike.
However, it’s also one of the most beautiful road bikes we’ve seen in recent times, and with its full suite of modern conveniences, we expect Colnago will be able to find 70 happy customers without too much difficulty.
Old material, new tricks
Colnago says it opted for steel because the material represents the brand's history and traditions.
While its current range of bikes – such as the V4Rs road racing bike, C68 superbike and G4-X gravel bike – now mostly use carbon fibre framesets, steel was Colnago’s material of choice until the late 90s.
Colnago wished to keep production entirely within Italy for the Steelnovo.
Columbus, the legendary Milanese manufacturer of steel tubing, developed the frame’s custom tubes.
Colnago says it developed “proprietary moulds” for shaping and bending the steel tubes for the Steelnovo’s specific requirements.
These tubes are then joined together using 3D-printed stainless steel lugs and joints at the head tube, bottom bracket, dropouts and the top of the seat tube.
These are made by Italian additive manufacturing specialists Additiva.
The seat tube joint is particularly elegant. It creates a deliciously smooth transition between the top tube, seat tube and seat stays, and hides the seatpost clamping bolt on the non-drive side of the frame.
The steel road bike frame is paired with a carbon fork of Colnago’s own making.
The Steelnovo has an oversized T47-68 bottom bracket, which Colnago says helps improve stiffness and responsiveness.
The rear dropouts also feature a SRAM Universal Derailleur Hanger (UDH), which is compatible with “all modern electronic groupsets”, according to the brand.
In keeping with current trends, the frameset features full integrated cable routing, with a carbon fibre Colnago CC.01 aero cockpit routing the hydraulic brake hoses through the upper headset bearing and into the frame.
There’s also clearance for up to 35mm-wide tyres.
Balanced geometry
While it’s not a race bike in the modern sense, Colnago says the Steelnovo is designed to suit both the needs of “endurance riders and performance seekers”.
This means it should be possible to achieve either a more comfortable, upright position, or a lower, more aggressive fit, depending on your preferences.
The Steelnovo is available in seven sizes, from 420 to 570.
| Size | 420 | 455 | 485 | 510 | 530 | 550 | 570 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head tube angle | 70.8 | 71.6 | 72.5 | 72.9 | 72.9 | 72.9 | 72.9 |
| Seat tube angle | 75.5 | 75.3 | 74.8 | 74.5 | 73.8 | 73.5 | 73.3 |
| Reach (mm) | 370 | 375 | 382 | 387 | 394 | 402 | 409 |
| Stack (mm) | 512 | 525 | 543 | 562 | 580 | 599 | 619 |
| Fork length (mm) | 372 | 372 | 372 | 372 | 372 | 372 | 372 |
| Rake (mm) | 43 | 43 | 43 | 43 | 43 | 43 | 43 |
| Head tube length (mm) | 106 | 117 | 135 | 153 | 172 | 192 | 213 |
| Chainstay length (mm) | 410 | 410 | 410 | 410 | 415 | 415 | 415 |
| Front centre (mm) | 573 | 575.3 | 580.2 | 587.3 | 599.8 | 613.5 | 626.5 |
| Bottom bracket drop (mm) | 74 | 74 | 72 | 72 | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Virtual top tube length (mm) | 502 | 513 | 530 | 543 | 562 | 579 | 595 |
An entirely Italian build
Colnago opted to keep the design, production and build of the Steelnovo within Italy, to celebrate the country’s historic contribution to cycling and bike-building.
The build is decidedly premium, with several custom or special edition parts being used to help the Steelnovo stand out from the crowd.
Chief amongst these is a special edition Campagnolo Super Record Wireless groupset, emblazoned with Italian flags and custom detailing.
Campagnolo also supplies a set of its Bora Ultra WTO wheels, again with a customised finish, which are fitted with Pirelli P Zero Race TLR tyres.
As noted, Colango supplies its carbon CC.01 cockpit as well as a 27.2mm carbon seatpost. This is topped with a Selle Royal saddle.
The art of steel bikes reinvented
There’s no doubt the Colnago Steelnovo comes at a significant cost, but its price isn’t out of step with other high-end, custom or limited-edition bikes.
Colnago also says the Steelnovo “represents the perfect fusion of heritage and innovation” and is “not just a bicycle but a piece of Colnago’s history”.
If you had €17,500 to spend on a bike, would you be tempted by the Colnago Steelnovo? Let us know in the comments below.
