Eurobike 2010: Colnago launch C59 road bike + special limited edition version

Colnago are showing off their latest top-of-the range creation at Eurobike – the all-carbon C59 Italia.

The C59 bucks the trend in that it’s a lugged design with the head tube effectively one large lug. The centre sections of the top tube and down tube draw on the Colnago heritage in both being cloverleaf-shaped in profile… Well, sort of. They’re really square with the edges fluted away, but they’re close enough to be recognizably Colnago.

Out back you get a Q2 seatstay which is a wishbone design with a small cutout above the brake caliper bolt (so, not really that much like a wishbone, actually), while the chainstays are rectangular in section.

The cables are routed internally – everyone and anyone is hiding them away for 2011 – the gear cables travelling through the down tube and exiting just in front of the bottom bracket, while the electronic flex for Shimano’s Di2 rear mech comes out, as ever, at the end of the chainstay.

In terms of geometry, there’s nothing radical here, the C59 falling into line with existing Colnago models. It’s a low and stretched race setup with a short but not extreme front end.

Colnago are doing a whole bunch of finish options to match your kit and the colour of your eyes, and a zillion different sizes too, so getting the perfect fit shouldn’t be a problem. There's even a limited edition run of 59 numbered C59s in white. Opinion divided sharply in the road.cc camp on the look of this one with grown mean getting tearful about the classic simplicity of that all white set-up while others though it looked like a bike Colnago had forgotten to paint. Still, if you've got the money and you like white…

We’ve not climbed aboard the C59 so no news yet on how it rides. In terms of appearance you can make your own mind up. We reckon it’s cool and stylish in the visual department but lacking that little bit of specialness, if you know what we mean. It’s attractive, but at first glance it appears like a Colnago that you thought already existed. We guess that’s going to be the way if you go for a classic look. Check out the De Rosas in our latest gallery of road bikes to see how another Italian brand has gone completely the other way.