"Even uglier than a Bianchi Oltre" — leaked images rumoured to be unreleased Colnago aero bike split opinion

Leaked images have surfaced of what appears to be a new aero road bike from the Italian brand Colnago. The 'Y1RS' - the bike's name if these images are to be believed - deviates from the brand's traditional style, featuring a distinctive staggered junction between the seatpost and seat tube. Colnago has also teased an upcoming bike launch recently, with an unveiling potentially set for a week from today. Could this be Tadej Pogačar's new aero race bike, then?

WeightWeenies @omerodriguez

Grainy images that look to have been taken in a studio have surfaced, showing what appears to be a new Colnago aero bike. These images were first shared on the WeightWeenies forum, potentially revealing UAE Team Emirates and Tadej Pogačar's upcoming race bike, while Colnago has also teased the design on its Instagram page.

The Colnago logo appears as a watermark in the bottom corner of the images, while the opposite corner features "Y1RS," hinting that this is the new model’s name.

If the images are to be taken at face value, Colnago has also introduced some new colour options, with one called Black/Holographic, and there are additional images showing a White/White version too. 

Many road bike tech fans crave innovation, and Colnago has certainly moved away from its traditional style with this latest design. Around social media, many are drawing comparisons between this new bike and models like the Cervélo S5, Canyon Inflite CX and Trek Madone, with the standout feature being the staggered junction between the seatpost and seat tube.

Other comments about the bike's looks made reference to the Bianchi Oltre, another Italian aero bike with controversial aesthetics that first surfaced in 2022. 

WeightWeenies @omerodriguez

One forum member comments, "About time we depart from the form of the last century and actually have a bit of a future going on." Another calls it "Ugly as hell," while a third adds, "I suspect this will go down like a lead balloon with Colnago's traditional core market."

The new aero bike appears to be pushing the boundaries of the UCI’s rules, specifically rule 1.3.020, which states: "For road, track and for cyclo-cross competitions, the frame of the bicycle shall be of traditional pattern, i.e. built around the main triangle. 

"The frames tubes must be tubular without excessive curvature. The frame elements may be slightly curved, but a straight line must be able to be drawn within each element along its length".

The start and finish points of these lines are shown below:

UAE Team Emirates currently use the Colnago V4RS as their do-it-all bike, but the Y1RS could be the Italian brand's new aero-specific bike. Colnago has generally shied away from the full-blooded aero road bike in recent years, its last attempt at the genre coming in 2016 with the Colnago Concept. 

Providing further evidence that the Concept is finally set to be directly replaced, an Instagram post was teased last week with the caption "built to defy wind". 

The rumoured new bike features a Y-shaped cockpit and a seat tube that closely hugs the rear wheel, similar to the Cervélo S5, along with bayonet-style forks - all of which suggest a strong emphasis on aerodynamics. 

The handlebars shown in Colnago's Instagram post appear to match those in the leaked images, and with an apparent launch date scheduled for December 9th, we won’t have to wait long to see how the two compare.

 

 

 

 

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The new bike is also shown with Enve wheels and Shimano's Dura-Ace groupset, both of which are the choices of UAE Team Emirates. 

What are your thoughts on this (potentially) unreleased Colnago? Let us know in the comments section below.