Colnago C68

[Mr.Gib]

I read that this thing has only 30mm tyre clearance. Seems to me that that is already a limiting choice especially for a frame expected to have a long production run.

If it is a generous 30mm clearance than it should be OK. I think it won't be too long until most dedicated road riders will be on 30 - 32mm wide rims (23 - 25mm internal) running 28mm tires that measure 30 - 31.5mm wide. If it's a skinny 30mm clearance than that's a problem.

No they won't be. There is an aero penalty to pay for wider tires. And there really isn't any need to go for something that wide.

It's not a question of whether a narrower wheel/tire is more aero, it's a question of what rim is optimal with 28mm nominal tires which is the size a significant portion of riders demand. Now if the manufacturers start making tires smaller and smaller (as they have in some cases), the optimal rim width would move with it. If they go too far, 30mm will become the new 28mm. Regardless of which is actually better and/or preferred, modern race bikes need to handle the wider option.

@lina Just curious what width rim/ tire combo do you run? I have 32/28 on my Factor and 28/25 on my Parlee. Both are near perfect as far as the 105 rule goes but to tell you the truth, I struggle to decide which I like best. The narrower combo feels more agile and reactive. With the wide combo it is more of a "don't even look at the surface, just ride" attitude which is fun. As far as Colnago is concerned, I bet it is a tiny percentage of C68's that will be raced and would see any real benefit from the narrower option. My guess is the majority of these bikes will end up in the hands of older gentlemen whose bodies show ample evidence of both their affluence and too many hours in the office. They will probably be better off with a little more rubber underneath them.

[TobinHatesYou]

IMO it’s racers, not weekend warriors, who benefit the most from wider tires as they are hitting potholes and debris with more kinetic energy. I’m not going to snakebite my tubeless tire after hitting the edge of a 3cm deep pothole at 30km/h, but that is more likely to happen at 45km/h. You’re also not able to see these hazards most of the time while riding in a big pack.

[c60rider]

rim brake version is a great news for a future myself, who may or may not start to manifest symptoms of a middle life crisis, and may or may not have financial resources to act on them

Everything I've read suggests there isn't a rim brake version. The industry continuing to reduce choice of consumers purely for their own benefit of reduced costs and increased profits. This frame looks to be cheaper to make with a simpler design, reduced components yet they charge far more for it. Maybe that's just the current climate of reduced raw materials but an easy excuse for everyone to sky rocket prices. I'll be passing and making do with existing bikes for a few years yet.

[bikeboy1tr]

I was looking at the Geometry table for my size and the C68 is closer to race geometry than the V3 as far as the STA goes which is very far off from the previous C series frames. I dont think you are going to see many of the older riders going for this geometry when they have been accustomed to what once was for this frame. I do agree the T47 BB is a good ideal.

[TobinHatesYou]

Everything I've read suggests there isn't a rim brake version. The industry continuing to reduce choice of consumers purely for their own benefit of reduced costs and increased profits. This frame looks to be cheaper to make with a simpler design, reduced components yet they charge far more for it. Maybe that's just the current climate of reduced raw materials but an easy excuse for everyone to sky rocket prices. I'll be passing and making do with existing bikes for a few years yet.

There is a rim-brake version coming out later.

[spdntrxi]

IMO it’s racers, not weekend warriors, who benefit the most from wider tires as they are hitting potholes and debris with more kinetic energy. I’m not going to snakebite my tubeless tire after hitting the edge of a 3cm deep pothole at 30km/h, but that is more likely to happen at 45km/h. You’re also not able to see these hazards most of the time while riding in a big pack.

you just did Copperpolis didn't you.

[TobinHatesYou]

you just did Copperpolis didn't you.

Copperopolis is more like hitting potholes at 65km/h lol.

[spartacus]

I've tried 30 and 32c gp5000tl and honestly they're a bit much for a racing/road bike imo unless we are talking novelty races like bwr or copper. At the pressures I can get away with they smooth out the road too much and they feel weird. But being able to swap to big rubber when needed is awesome.

[TobinHatesYou]

I've tried 30 and 32c gp5000tl and honestly they're a bit much for a racing/road bike imo unless we are talking novelty races like bwr or copper. At the pressures I can get away with they smooth out the road too much and they feel weird. But being able to swap to big rubber when needed is awesome.

I do think official 30mm support is fine for a bike like the C68. It's the perfect bike for someone who calls a 63mi ride with two coffee stops a century. For anyone wanting 35mm tire support, the "all-road" version which is really an modern "endurance bike" will be available soon.

[mag]

It looks ok and a good paintjob (C-series frames tend to get their best ones) certainly improves the appearance, but overall it really loses most of the distinctive C-series look as it looks almost like their V-series.
If those changes would bring some weight savings and significantly improved aero then they would be at least acceptable, but that doesn't seem to be the case (well it's likely more aero, but nothing that couldn't be achieved the "old" way), so it's a shame to see it go this way.

It's getting close to the tube-to-tube type of construction which is what I actually expected, but I also expected that to bring some significant advantages. With this it may be actually more interesting to just wait for their next V-series one.
Hopefully it at least rides nicely.

[BigBoyND]

If you can't still get close to that price as a custom build it's not really Colnago's fault. The C68 cost (not the Ti) is only £100 more than an art decor or frozen C64. £500 more than a sport paint C64.

This. Buy a frameset. You can save money and build a far better spec and have all the dimension fit to your preferences . I dont understand top-spec off-the-shelf builds.

[Karvalo]

PS: The cost increase is gigantic, I have bought my C64 with Campa SR EPS, Bora WTO wheels for 10,600 € from official brick and mortar shop in Prague 1,5 years ago, now , identical configuration of C68 is 16,000€ , this is madness

If you can't still get close to that price as a custom build it's not really Colnago's fault. The C68 cost (not the Ti) is only £100 more than an art decor or frozen C64. £500 more than a sport paint C64.

Well to be exact for 16k € you get Bora WTO Ultra, not the regular ones. Price difference between these two is roughly 1.5k €. So 14.5k €. Still plenty

That is true. Still massive difference.

But it's not the difference in what the Colnago costs.

[wilwil]

The C64 is looking a bit clunky now with its defined lugs so this is definitely the right way to go IMO. The geometry is more aggressive and it looks like they've gone back to not giving the HT angle. Im not certain, but it looks like electronic shifting only. So,if you want a Campag groupo the new bike is going to be very expensive. New sizing system and I guess the R prefix stands for road and they'll be an E and a G coming. The nearest size to a 52S is an R510 which has 8mm less stack.

[Zakalwe]

hopefully the upcoming rim brake model will be drilled for mechanical also

[Prawn]

Did my C64 art decor just go up or down in value? Normally I would have said 'definitely down'... but now I'm thinking it is a classic, especially with 12-speed mechanical super record and rim brakes. Call me old-fashioned!