History of Colnago

History of Colnago
In 1960, Colnago saw fame as Luigi Arienti rode to a gold medal at the Rome Olympics on a Colnago bicycle. From the late 1960s through the 1970s, Colnago was generally regarded as one of the builders of the world's best custom road race frames.
Colnago produced the super-light steel frame used by Eddy Merckx in 1972, to break the world one hour record. This bicycle has been displayed all over the world, including in a display case inside a Brussels metro station.
Colnago produced the steel (Columbus tubed) frame used in 1982, by Saronni to win the world professional road race championship.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the "Super" was one of Colnago's models, a high-end racing frame. In the mid 1980s, Colnago introduced various crimped-tube models as their top of the range frames, including "Master" and later "Master-Light". The manufacturer varied the base material of "Master" frames thougout its several iterations ranging from Columbus tubing DT15V to "Ultimate Superlight" from Tange Japan.
During the mid 1980s, the company introduced the "Precisa" brand bicyclefork. It was the first front fork with straight blades. The normal road racing ~4 degree fork rake was provided by the shape of the crown. Colnago claimed that this straight-blade feature provided lengthwise elasticity similar to curved blade forks to dampen road roughness, but with much improved crosswise stiffness for sprinting. The design was also considered to be one of the lightest full steel forks, underweighing even some cheaper contemporary aluminium or carbon forks. Many modern forks, especially carbon forks, now use straight blades. The bicycle tubing manufacturer Columbus tubing marketed the fork under its own brand name "Elite" but in fact it was the same fork as Colnago "Precisa".
Since the 1980s, Colnago has continued to produce high-end steel bikes, and has branched out into other materials, working with Ferrari to develop new carbon fiber technology, and occasionally introducing titanium and aluminum frames. Its flagship frames, such as the C-40 and the C-50 – respectively named for Colnago's 40th and 50th birthdays – are carbon fiber frames.

Colnago uses a black symbol similar to the "Clubs" symbol used on playing cards. Team and rider sponsorship
Colnago has sponsored at least one professional team every year since the 1970s, often sponsoring several. In the 1970s, Colnago sponsored the Molteni team, which included Eddy Merckx. Colnago was well-known as the sponsor of the Mapei Professional Cycling Team throughout the 1990s. For 2005, Colnago sponsored the professional cycling team Rabobank. Colnago has also been the bike sponsor for the American domestic team, Navigators whom the Aussie sprinter Hilton Clarke rides for.
For 2006, Team Milram joined their list of professionally sponsored teams featuring well-known Alessandro Petacchi and Erik Zabel. In addition, Colnago serves as a co-title sponsor of the Landbouwkrediet-Colnago professional cycling team that competes on the UCI Europe Tour.
In addition to current sponsorship agreements, Colnago will be the official frame supplier to Team Tinkoff for 2007.

2007 production:
Extreme C, specialist climbing frame in carbon fibre
Extreme Power, as above but stronger for the demands of sprinting
President LdV (Leonardo da Vinci) (special edition) — carbon fiber
President (special edition) — carbon fiber
Brerart (special edition) — carbon fiber
C50 Crono (special edition) — carbon fiber
C50 Pista (special edition) — carbon fiber
C50 — carbon fiber
Cristallo, monocoque carbon fiber, has curved seat stays to assist with braking power
E-1 — carbon fiber
Dream — aluminum
CT2 — titanium/carbon
Mix — aluminum/carbon
Strada SC — aluminum/carbon
Active — aluminum
Rapid — aluminum
Master X Light — steel. (Frame was produced from 2000-2004, then dropped for 2005, and returned in 2006).

http://www.colnago.com/