Legendary Cycling Brand Colnago Is Making a Play for Your Closet
If the Tour de France is the most famous cycle race in history, it’s the Italians who have long been acknowledged the driving force in the technology behind it. Combining sporting endeavor and innovative engineering, cycling to the Italians is as much a part of the national passion for sport and design as Ferrari or Ducati. From small mechanical workshops in northern Italian towns, the Italian bike industry flourished in the immediate post-war period, propelling the sport and its riders to new heights of performance.
To cycling fans, the name Colnago in particular is legendary. Founded by Ernesto Colnago in 1954 in Cambiago, just outside Milan, the brand has won multiple championships in both Olympic and professional road racing since its earliest days. Colnago was a humble mechanic, who through word of mouth was quickly sought after by leading riders for his ability to solve head-scratching mechanical and performance issues using a few simple tools and a strong dose of ingenuity. Much of the young engineer’s work centered around perfecting or reinventing individual handmade components, as well as strong but lightweight steel frames. These are still the pillars of Colnago’s output today.
As if to prove the point, in 2024 the brand marked its 70th anniversary with multiple wins in the first ever Tour de France to start in Italy, with overall (and three-time) winner Tadej Pogacar. On the amateur side, Colnago launched a limited edition Stilnovo Settanta road bike, a sleek, state-of-the-art machine (with a hefty $18,000 price tag) that unites some of the oldest mechanical preoccupations of the founder with cutting-edge metallurgy. With 3D-printed steel lugs, carbon forks and seat post, and ceramic bearings, the bike also features components made by other legendary names (and long-standing Colnago partners) including Columbus and Campagnolo.
More of a departure for the veteran bike brand is a capsule collection of urban clothing in navy and black. Ranging from tees and sweats all the way up to cashmere jackets and parkas, it features Colnago’s distinctive trefoil logo throughout. While it may not win you the Giro D’Italia, the capsule is just the ticket for biking around town. Rumors at last week’s Pitti Uomo in Florence suggest that there may well be more to come in the spring. Stay tuned.
Photographed by Ryan Slack (@rslack)
Styled by Alfonso Fernandez Navas (@alfonsofn) and Andrea Rios (@aandrea_rios)
Grooming by Devra Kinery (@devrakinery)
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