Collection: Powerhouse Museum
This Colnago C35 is one of the first road bikes made with a carbon fibre frame. The C35 was launched in 1989 to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the company founded in 1954 by Ernesto Colnago at Cambiago near Milan.
Hence the bike features monograms and lettering highlighted in gold leaf and some gold-plated parts. However its sculpted frame is its most striking feature. Unlike metal frames, carbon fibre frames are generally formed in one piece, known as a monocoque. The C35 was produced in association with Ferrari, which began using carbon fibre in its Formula One cars during the 1980s. In 1986 Ferrari and Colnago produced the first carbon fibre bike.
In 1989 the C35 was at the leading edge of road bike technology, which had been revolutionised only a decade earlier when the availability of TIG (tungsten inert gas) welding made aluminium frames possible. Carbon and aluminium frames are significantly lighter than the steel alloy frames in use until the 1980s; in addition carbon frames absorb some of the vibration and road shock produced by hard tyres and rigid frames. However the C35′s toe clip pedals already look antique, as do the tube-mounted controls of its Campanolgo gear set.
There’s no doubt that the combination of simplicity and hi-tech is part of the appeal of road bikes. For a few thousand dollars one can own a vehicle with a Formula One heritage composed of similarly exotic materials – carbon fibre, Kevlar, even aluminium road bike frames are formed of custom-made ‘triple-butted’ parts – tubes which vary in thickness and shape through their length. With their harsh ride, high gearing and crouched riding position, road bikes are as uncompromisingly functional as a racing car.
Although road bikes are the expensive end of the bike market, two factors stop them from becoming absurdly pricey. One is that most are now made in East Asia. While China makes the majority of the world’s bikes, Taiwan is the global centre of road bike production. Giant, the world’s largest bike maker, Merida and other Taiwan manufacturers formed a consortium during the 1990s to produce frames and other parts for most of the world’s road bikes, including prestige brands such as Colnago, Pinarello, Trek, Specialized, Scott and Bianchi. Most of these bikes are now only designed and assembled in Italy, the US and other established cycling countries.
In addition, the UCI’s rule that bikes used in competition must weigh at least 6.9 kilos ensures that the bikes ridden in the Tour, the Giro etc are essentially the same as road bikes everywhere. There is little incentive to produce super-light, super-expensive road bikes.
None of this has destroyed the appeal of the high-end brands, though my experience riding with the Dulwich Hill Bicycle Club suggests that only a very tenuous relationship exists between rider speed and bike expense.
