Colnago C68 £12,449 | 7.3kg

Has Simon Smythe found his dream machine? We find out...

SPECS

Frame Colnago C68

Fork Colnago C68 full carbon disc

Groupset Shimano Dura-Ace 9200 Di2

Wheels Shimano Dura-Ace R9270 C50

Tyres Pirelli P Zero Race 28mm

Bar/stem Colnago CC.01

Seatpost Colnago C68 carbon

Saddle Prologo Scratch M5

Size tested 510

Weight 7.3kg

Let’s get the full disclosure/declaration/introduction out of the way first. I am a Colnago fan, I own a steel Master Olympic and the Colnago coffee-table biography that Ernesto Colnago gave me and signed for me when I interviewed him 10 years ago is one of my most treasured possessions. It might sound unpatriotic but the launch of a new Colnago C model in 2022 is the real jubilee for me.

However, fans love what they know best – they go to a gig and want to hear the old hits, not the new material – so a new Colnago has to work hard to impress me or there’s a danger I might start retrogrouching about how great the C40 was (see my feature on page 36 for that).

So, first of all I can’t help missing the look of the obvious lugs and the profiled tubing that started with the Master and has been a recurring feature of the C bikes. But, at the same time, I respect that Colnago has avoided allowing the C68 to become a throwback, only appealing to Colnago obsessives.

The C68 very cleverly is a lugged bike and is still made in Italy, but the ‘integrated’ lugs now form part of the tubes, giving the bike a modern monocoque-like look.