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colnago world cup 2.0

the box, when it arrived made faint promise of other than expected; someone had written 'carbon cross' on the end of the carton. the viability of such an erroneous statement was almost never in doubt. aluminium, always chunky, surely was unable to be crafted into the tube shapes on the world cup? to explain myself more clearly, the top tube tapers from the enormous head tube containing colnago's semi-integrated headset towards the rounded seat-tube. but it's flat along its length, on top and along the sides; box section would be my best attempt at a description. the welding between all the tubes is pleasantly smooth and never innocuous. but if the top tube rather took me by surprise, the down tube looks like a scale model of a railway carriage; completely square in cross-section, though very slightly curved on top and presenting a large flat surface to any incoming mud, leaves, sand or rock. colnago may have missed a trick here by not placing their branding on the underside of this expansive surface.

this flatness of top tube very conveniently allows the cabling for front and rear gears as well as rear brakes, to be cleanly routed to their ultimate destinations, the rear mech actuation hugging the drive-side seat stay while that for the front mech follows the seat tube to a roller placed just above bb height. that said, it was a bit of swine to clean between the cables on the top tube when required (often, as it turned out). thank goodness for purple harry. the chainstays live close to the form factor of those beloved leaf stays that used to inhabit the carbon colnagos of a few years back, and prepared for all outcomes, the frame bears brackets on the non-drive seat stay to allow mounting of the now uci legal disc brakes. the world cup has, in fact, covered all the bases; though the review model was fitted with disc brakes as per the uk importer's request, the standard model features cantilevers, and the bosses for fitting same are welded onto the stays. unusual on a cross bike, the brake bridge joining the seatstays is threaded and bolted, meaning you could, theoretically, fit caliper brakes.

this ubiquitousness is carried through to the sturdy carbon fork with alloy steerer which also features canti bosses and disc brackets, as well as a bolt hole at the colossal fork crown. if those are not enough to deny the world cup its true cyclocross heritage, both seat tube and down tube are delivered with bottle cage bosses. the fork, in keeping with everything from cambiago these days, though surprisingly not on the precisa fork, features front dropouts with those darned annoying safety tabs. perhaps less of a liability on a cross bike, where wheel changes rarely have to be undertaken at light speed, but a nuisance nonetheless.

the wheels are branded colnago both on the rims and hubs, both built three-cross and obviously, in this case, featuring disc mounts. tyres were the humorously (or amateurishly) named, kenda kwicker: 700x32c knobblies, with a fairly square, flat profile.

colnago's website shows, and indeed specs the word cup 2.0 with tektro cantilevers, yet the bicycle that rolled out the box undeniably had avid bb5 mechanical disk brakes fitted. according to windwave, this was at their request, adding a further £100 to the retail price and perhaps making the cycle more attractive to those who fancy a quality commuting bike. the external cable run for both brakes is zip-tied to the guides; down the inner edge of the front fork, and supposedly similarly routed to the rear. however, those repsonsible for the build in taiwan missed the first guide at the top of the seat stay, and the cable routed to the outside of the stay rather than inner. in practice, this made no difference at all, but art surely lies in the details?

the bits that turn this from a sturdy frame into a sturdy bicycle came from a variety of sources: stem and bars from dedacciai, as indeed was the seatpost; the saddle was colnago branded, gearing was handled by shimano 105 (front, rear and sti levers), while the chainset and bottom bracket were courtesy fsa (who also make colnago's chs headset system). chainrings were cross compatible 46/36 yet only a 12-25 cassette. i'd have been more likely to have placed a 12-28, but that's probably due to wimpish tendencies. as is always the case with new and review bicycles, pedals are left to the discretion of the (temporary) owner. i fitted a pair of crank brothers egg beaters.

riding the darned thing

i kid myself that i have the natural skills to be at one with the sport of cyclocross, though the reality likely could not be further from the truth. however, as colnago have seen fit to tattoo the words world cup at the seat tube end of that flat top tube, it would surely have been seriously remiss of me to to omit at least a modicum of cross activity. although world famous for my sven nys impersonation, i'd be the first to admit that it's rarely a pretty sight. it is for that reason that bridgend woods exists. for though frequently inhabited by walkers of dogs, there is a time and place for everything; all it needs is to pinpoint both.

with a considerable amount of precipitation falling between october's end and november's beginning, there was lots of squishy stuff to flail about in (and i really do mean flail), supposedly the very environment beloved of bona fide cyclocross bikes. it seems the colnago was no exception, and i have eternal cause to be grateful that those in cambiago have a far better idea of what they're about than i have. this bicycle is almost inexplicably stable, portraying a tightness of manner that makes the rider part of the experience and not just the dolt sitting in the saddle.

while i'm sure it would handsomely repay a rider with cross skills of a kind i can only dream of, it did a pretty darned good job of making me look and feel a lot better than i know i am. while metalled roads rarely surprise in the camber department, offroad is a whole different kettle of ceramic bearings. couple that with my own inability to know just what i should be paying attention to, and i have great cause to be thankful for the liveliness tempered with stability that colnago have secreted about its person.

it's not a stunningly light machine, partly due to a less than svelte pair of wheels, compounded by a pair of avid disc brakes. an incredible lightness of being is not something a cross bike really craves until it comes time to lug it up a slidey incline concealed by slippery undergrowth. i have watched many a super-prestige cross race on t'internet and i have yet to see anything that resembles alpe d'huez, so lightness when still in the saddle is surely of secondary concern. hefting onto that right shoulder however, does have its drawbacks, though the curved tube joining top and seat tubes alleviated much of the discomfort my boney shoulder has experienced from other frames.

though all i can level at the colnago branded wheels is perhaps an excess of rotating weight, the kenda kwicker tyres are something of an anomaly. featuring a squarish profile, they do engender an impressive degree of grip on the flat and on some less than tactile ascents. however, more than once, on a muddy descent, they wiped out with no assistance from the avids or the hapless test pilot. the tread seems to toe the line midway between expecting dry hardpack and that of a less viscous nature, but gloopy mud is not, i would tender, their forte. however, tyres are a replaceable option, and i have yet to meet any of the kenda family walking their dogs through bridgend woods, so how would they know?

as averred to above, colnago's website offers the world cup 2.0 with tektro cantilevers. the avid discs were at the request of the uk importer, based on the likelihood of the bicycle being a particularly adept commuting bike. the purist in me is aghast at the thought of a colnago being employed in such a mundane manner, but sales is sales is sales. i have communicated with one far more experienced in matters of cyclocross braking than i, who was keen to point out that discs are hardly a cx necessity. rare are the occasions when one has to come to a sudden dead stop, at which point, the grip provided by the tyres has more bearing on the result than whether braking is at the rim or rotor (as i believe is the technical term.)

i am not a big fan of disc brakes, for even mechanically actuated versions such as the avids here considered, seem to me to be overkill. i cannot, however, fault their provenance; they stopped me, or scrubbed off the desired amount of speed at every request. and though it is not a consideration of the cyclocross racer, 'tis but a simple matter to remove and replace either wheel without undue faff. the same can rarely said about cantilevers. where they failed, however, and i can only point an accusing finger at the front rotor, was with a propensity to rub against the caliper after first time wheel removal. at first ride, however, silence was golden.

review bikes rarely arrive with instruction manuals, so there was no literature to educate the disc brake ignorant such as myself. however, according to avid's website, adjustment is designed to be as simple as loosening the two retaining bolts on the fork leg bracket, pulling the relevant brake lever tight, before re-tightening the bracket bolts. fine in theory, but in practice it made little, if any difference. the red knurled disc on the inboard side of the caliper, can be turned to adjust the proximity of the pad, but if the rubbing emanates from the opposite side, (which it did) then i am insufficiently mechanically adept to make good an effective adjustment.

unfortunately, a rubbing disc brake is oft-times akin to chinese water torture. it should be pointed out, however, that this is not something that should be levelled at colnago, and it may be that purchased versions will be accompanied by a detailed manual.

in keeping with windwave's thoughts regarding commuting aboard the world cup, i endeavoured to ride around the principality as if it were a road bike rather than one imbued with thoughts of mud, hurdles and undergrowth. i have ridden a wide variety of colnagos over the years, all of which have impressed with their almost unique handling skills, particularly when descending on sketchy gravel. in this case, the kendas took the limelight away from the frame just a tad, since gravel and potholes are more readily appeased by 32c cross section knobblies, rather than the more usual 700x23c. but the frame still has that desirable follow-through at the cranks/bottom bracket when climbing, and yet again its stability made it a joy to ride. it never quite demanded to be flung hither and thither, but those well-versed in the art probably could if the notion presented itself.

it is reasonably normal practice, unless otherwise agreed beforehand, that each colnago holidays on islay for around three weeks. so it should have been for the world cup, but i confess i had so much enjoyment from this bicycle, that it was seriously in danger of outstaying its welcome. let's just say it was here for longer than that nominal three weeks (sorry peter).

flabbergasted though i was at the thought of such italian finery being subjugated to the daily commute, i cannot deny that one or two escapades around the island's rustic regions went down a treat. due to the versatility of the shimano gearing, coupled with cyclocross chainset sizing, it was simplicity itself to leave the paved road behind and trachle along singularly inviting footpaths that advertised themselves to the adventurous (in this case, me). though the rapha continental folks have little concern taking road bikes along gravel roads, you just know that the guys in the movie van would help out if the wheels came off the wagon. solitude on two wheels in less accessible parts of the inner hebrides, come with no such safety net, but such concerns will rarely enter your head if doing so aboard one of these.

at £1599 for the disc version tested and £1499 for the cantilever version, this bicycle is a veritable bargain. with two sets of bottle cage bosses, it is a simple matter to disguise its cyclocross heritage and prepare it for the open road, while the level of comfort offered has to be ridden to be believed. a c59 it most certainly isn't, but it's sure as heck a colnago.

thanks to dan, luke and peter at windwave for their assistance with this review.

posted sunday 13 november 2011

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