Colnago C60 Disc Frameset "Hexlock"

When Colnago started designing the C60, they knew it not only had to ride better than the C59, but it also had to have a disc brake version. This is that version. The C60 Disc. This model comes with a 15mm hexlock thru-axle for fixing the front wheel to the fork. The visionary of Cambiago doesn’t need a crystal ball to see that road disc braking is the future. And he intends to get there first, with Colnago-equipped riders leading the pack. The C60 is a lugged carbon-fiber beauty. The carbon is sourced from Toray in Japan, the best material. The tubes, lugs, and frame are constructed and painted in Italy. The best equipment, designers, and painters. Colnago prefers lugs because the resulting ride is better. It’s better because the tubes can be molded more precisely, better compaction, better shaping, and the lugs allow for better strength at the joints. Wins all around. The downtube is star-shaped, a classic Colnago innovation, in order to maximize both comfort and efficiency. The downtube grows like a baseball bat from the head tube, where it exits a one-piece head lug to the over-oversized bottom bracket shell. The seat tube also grows on its route from the seat lug to the bottom bracket shells, starting as a round 31.6mm at the top and moving into a slightly asymmetric star shape, wider than it is long, designed to fit the front derailleur hanger. Here, too, they’re designing for maximum lateral rigidity. You’ll be happy to know that the 31.6 post does not yield a harsh ride. That’s thanks to the harmony with which the top tube, seat tube and seat stays play. The rear end also has massively shaped tubes, but you can only see half the work. The chainstays taper dramatically from the point of exit at the bottom bracket shell to the dropouts to work at both resisting pedaling forces and  yielding to the bumps and ruts of the road. The seatstays are flattened for the same reason. What you don’t see is the interior shaping: Colnago’s molds allow them to create ribs on the interior walls to further the design goals of comfort and stiffness. The ride is stiff for maximum energy conservation and the ride is comfortable for maximizing strength. Road magazine wrote, “The C60 is in a class of its own. Its handling is sublime.”  BikeRadar gave it five out of five stars. Bicycling wrote of the C60, “practically perfect embodiment of the legendary marque’s ideals.”  And with fourteen sizes, one will fit you well. The disc-brake frameset differs from the rim brake in a few ways. One is weight. To better resist the forces and heat produced by disc brakes, both fork legs and the left stays had to be redesigned. Material was added, both in terms of aluminum and carbon. The aluminum works not only to increase stiffness but acts as a heat sink, to better limit the heat that comes from braking hard for long periods of time. The second is the fork options. The front thru axle is designed by Hayes. It is a 15mm Hex-lock, a fast and reliable wheel-securing option that increases front end safety and stiffness. The third is the disc brake mounting at the rear dropout. The dropouts are set 135mm apart, and there’s a unique Colnago post-mount system that allows for the insertion of the wheel to help fine-tune the brake caliper position. This makes insertion easier, faster, and less-likely to rub. As with the rim-brake C60, you will also find all of Colnago’s cutting-end technologies. The fork tips and dropouts are aluminum, forged, and CNC-machined for light weight and durability. The tapered 1 1/8” to 1 ¼” steerer is contained in the head tube via two bearings and Colnago’s proprietary CHS-1 headset system. This is a semi-integrated setup wherein the races are installed into replaceable cups. With a hard front-end crash, or riding the headset loose, you can replace the cups rather than deal with a broken fork or frame. Colnago is big on durability; it will take work to damage their frames. The bottom bracket standard is Colnago’s proprietary  ThreadFit82.5: Colnago’s improvement on the BB86 standard. As with the headset, the bottom bracket has threaded, removable races into which the bottom bracket is installed. If the races wear out, they can be replaced. A cup tool comes with the frame. Colnago also includes a seatpost clamp and their 350mm long carbon-fiber seatpost, possessing a clamp with 15mm of setback. The C60 features internal cable runs. They allow or electronic or mechanical shifting. If you choose electronic, the Shimano battery goes in the seat post and  you charge via the port under the stem, and the Campagnolo battery goes in the seat tube and you charge via a port on the downtube. In terms of brakes, you can go mechanical or hydraulic. Colnago firmly recommends hydraulic. The post mounts are designed for 140mm rotors, though the front can be spaced to work with 160mm. With old-world comfort, a design that mates the ancient with the cutting edge, the Colnago C60 Disc Brake frameset is a class of its own.