Somebody who runs a bike shop told me the new 2006 Strada SC won't come with the trademark, Colnago airbrush paint jobs, done by hand. It will be 'factory' painted. Now if you look at the 2006 schemes, they do look pretty simple. Can anybody confirm this?

I hear the frame will at least be made in Italy, and I imagine the high end bikes will still have airbrush jobs, but one of the main reasons I'm considering Colnago is the hand-painted frames. If this is the case with the 2006 Strada, I might as well get an older Mix (I'm on a tight budget).

All Colnago bikes are painted either by computerized system (see President LdV, Cristallo Sunflowers, Cristallo Jet, Cristallo townscape) by 'normal' paint or through the use of paint masks (see the Master XL). These are the same systems that they have used for the last few years. There may be some models that do not give the same paint options.

As for going with a Mix over a Strada, you should know that the Scandium does make for a lighter and better riding frame.

All Colnago bikes are painted either by computerized system (see President LdV, Cristallo Sunflowers, Cristallo Jet, Cristallo townscape) by 'normal' paint or through the use of paint masks (see the Master XL). These are the same systems that they have used for the last few years. There may be some models that do not give the same paint options.

As for going with a Mix over a Strada, you should know that the Scandium does make for a lighter and better riding frame.

From what I am gathering, 2004 was the last year for hand-painted frames. You can see the graphics becoming simpler every year. The 2005 President, Cristallo, and E1 use a 'sublimation' process, which is probably similar to dye sublimation printers. It looks airbrushed but it is not.

For what it's worth, I saw a 2006 Arte last weekend. This is the low-end Colnago made in Taiwan. The paint job was obviously not hand-painted, but it was superb for a factory job. Part of the decorative trim was a thin line filled with silver metalflake paint, and it was crisp and uniform. The whole paint scheme (which was a little busy in blue), was coated with a nice clear gloss. You won't find a better paint job on a Taiwan bike. The bike I saw was Japanese spec, and I was surprised it came with an FSA compact crank. I didn't look closely, but looked carbon to me (!). With the yen rate, the complete bike is around $2200 (it has carbon seat and chainstays BTW). This is Colnago's equivalent of the 2006 Pinarello Galileo, which is a Taiwan copy of the $5500 Dogma, complete with Onda fork/seatstays.

Somebody who knows a lot about Italian bikes told me the Scandium would ride worse than plain Columbus alu tubing. !!! He said it's cheaper to build Scandium frames. Perhaps it makes the welding easier, is all I can figure. I got the impression a Scandium ride spanned the gap between alu and Ti, and is of course lighter. The 2006 Strada is about half a pound lighter than the Dream/Mix.

well, if that is the case, then that blows! the prices on the upper level colnagos are pretty out there and it was one thing when you were getting a hand crafted unique piece of art. but, personally, i don't find the newer 'nags to be that awe inspiring in the newer nude or sublimated incarnations. by far my favorite thing about my c40 are the flaws in the paint that make my bike unique.

I do not believe that I have ever seen a true free-hand airbrushed Colnago that was made for a retail customer. Most of the intricate paint schemes like the GEO are nothing more than screened paint jobs. The reason that Colnago in Italy no longer offers these paint jobs is merely that the original screens have now been 'worn' out. Any 'hand' elements are more indicative of paint runs than any true 'hand-workmanship'.

Screened paint jobs are still being made upon specific request of the American distributor, however apparently only on the Master XL. You can check out the schemes available here:http://www.trialtir-usa.com/2006-colnago/master-xl/mxl-main.htm

Since they are doing it on these frames, Colnago must be able to do the same on other frames too.

PS: All new GEO painted bikes now being produced do not have Italian paint on them! More than likely they were painted by the Belgian distributor.

As usual, the answer is "call Mike at Maestro".
I requested a non-listed LX paint scheme for my C50 and got it for no charge (but with a good wait).

The frames may not be totally freehand, but they are done by hand. I have personally seen Pinarellos being hand painted and stickered. I think you give them too much credit thinking that they have computerized painting in Italy. The paint shop guys I saw were not even wearing respirators.

My understanding is the LdV is similar technology to the Fondriest SAT system (Sliding Art Technology). More of a stick on than painted.

As for rumors from a guy the sells Colnago's, if he is in the US, he may not be getting the best info from the distributor. I was told by a US dealer that there was no way to get an old scheme after he called to check, because Ernesto is a "strange old bird" that does what he wants. Then a couple of months later, Ernesto gave me just what I asked for.

certainly they are screened, but there are is hell of a lot of screening on one of the older paint jobs! also, there isn't a single sticker other than the head tube badge. it's sooo sexy to be able to feel the little bumps that each paint layer left. that is "hand made" enough for me and much better than a single color spray with some stickers.

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Its time for a change.

Somebody who knows a lot about Italian bikes told me the Scandium would ride worse than plain Columbus alu tubing. !!! He said it's cheaper to build Scandium frames.


That's one of the dumbest things I've heard in a long time. Scandium is a grain refiner used in aluminum alloy, and it makes the aluminum stiffer, among too many other things to explain here. Moreover, using scandium tubes-sets (Easton I'm sure) will make it quite a bit MORE expensive.

I had a U.S. web vendor contact Trialtir, the U.S. distributor for Colnago, asking about having a special paint job done. Here is their answer: “Colnago won't do a paint job that old. It's almost impossible to get them to do a past years model anymore. They dont keep all the stencils and colors as the years pass.”

All I wanted was a 2003 paint scheme! This all sounds like an excuse to me. Maestro told me no problem, and it don't even cost extra for the request! Boo to Trialtir!

Hi Guys:

FYI - from my personal experience, Colnago has painted "old colour schemes" - and the comments above are right - it depends on the "pull" that the dealer has with the distributor and with Colnago directly, and the "mood" of the Colnago people at that time as well. I happen to have good relationship with such a local dealer, and since I like the older colour schemes, I have made a number of requests - some of which were initially refused, then later agreed to - I even had NOS (new, old stock that I had picked up specifically with the thought of repainting) repainted in different colours. To be clear, apparently it is a pain for them to do so, but they do accomodate such requests from time to time.

I have personally had four frames finished in non-current colour schemes in the last year - and an offer to do another one just this week.


EasyRider47

FWIW When I heard that MXL's were coming to an end I located a frameset (at Mike Perry's) in my size, but in Rabobank colours - not my favourite. Mike had it resprayed by Colnago at no extra expense.This was late 2004. It is seriously beautiful in AD14. I have what I thought was one of the last all steel Colnagos but maybe now they're coming back, albeit with carbon forks?

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Not sure if Colnago is doing repaints of older schemes. After painting several Colnagos to match older and newer paint schemes they are not easy to recreate. Even after creating all of the masking on a plotter much time is required to make it look correct. As for screening or printing on the older schemes that is doubtfull in my mind. I paint all lettering adn graphics when painting and it is done with vinyl masking material that has been computer cut and removed after painting the lettering or whatever. Pictured is a 2005 C50 repianted with the 2005 scheme.

http://www.creativecycleworks.com/Photos/colnagowc1.jpg
http://www.creativecycleworks.com/Photos/colnagowc2.jpg
http://www.creativecycleworks.com/Photos/colnagowc3.jpg

Curious...EasyRider, if you are going to the factory direct, how much is Ernesto charging you for a repaint? You're addicted to the WC scheme, no?

(Maestro had my 2004 C50 painted in an older-version Mapei WC scheme from many year's back. Unfortunately, old stencils must have been used on the newer diameter tubes, so some of the designs "come up short" in places in hte frame. Still nice, but not exactly like I hoped-for in such an expensive purchase.)

Of course I say that, but I would ride nothing else...regardless of what the paint looks like.

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These are timely posts, as after a 4-month wait, my C50 in Mapei WC scheme arrived at Maestro. Unfortunately, if you think Dpower's bike is missing some detail, my frame is missing the color swatches on the top tube and chainstay! I have NEVER seen a WC paint job - either Mapei or not - missing these bands.

In fact, I gave Maestro a pic of Dpower's bike to copy. It's clear now, as Mike reiterated, you are at the mercy of the painter, and he cannot guarantee any specific requests - in the Mapei scheme anyway.

It is easy to tell the difference between the Colnago factory WC scheme and the one's from Maestro: the colored bands are unequal width on the factory paint job. I prefer the wider bands on frames by Maestro. The paint might be thicker and more durable also. On the other hand, EasyRider's frames are 'done-in-Italy', if that's important to you.

I'm rechecking my frame size and not sure what I'll do next. I can get a C50 (for the best price I seen in the US) from my LBS, but he goes through the 'US distributor', so I don't have my hopes up. I may have to go Canada or foreign vendor again, specify a factory paint job in Mapei, wait a year, and hope Colnago can deliver. On the Mapei job, the frame is predominantly white, and the top tube is extraodinarily colorful (see link):

http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=1862

I'm with Dpower: I only have one shot at a C50, and on a $6k build, the paint scheme better be one I can live with.

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