# The CX-1s work



## Gnarly 928 (Nov 19, 2005)

Many of our Oregon Z-team are racing CX-1s this season with excellent results. The only downside is joshing from the rest of the field sometimes..."Wow, racing a Colnago....You must be a rich guy..." But then you can say..."Well, it's not a "Real" Colnago, it's made in the East, not Italy"....

Seriously..as a stage racing ride, they are great. They do everything without complaint, they don't have any faults. I've even ridden (most of) a 12 hr Ultra on mine. A 'Journeyman bike" to ride everyday and race on weekends..not a 'special Sunday only ' bike.
Don Hanson


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## uscsig51 (May 7, 2006)

Can you make any comparisons to any other frames? If so, what do you like? What don't you like? What would you change about the CX-1?


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## Gnarly 928 (Nov 19, 2005)

uscsig51 said:


> Can you make any comparisons to any other frames? If so, what do you like? What don't you like? What would you change about the CX-1?


 Well, let's see...

It rides somewhat like my Look 585 did in the way it produces an "un-flappable" high speed descending experience. In the mountains, it's never given me an anxious moment. Even the time I lost the rear end on a slimy wet mossy Cascade Mts. corner, I just compensated for the slide and rode right through it (then I changed my shorts later) The front end of the CLX, especially, is quite stiff (?) compared to many bikes, that may be why I like it's handling so much. "Stiff" implies harsh or rough...it's not that, but more like "Stout, Planted, substantial"...can't find the exact right word here. I like the way the front does not flex during out of the saddle climbing or crashing through city block corner dips during crits. The Look was not nearly as 'racy' feeling, though. I wanted it to be stiffer..not so the CLX, it is just perfect the way it is.

It also rides a bit like my DeRosa King...probably the Italian angles for the geometry. But the King (a 4yr old) was kinda dead feeling with a somewhat 'limp' fork...(compared to the CLX) The King was a super long day bike, but I didn't much care to drag that one around a crit course...The CLX has a better 'blend' for both.

What to change? I did change my seat binder to one from a DeRosa that I like better. Some say the steerer tube binder is a bit too heavy. It works. It's quite long, grips the inside well with a long expander plug to spread the load. That may be worth messing with to save a few grams... One of my team commented that he thinks the head tube is a bit long on these frames..he runs a steep-angled stem mounted right down on the headset...I still have a couple of spacers above my HS so it's no issue for me. Mine came as a frameset without any dealer prep and it needed some very minor prep to make everything align and seat properly. One notable attribute of this Colnago is all the important 'junctions' have alloy (titanium?) tubes bonded into the frame so that you don't have to worry about slipping components or repeated adjustments on an all-carbon part. Sure, it may add a few grams to the over all frame weight but for 'real-life' racing or daily use, that extra strength and durability is worth it to me..I've heard they are pretty 'crash-worthy' too..dunno bout that personally (yet)

Mine is the white graphics, kinda mundane. A friend has one from Europe with the clear carbon finish/neon red flashes..nicer looking. My team got the Red/white color scheme..ummmm, so so..(for you Starbuck's racers who care about paint).


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## uscsig51 (May 7, 2006)

Thanks for the reply. Like you I have a 585 which I'm looking to swap out. Looking for something stiffer in the drivetrain, but with the same "solid" ride quality that the Look has especially when descending at speed as you mentioned.

After being on the CX-1 do you miss your Look 585? Or, does the CX-1 improve on it?


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## Gnarly 928 (Nov 19, 2005)

uscsig51 said:


> Thanks for the reply. Like you I have a 585 which I'm looking to swap out. Looking for something stiffer in the drivetrain, but with the same "solid" ride quality that the Look has especially when descending at speed as you mentioned.
> 
> After being on the CX-1 do you miss your Look 585? Or, does the CX-1 improve on it?


 If I were a recreational rider only, I guess I might miss the 585. It was really light and comfortable..Not bad uphill either and excellent going fast downhill..It's refreshing to have just one bike that I like for everything...

The 585's not the same type bike as the CX-1. I also have a Ridley Noah, more suitable, too, for my requirements than the 585 was...I am a big guy, 6' and 165-170lbs and I like sprinting..I don't especially care for the integrated seat post frame configuration or I may have shelled out the cash for a 595 (a couple of grand more expensive than what I got my Ridley for) ...but my team got deals on the Ridleys, so I have one of those along with the CX-1. When it comes time to head out to a race, I take the CX-1...I leave the Noah set up for time trials only now..I did race the 585 some and it was ok, but it sometimes left me wondering ..


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## Sablotny (Aug 15, 2002)

Wrong place to say anything negative about Colnago, but I find my Dream HX to be very stable. Great for long rides, but maybe not what I'd look for in a crit bike. Also, I feel some flex and wag in the carbon rear when sprinting (my feeble, lame sprint). How would you compare the stiffness of the CX-1 to the 585, or a C-50 or Dream?


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## Gnarly 928 (Nov 19, 2005)

Sablotny said:


> Wrong place to say anything negative about Colnago, but I find my Dream HX to be very stable. Great for long rides, but maybe not what I'd look for in a crit bike. Also, I feel some flex and wag in the carbon rear when sprinting (my feeble, lame sprint). How would you compare the stiffness of the CX-1 to the 585, or a C-50 or Dream?


 I have never owned a C-50.

But some Hear-say? From a teammate (multi-National champ-former pro and bike shop owner) who raced an EP before we got the CX-1 rides..the EP is not as stiff, especially at the front end. He said "kinda dead-feeling while standing". The Dream B-stay that I owned and rode briefly, to be fair, I never gave it a real chance, because I just didn't like the ride or the fit or the tacky little paint job. 

The 585 is more flexy than a CX-1 by a lot (I think, but it still felt very "right"). The 585really works very well indeed. If I ever quit racing I might look around for another 585 as a recreational ride, though the CX-1 works just as well and seems more 'substantial' more durable and more 'flickable' around those unexpected potholes or dead skunks. And the 'ultra-light' features of a 585 aren't so neat, I.M.H.O...The carbon fork dropouts worried me for extended windy rides with the bike on a roof rack, the carbon headset bearing was vunerable, I broke a rear derailuer hanger and chewed-up a chain stay and stuff like that. If anything like that happens to my CX-1 frame, it looks to be made so you can easily repair it...I will say that Look's customer service was outstanding, but I did miss some riding days for repair time..


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## Sablotny (Aug 15, 2002)

The CX-1 looks good. Reading your description, it sounds good too!


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## Fignon's Barber (Mar 2, 2004)

Gnarly 928 said:


> Well, let's see...
> 
> It rides somewhat like my Look 585 did in the way it produces an "un-flappable" high speed descending experience. In the mountains, it's never given me an anxious moment. Even the time I lost the rear end on a slimy wet mossy Cascade Mts. corner, I just compensated for the slide and rode right through it (then I changed my shorts later) The front end of the CLX, especially, is quite stiff (?) compared to many bikes, that may be why I like it's handling so much. "Stiff" implies harsh or rough...it's not that, but more like "Stout, Planted, substantial"...can't find the exact right word here. I like the way the front does not flex during out of the saddle climbing or crashing through city block corner dips during crits. The Look was not nearly as 'racy' feeling, though. I wanted it to be stiffer..not so the CLX, it is just perfect the way it is.
> 
> It also rides a bit like my DeRosa King...probably the Italian angles for the geometry. But the King (a 4yr old) was kinda dead feeling with a somewhat 'limp' fork...(compared to the CLX) The King was a super long day bike, but I didn't much care to drag that one around a crit course...The CLX has a better 'blend' for both.


 just to clarify, you have the CX1, not the CLX. Right?


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## Gnarly 928 (Nov 19, 2005)

Fignon's Barber said:


> just to clarify, you have the CX1, not the CLX. Right?


 Yeah, sorry about the sloppy post. CX-1 not CLX.. 
Don Hanson


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## g8keyper (Jun 30, 2008)

I've now been riding my CX-1 for two months and it's amazing. The road feels smoother and power feels like it's getting to the road better. My climbing has improved; now able to accelerate up hills vs. losing steam on the way up. (Don't know why maybe I am just stoked)

My friends always said that a better bike improves your riding. I was on a bike that was too large and the new CX-1 is correctly sized, fit, and has made a huge difference. The biggest difference is that I am more comfortable and the road seems faster and smoother. I am not a super strong rider or anything like that just an average guy out there trying to enjoy riding as much time as I can; the CX-1 made that much easier and enjoyable. 

I would also like to send a shout out to Colnago USA for coming through like champs with a few issues. Specifically, I would like to thank Shane because he is the person who helped me. I've heard many stories from people who are not happy with pricing USA vs. other countries, but let me just say as long as customer service is as good as what I've gotten from Colnago USA then I'll keep buying here; no offense to anyone meant by that of course. 

I've gone on long enough about my new toy. I'm going to bed because I've to get up and ride in the morning!! I actually look forward to that a whole lot more these days!!


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## Gnarly 928 (Nov 19, 2005)

*additional CX-1 rap..*

Saturday I raced the OBRA (Oregon) St. Ch. Crit. on my CX-1. Flat course, L-shaped downtown Albany. One corner I clipped a pedal and jumped the rear wheel sideways. The solid handling CX-1 made it easy to control. Got nipped at the sprint, but no fault from the bike.

Sunday I rode the CX-1 in the OBRA Oregon state HC championships to Timberline Lodge on Mt Hood. (Poor schedualling for the rider interested in contending all types of events, right? but..) The course (~5.5mi with ~1900' elevation gain) follows a degenerating paved forest service road up through the Timberline ski area ski runs. Constantly changing my line to find the smoothest pavement and to avoid the potholes, I liked the way the CX-1 seemed to maintain it's forward (and upward) momentum.There was one tricky downhill corner (-4% for a few hundred meters as the ski area road re-joined the main access road) about 1/2 mile from the finish-an off-camber corner with rough pavement and sketchy traction. I was helped again there by the sure-footedness of my CX-1 asI negotiated that section on the edge of control in order to try to gain some momentum for the summit pitch. That (final 1/2mi) has some 14% in it. Again, the Colnago did good, the rider, not so good.

One of my teammates, racing at age 55, finished in 3rd overall (out of 160 riders) another was 23rd, both riding CX-1s.

Excellent all around race bikes.
Don Hanson


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