# colnago handling differences



## steel515 (Sep 6, 2004)

do colnago frames handle much differently from other frames? I believe they have a very low head angle. are they better for descending?


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## wasfast (Feb 3, 2004)

steel515 said:


> do colnago frames handle much differently from other frames? I believe they have a very low head angle. are they better for descending?


The general consensus seems to be that they are less "twitchy" as in slower steering than many newer bikes. This goes back to bikes from the 60-70's that had "laid back" geometry for long distance riding/stage racing. You can verify the specs on trialtir website but I believe the headtube angle is 72 degrees and the trail is generally greater. The trail is the biggest difference in handling. Note that forks are usually sold in 43mm or 45mm rake which alters the trail.


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## TheCapMan (Feb 8, 2005)

*yes*

Yes, the shallower head angle seems to make a big diffrence especially in turning, i switched my parts from a cannondale cad 5 to an mxl and noticed more stability in descending. They both are 53s and have the same top tube length of 53.5. seat angles are = 74 but the cannondale's head angle is 73 whilke colnago's is a 71.4 (as indicated in the website) rake was 43 for both forks. It may be in my head but the colnago wanted to be pushed more and seemed to get more stable as the speed increased . the cannondale felt"twitchy" and less confident at the same speed. Then again, one is steel and the other is aluminum, so that should be taken into consideration.
I also have schwinn peloton (reynolds 853 steel)--and it too rides differently. It has a smooth ride, better than the cannondale but not as "connected "as the colnago. Fork rakes are the same , again,the colnago wins out in handling. I feel my weight is more distributed evenly on the colnago than both bikes. I hope i'm not being biased by the colnago sticker allure, but that's my 2 cents worth. I would like to try an aluminum colnago (exact dimensions) just to compare apples to apples.if anyone would like to help out with this test please feel free to send a 53 cm dream my way. Thanks

TheCapMan


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## bing181 (Oct 17, 2005)

I defer to the more learned around here, but from a user's POV, when I switched from my very nice but rather twitchy Gios to a Colnago CT-1 the difference in stability/handling was noticeable. It's best summed up by my experience on the rollers. I was very proud to manage a few careful minutes of hands-free riding with the Gios, whereas with the Colnago, I can do long stretches of drinking/towelling down etc. with no hands, and no feeling of instability.

YMMV of course.

B


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