Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Dancelli Columbus steel frameset


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Not from the top range but a beautiful Columbus steel frameset for today, from Michele Dancelli. Vivid italian colors and beautiful details.

Michele Dancelli is a former Italian road racing cyclist. His major victories include the Milan San Remo in 1970, the Fleche Wallonne in 1966 and the Giro dell'Appennino title for three consecutive years (1965-1967). He also won many stage victories in the Giro d'Italia. The manufacture of Dancelli bikes and frames combined his experience as a professional cyclist and his enthusiasm to develop new technology and innovative designs.


Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Somec Fuego Columbus Foco steel tubes frameset

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A beautiful modern shape Columbus steel frameset for today! A real unique piece of italian craftmanship.

About Columbus Foco material

Thermacrom: It is the latest result of recent studies on the new welding methods and on the behaviour of the structure under successive heat cycles. Thermacrom can be considered to be a development of the Nivacrom alloy and the ultra-fine structures resulting from the secondary precipitation of stable carbides. Thermacrom is a steel microalloyed with manganese, chrome, molybdenum and vanadium. These elements produce a marked increase in temperability, a reduction in sensitivity to overheating which ensures that a fine-grain metal structure will be obtained after welding, more able to withstand fatigue stresses, better characteristics of strength and tenacity and better characteristics of resistance to corrosion and wear. Thermacrom is born for very top-of-the-range frames that require the highest benefits.
Mechanical Characteristics: Breaking load Rm = 1250 ÷ 1450 N/mm² Rs = 1100 N/mm² Elongation > 10%
Foco: Technical Characteristics

Extreme lightness, thanks to reduced thickness (0,4 mm)
Excellent mechanical properties, due to cold-drawing process which consolidates the steel structure
Reasons to choose Foco

Foco is reserved to top of the range, professional frames. Foco tubes are reliable and light: their weight is similar to aluminium while offering aluminium same corrosion resistance, if properly treated, but with simpler assembling phases. A guarantee of safety for both the athlete and the Framebuilder.






Wednesday, November 20, 2013

De Rosa Neo Primato Columbus Genius custom tubes frameset

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History
(from Wikipedia)

Company founder Ugo De Rosa was born on January 27, 1934 in Milan, Italy. Before becoming a noted bicycle frame builder, he was also an amateur racer.
De Rosa's passion for racing led him to study mechanics and engineering at a technical college, and in the early 1950s he opened his first shop and commenced the manufacture of racing bicycles. In 1958 he was asked by the famous cyclist Raphael Geminiani to build him a bike for the upcoming Giro d'Italia. Following on from this initial interest, De Rosa bikes became a fixture in the professional peloton of the 1960s. The Faema team was the first team to ride De Rosa frames. Other De Rosa teams of the decade included Tbac (1964) and Max Majer (1967).
In 1969 De Rosa was approached by Gianni Motta, who wanted to engage De Rosa as his frame builder and mechanic. De Rosa accepted and became the bicycle supplier to Motta's team as well. It was during this period that one of the greatest stars of cycling was rising - Eddy Merckx. DeRosa built some frames for Merckx around this time, but it was not until 1973 that their relationship was formalized and De Rosa became the official frame builder and mechanic for the Molteni team which he captained. Merckx and his teammates won nearly all the major European races including the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia, Milan – San Remo and the World Championship. This partnership with Molteni remained in effect until Merckx's retirement in 1978. In 1981 De Rosa worked as technical consultant to Merckx, who began his own bicycle manufacturing company.
In 1974 Francesco Moser engaged De Rosa for his Filotex team, and went on to win the World Championship. Later, in 1982 De Rosa sponsored the Sammontana team led by Moreno Argentin and Giovanbattista Baronchelli. From 1985 to 1989 De Rosa worked with the Ariostea team - a small start-up team which would later become dominant in European racing.
Demand for De Rosa bicycles from new markets skyrocketed in the 1980s - including the United States, Russia, Japan, Belgium, and Germany. Subsequently, De Rosa's company outgrew the small work shop adjacent to his home, and moved to a larger space in Cusano Milanino. Later, his three sons entered the business, with Danilo and Doriano assisting in production management, and Cristiano taking over the commercial side of the business.
In 1990 Ugo De Rosa began research and development in titanium tubing, culminating in a new model, the De Rosa Titanio, used by the Gewiss-Ballan team in 1994.[2] Aluminium and carbon fiber frames were added to the product line in 1996 and 2000 respectively. In 2005 De Rosa launched its Corum frame, a lightweight steel frame built using contemporary frame building techniques.
On December 10, 2007, it was announced that the UCI Continental team, Team LPR would be riding De Rosa bicycles for the upcoming season. UCI Continental team Rock Racing rode De Rosa bicycles up until the end of 2008.




Monday, November 18, 2013

Colnago Dream B-Stay COlumbus Airplane frameset

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 A really beautiful example of the Colnago Dream framesets for today, with B-Stay rear fork.

Since the 1980s, while Colnago continued to produce high-end steel bikes, they began to produce bike frames using material other than steel including titanium, aluminum, carbon and mixed material frames. One unique frame from this period, the Bititan, has a dual titanium down tube. Crimped and oversize tubes appeared on the Tecnos–one of the lightest production steel bikes produced, and the same oversize tubes and crimping were used on the aluminum Dream frame. In 1981 Colnago prototyped the CX-1–a full monocoque carbon fiber bike with disc wheels that was shown at the Milan bike show.  Subsequently, Colnago worked with Ferrari in developing new carbon fiber technology, and Ernesto also credits their engineers for challenging him regarding fork design, which led to Colnago's innovative Precisa straight-bladed steel fork. They also experimented with multi-material frames, including the CT1 and CT-2 constructed with titanium main tubes, carbon fiber forks and rear stays, and a similarly constructed (although short-lived) Master frame constructed with steel main tubes, carbon forks and stays.


Sunday, November 17, 2013

Ritchey Logic Pro WCS steel road frameset

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ABOUT TOM RITCHEY
(fromn the official Ritchey site, ritcheylogic.com)


Tom Ritchey is a former national level racer, passionate rider and resourceful product designer with a unique, common sense approach to building the best road and mountain components available.

Tom was on the scene with other pioneers in the early days of mountain biking and he saw numerous ways to improve the equipment they were using. But his desire to build better parts wasn't rooted in some grand business plan - many parts simply didn't exist and the ones that did required substantial improvement. Tom saw an opportunity to develop lighter, stronger, better components.

Starting in high school, Tom was focused on saving weight without compromising the strength of the racing bicycles he built for himself. Over the years Tom's focus has shifted from frame building to component design, but his obsession with functional, lightweight and reliable equipment has not waivered.

Tom's interest in adventurous travel while having his own bike available, led him to create the perfect solution - the Break-Away travel bike, which easily checks through as personal luggage.

A knack for developing and refining manufacturing processes and using the best resources available has furthered Ritchey's reputation as one of the most prolific component manufacturers in the industry. Many Ritchey designs and manufacturing methods have become industry standards. The success of Ritchey products in international competition has validated Tom's ideas and generated valuable feedback to further refine and develop new Ritchey products.

Tom still puts in 10,000 miles a year on his bike, constantly thinkingof ways to make it better. These miles of experience and unending passion for bicycles shine through in every detail of a Ritchey component.




Saturday, November 16, 2013

Campagnolo Record hubs with Ambrosio Excellence red rims - The most beautiful laced wheelset ever!

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Here comes the "Most Beautiful" built wheelset for today. Campagnolo Record (9 10 11 speed compatible) silver hubs  - that will last forever, all parts can be changed, full servicable - laced with red color Ambrosio Excellence rims. Very light, comfortable ride and great look for classic steel bike.

We always has some of these on stock (rims, hubs or complete wheelsets), so if you like it don't hesitate to contact me!




Friday, November 15, 2013

Colnago Master Columbus Gilco steel frameset


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History
(from Wikipedia)

The signature of Ernesto Colnago, which appears as a decal on all new Colnago bicycles, except the special Ferrari versions.
From the late 1960s through the 1970s, Colnago was generally regarded as one of the builders of the world's best custom road race frames. In 1960, Colnago saw fame as Luigi Arienti rode to a gold medal at the Rome Olympics on a Colnago bicycle. In 1963, Colnago joined the Molteni team as head mechanic, and riders such as Gianni Motta raced on Colnago bikes. A win on a Colnago in the 1970 Milan-San Remo race by Michele Dancelli for the Molteni team inspired Colnago to change his logo to the now-famous 'Asso di Fiori' or Ace of Clubs.[2]
After the demise of the Faema team, Eddie Merckx joined the Molteni team, and what ensued was mutual innovation—as Colnago describes it: "Merckx was an up and coming champion, and I was an up and coming bike builder. So it was a real honour to work for a great champion like Merckx. It helped us to grow... when we made special forks, and special bikes." This included the super-light steel frame used by Merckx in 1972 to break the world one hour record.[3]
With a growing reputation from their racing wins, Colnago plunged into the market for production bikes. In the U.S., the early seventies witnessed another bike boom, and Colnago "pumped out bikes as though the future of humankind was at stake." The mainstay of the Colnago line in the 1970s was the Super, followed by the Mexico, named in honor of the successful hour attempt. Other models were added including the Superissimo and Esa Mexico. While the finish on these early Colnagos could be variable, they were great riding bikes and developed a cult-like following.[4]
In response to criticism that his frames were not stiff enough, next Colnago experimented with ways to change the behavior of frame components. In 1983, he introduced the Oval CX with an oval-shaped top tube to add stiffness. He then experimented with various crimped-tube frames which became production models as their top of the range frames, beginning with the "Master." Later "Master-Light", Master Olympic and Master Piu extended the range. Colnago built a frame from Columbus tubing used by Giuseppe Saronni to win the world professional road race championship in 1982, and afterwards a short-lived collection of bikes were badged with the Saronni name.[5]
Since the 1980s, while Colnago continued to produce high-end steel bikes, they began to produce bike frames using material other than steel including titanium, aluminum, carbon and mixed material frames. One unique frame from this period, the Bititan, has a dual titanium down tube. Crimped and oversize tubes appeared on the Tecnos–one of the lightest production steel bikes produced, and the same oversize tubes and crimping were used on the aluminum Dream frame. In 1981 Colnago prototyped the CX-1–a full monocoque carbon fiber bike with disc wheels that was shown at the Milan bike show.[6] Subsequently, Colnago worked with Ferrari in developing new carbon fiber technology, and Ernesto also credits their engineers for challenging him regarding fork design, which led to Colnago's innovative Precisa straight-bladed steel fork. They also experimented with multi-material frames, including the CT1 and CT-2 constructed with titanium main tubes, carbon fiber forks and rear stays, and a similarly constructed (although short-lived) Master frame constructed with steel main tubes, carbon forks and stays.
Colnago's early attempts at carbon fiber frames were not commercially successful, but the lessons learned were embodied in their flagship frames, such as the C-40 (1994) and its successor, the C-50–respectively named for Colnago's 40th and 50th years in bike building. These carbon fiber frames set new standards of excellence. Interestingly, they were built using a modified form of traditional bike frame construction, substituting carbon fiber lugs for microinfusion cast steel, and carbon fiber "tubes" for the complex steel tubes used for steel frame construction. Similar building techniques are used in the latest offering, the C59, named (as before) for its year of production.





Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Casati Laser " La Speciale " steel frameset

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A beautiful italian steel frame, Casati Laser " La Speciale " with some extras: hidden cable routing and seatpost binding. If you would like to have one, contact me at velossimo.hu@gmail.com.

A little Casati history / info

 The following info comes from two advertising supplements included with Velonews and Inside Triathlon, from 1996 and 1997:

- Gian Luigi Casati began working for his father Pietro in the shop when he was ten. At the time of writing (1996) Gian Luigi had spent 53 years working in the shop, so it appears he began around 1943. Unfortunately, it does not state when his papa began his torching career. However, in the 1997 article (which would've been Gian Luigi's 54th year) it's stated the company was 75 years old; my admittedly questionable math skills puts the genesis around 1925 or so.

- As of 1996, Casati was producing around 1250 frames per year, 90% of which were custom fitted to clients. The frames were available from sizes 49cm to 70cm, even offered in half-sizes.

- Conceived a completely internal cable routing system in 1995 - even the seat binder bolt, similar to the old Legnano design, but much more refined.

- In 1997 his sons Massimo and Luca were being groomed to continue the business. It's my guess they are probably running the show today.

- Casati acknowledges there is no way they could afford to sponsor a major professional team, however, he did sponsor Gianni Bugno back in his amateur days due to a "strong sense of municipal pride". Bugno hailed from the Monza area.

- His shop team numbered exactly 7, including himself, in 1996. Amazingly enough, the customer turnaround time was stated as four to six weeks for a U.S. delivery, start to finish.

- Gian Luigi's personal credo seems to have been "form follows function". Even in the heyday of fades and graphics, he preferred single color paint schemes to accentuate the details in the workmanship of the metal underneath.




Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Cinelli Supercorsa Columbus SLX steel frameset in "Ferrari rosso" color

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Cinelli History
(from Wikipedia)

Cinelli was founded in 1948 by Cino Cinelli (born Montespertoli, Italy, 9 February 1916, died 20 April 2001), a former professional road racer and president of the Italian Cyclists' Association. He was a professional racer from 1937 to 1944, winning Milan – San Remo in 1943, the Giro di Lombardia in 1938, and the Tour of the Apennines in 1937.[1] He started a company under his name in 1948.
Cinelli was the seventh of 10 children, the son of a small landowner near Florence.[2] He became interested in bicycle technology after mechanical failures in races. Failure to interest manufacturers with his ideas in 1946 led him to start his own company. His brother Giotto was making steel stems and bars in Florence and Cinelli moved the business to Milan, centre of the Italian cycling industry. He made stems, bars and frames but depended on wholesaling for other companies. By his retirement, Cinelli's own goods were half the business. Stems and bars were 80 per cent of Cinelli's own sales.
Cinelli moved to alloy production in 1963, later than other manufacturers because he was concerned about strength.[2] Annual production of alloy stems and bars rose from 5,000 in the 1950s, to 7,500 in the early 1960s. By 1978 the figure was 150,000. He made no more than 700 frames a year. In 1974, he designed an aerodynamic bike on which Ole Ritter broke his own hour record. The staple product was the Super Corsa road model made from 1947.

Columbus SLX tubeset

"Superbutted" tube set specially designed for professional cyclists, featuring five spirals for greater rigidity in the joint area or the bottom bracket.
Double-butted tube ends. Cyclex Steel.





Monday, November 11, 2013

Tommasini Tecno Extra Columbus Nemo / Genius frameset

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A beautiful italian Tommasini frameset for today, made of Columbus Nemo and Genius tubes, incredible paintjob and colors!

Tommasini has been producing and selling racing bikes since the Second World War. The essence of Tommasini is steeped in history, experience and technical know-how. The continuous research into better ways of building racing bikes has put Tommasini at the forefront of the market.

The entire Tommasini range is hand crafted by highly skilled technicians in the factory at Grosseto Tuscany. Since the introduction of carbon fibre as the base material Tommasini has with its continuous research and development produced a racing bike that not only is lightweight but gives a comfort ride that is unique.

Since its origin the company policy has been one of quality, this is made possible by the use of premium materials combined with innovative technology. The attention to detail by our master craftsmen brings a PASSON and STYLE that is easily recognized by our customers.






Sunday, November 10, 2013

Bianchi Columbus Genius tubing frameset

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A light and beautiful italian frameset.

Columbus Genius tubeset

In 1991 Columbus introduced a new steel tubeset, the steel was called Nivacrom and the first tubing made from it was named GENIUS. GENIUS also used Differential Butted Shape butts (DBS) a new features in tubesets in which the shape of the butt actually follows the area of the tube where most of the stress is. It comes in a different shape on different places on the tubes. Columbus made butted ends on GENIUS shorter, so the whole set was the first one strictly designed for TiG welding. A wide selection of tube thicknesses and diameters allowed GENIUS tubing to be used in many different types of frame types.




Friday, November 8, 2013

Pogliaghi "wet white" steel frame sets

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A real italian masterpiece: oversized tubes, custom made lugs, s-bend rear triangle, beautiful paint and craftmanship! A real legend!


Specification

    * MANESMANN cro-moly tubes
    * Pre-heated tubes, low temperature brazing.
    * Custom traditional geometry – all sizes available in the web page.
    * TOP TUBE diameter 31.8 - triple butted – thickness 0.9/0.6/0.9
    * DOWN TUBE diameter 34.9 - triple butted – thickness 0.9/0.6/0.9
    * SEAT TUBE diameter 31.8 - triple butted – thickness 0.9/0.6/0.9
    * CHAIN STAY diameter 22.2 - triple butted – thickness 0.9/0.6/0.9
    * SEAT STAY diameter 14 - straight gauge 0.8
    * FORK BLADES 28 x 20 - double butted – thickness 0.6/0.8
    * BSA BB – English threaded
    * Seat post diameter required: 30mm
    * Fork Microtech cro-moly 1” threaded – headset required: 1” threaded.

Frames are available to order from stock or from production! Contact at velossimo.hu@gmail.com

History
(Taken from the Custom Bicycle by Denise de la Rosa and Michael Kolin)


Sante Pogliaghi
Via C. Cesariano II, Milano 20154, Italia


In the central section of Milan you will find the small frame-building shop of Sante Pogliaghi located near the Arco della Pace, a neo-classic arch similar in design to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Within walking distance is another Milanese landmark, the Castello Sforzesco. Many works of art are displayed in the castle, the most renowned being Michelangelo's Pieta. Amid all this history is a small unobtrusive shop whose address is Via C. Cesariano 11, but whose entrance faces Vaile Bryon indicated by the "Pogliaghi" painted above the door.

Sante Pogliaghi has probably been building bicycle frames longer than any other master builder. He is 62 years old and he started building when he was 11! He worked with his Uncle Brambilla, a famous frame builder of the 1920s. When his uncle died in 1947, Sante Pogliaghi continued building frames but now they appear with the Pogliaghi label. 

Pogliaghi builds primarily road and track racing frames. His specialty, however, is the competition tandem. The lugs on the Pogliaghi tandem are hand made by Pogliaghi himself. Since Columbus builds custom large-diameter tandem tubes for Pogliaghi, he is unable to use standard lugs since no one makes tandem lugs that meet his exacting specifications. Consequently ,he makes them himself.

Pogliaghi has built a few touring frames and touring tandems, but these are not his specialty. He is much more familiar with the technical requirements for racing than he is for touring. Today, Pogliaghi frames are famous throughout the world. Just a few years ago, this little shop built l00 to 120 frames per year. Now it produces about 800 to 900 frames in the same period. There are six builders, including Pogliaghi, and each builder works on a frame from start to finish.

The frames are all hand-brazed without the use of jigs. To help keep the frame from moving, the joints are pinned. Pogliaghi does have a frame jig which he employs when he is building a lot of frames of the same dimensions, but he generally likes to work without a jig. He feels that since he has built frames for 50 years, he can build accurately without a jig. He also feels that when a jig is holding the tubes, the frame will have heat-induced stresses that can result in distortion after cooling.

Contrary to normal practice, he builds a frame by joining the seat tube to the bottom bracket and then the seat tube to the top tube. When he finishes this, he attaches the down tube to the bottom bracket and finishes the main triangle by attaching the head tube.

For the individual framesets, Pogliaghi brazes with what he terms "the natural gas, the cooking one." He also uses propane gas, but only for the larger-diameter tubed tandems. He prefers natural gas because it has 10 percent carbonics. "And so the tube, when heated, loses 10 percent carbonics, but by using the natural gas you only lose 5 percent." Pogliaghi uses a Swiss product called Castolin to braze his frames. It is, according to Pogliaghi, a type of bronze rod. But it actually has a silver content of about 40 percent. Pogliaghi has tried using brazing materials with higher silver content but finds that they are too liquid to efficiently complement his building techniques. He is satisfied with the results achieved by using Castolin since Castolin has high fluidity, a low brazing temperature, and good brazing resistance.

Pogliaghi does not design a frame to meet specific angles. He is more concerned with the length of the top tube in proportion to the seat tube. As a general rule of thumb, Pogliaghi will build a bicycle with a top tube only 2 CM larger or smaller than the seat tube. Otherwise, the bicycle will be ill proportioned and will not ride correctly. For example, if you order a 58 CM. Pogliaghi, the top tube from the center of the head lug to the center of the seat lug, can vary from 56 to 60 CM depending on your individual needs. However, this rule only applies to the medium-size frames. The small and the large frames will not follow this rule. For example, the smallest top tube Pogliaghi will put on a 47 CM. frame is 49 CM.

Pogliaghi does not use cast lugs or cast bottom brackets on his frames. He thinks that they create a frame that is too rigid and, as a result, prone to tube breakage at the joints. He does, however, use a cast fork crown, because he feels that the fork must be stiff in order to provide good handling. He generally builds with Columbus tubing, but he will build with Ishiwata or Reynolds tubes, depending on what the customer wants.

All Sante Pogliaghi's frames are sent out for painting and chroming. Sante Pogliaghi, however, cautions about chroming. He believes the chroming should not be done in a sulfuric acid base, otherwise it will eat away at the tube and eventually crack it. A word of advice from Pogliaghi if you must have your frame chromed: "Oil the inside of the frame after it has been chromed" to prevent rust.


In Italy, and especially in Milan, Pogliaghi is called the master tailor of the bicycle." He has custom-fitted frames for many world-class -riders like Sercu, Merckx, Fagin, as well as Italian champions like Baghetto, Nunzi, and Rossi. If you would like Pogliaghi to build a frame, you had better give him your order soon as he plans to retire by 1980. The process is somewhat difficult since Pogliaghi only speaks Italian. We recommend that you order a frame through one of the many bicycle stores throughout the United States that deal directly with Pogliaghi. Because of his ability to custom-design a frame to an individual rider's physique and racing specialty, there is a long waiting list for a Pogliaghi custom frame.




Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Casati Gold Line S ( Line d'Oro ) Columbus SLX frame set

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A beautiful italian frameset with exclusive solutions on it, check out the detailed picasa photo album!


A little Casati history / info

 The following info comes from two advertising supplements included with Velonews and Inside Triathlon, from 1996 and 1997:

- Gian Luigi Casati began working for his father Pietro in the shop when he was ten. At the time of writing (1996) Gian Luigi had spent 53 years working in the shop, so it appears he began around 1943. Unfortunately, it does not state when his papa began his torching career. However, in the 1997 article (which would've been Gian Luigi's 54th year) it's stated the company was 75 years old; my admittedly questionable math skills puts the genesis around 1925 or so.

- As of 1996, Casati was producing around 1250 frames per year, 90% of which were custom fitted to clients. The frames were available from sizes 49cm to 70cm, even offered in half-sizes.

- Conceived a completely internal cable routing system in 1995 - even the seat binder bolt, similar to the old Legnano design, but much more refined.

- In 1997 his sons Massimo and Luca were being groomed to continue the business. It's my guess they are probably running the show today.

- Casati acknowledges there is no way they could afford to sponsor a major professional team, however, he did sponsor Gianni Bugno back in his amateur days due to a "strong sense of municipal pride". Bugno hailed from the Monza area.

- His shop team numbered exactly 7, including himself, in 1996. Amazingly enough, the customer turnaround time was stated as four to six weeks for a U.S. delivery, start to finish.

- Gian Luigi's personal credo seems to have been "form follows function". Even in the heyday of fades and graphics, he preferred single color paint schemes to accentuate the details in the workmanship of the metal underneath.



Monday, November 4, 2013

Colnago C40 HP B-stay

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This carbon fiber frameset features the identical HP rear stay with the "hole'" in the arms, it gives a unique look to these frames.