Colnago Technos vs. Eddy Merckx Corsa 0.1
ong...@asia.apple.com
I am lucky enough to be in a position to choose between a Colnago Technos
frame and Eddy Merckx's Corsa. This will be set up for racing and training.
Currently, I own a Litespeed Tachyon TT bike. My questions are:
1. How do they measure up in terms of building and frame quality?
They both seem priced similarly and in terms of product range, look
like mid-range steel bikes.
Corsa: Dediacciai tubing
Technos: Columbus Neuron tubing
2. I've heard of reports of steel frames being flexy after a few years
of riding. To what extent is this true? I'm a big rider, 6ft3in,
although I don't weigh overly much, (188 lbs). I don't want to get
a nice steel bike and find out that it goes 'soft' on me after 2-3
years.
3. How's the new '99 105 groupo compared to the '99 Ultegras? Will
it be sufficient to race with? I've done 4 years of tri-racing but
this will be my first foray into the road-racing world......
4. Colnago's straight-blade fork is new to me. How does it compare to
say, a conventional carbon fork (e.g. Look HSC)?
5. Any views from '98 -'99 Technos and '97 -'98 Corsa owners?
Sorry to ask so many questions, but I would like to know more before I shell
out my money......
Answers in part or full are very welcome. You can reply to this post or mail
me at ong...@asia.apple.com
Thanks very much in advance.
Damian
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Tom Kunich
>
> I am lucky enough to be in a position to choose between a Colnago
> Technos frame and Eddy Merckx's Corsa. This will be set up for racing
> and training. Currently, I own a Litespeed Tachyon TT bike. My
> questions are:
>
> 1. How do they measure up in terms of building and frame quality?
> They both seem priced similarly and in terms of product range,
> look like mid-range steel bikes.
Mid-range in price alone. Both are top of the line frames in all
regards that are important.
> 2. I've heard of reports of steel frames being flexy after a few years
> of riding. To what extent is this true? I'm a big rider, 6ft3in,
> although I don't weigh overly much, (188 lbs). I don't want to get
> a nice steel bike and find out that it goes 'soft' on me after 2-3
> years.
Steel NEVER changes. You can melt it, you can break it, you can
squash it. The physical realities of steel never change. Soft
frames are born in the soft minds of idiots who don't know anything.
>3. How's the new '99 105 groupo compared to the '99 Ultegras? Will
> it be sufficient to race with? I've done 4 years of tri-racing but
> this will be my first foray into the road-racing world......
There's nothing wrong with 105. It's good stuff. Ultegra is better
and the cost difference is insignificant.
>4. Colnago's straight-blade fork is new to me. How does it compare to
> say, a conventional carbon fork (e.g. Look HSC)?
Steel forks are superior to any other fork in everything except weight.
Greatly superior in my opinion. The straight fork means nothing but
it's cheaper to make than a curved fork and doesn't look as nice.
>5. Any views from '98 -'99 Technos and '97 -'98 Corsa owners?
I have a Colnago Super and a Merckx Corsa. The Colnago is a nice
long low bike that is good for rolling down the open road. A
Merckx is a much better all around bike that does everything almost
perfectly.
Eddy Merckx goes to a lot more effort to offer corrosion protection
on his bikes than Colnago does. In fact, in my opinion, Colnago
is greatly over-rated. And I have mine and my wife's Master Piu,
and the club has about a half dozen others. I'm not knocking
the company nor the bikes, but for the quality they are greatly
overpriced.
If I had a choice between a new Eddy and a Colnago I'd give Roland
Della Sante in Reno a call and have him build me a custom bike
instead.
You could probably find many equally talented builders all over
the USA. Waterford is better than Colnago and easier to get. And
cheaper.
I always wanted a Colnago with a top of the line Campi group and
I finally put one together. It's nice, but it's just as nice as
a dozen cheaper rides.
John Laninga
fast ride with "the boys", and find it fast, quick to turn, and relatively soft to ride. It is
racing geometry and is a bit twitchy on rough roads, no problem but you have to pay attention.
I use the Corsa for longer road trips, usually week long trips in the mountains. I re-built it
last year and put Ultegra triple on it for this purpose. It is a very comfortable bike and
for me ideal for long efforts like described. It also does well on hard fast rides but seems
superior for longer trips, maybe because it uses a longer top tube than the Colnago. It tracks
as if it is on rails, even on rough roads.
Both bikes have excellent build quality althouhg the Merckx has nice touches like cable guides
at the head tube. Not many companies put that kind of detail into their bikes anymore.
You might also want to pay attention on the wheels you use, they have a lot to do with the
ride. I use Zipp 530 rims on the Colnago and CXP30 on the Merkcx. Both are hard, rigid and
strong wheels (bot use Zipp hubs) and light for their aero characteristics, although the Zipps
are lighter.
All the above equipment (and my Zipp 2001) were used and bought over the internet, and cost me
about the same as buying one new top line bike. I have bought and sold a bunch of frames until
I found the ones I like best, the Colnago and Merckx have won out over a host of others
including Kestrel, Canondale, other Colnagos, and so on. You can see some of these on
www.laninga.com if you like, click on the "my bikes" section to look around.
John
ong...@asia.apple.com wrote:
> Hi all,
> I am lucky enough to be in a position to choose between a Colnago Technos
> frame and Eddy Merckx's Corsa. This will be set up for racing and training.
> Currently, I own a Litespeed Tachyon TT bike. My questions are:
>
> 1. How do they measure up in terms of building and frame quality?
> They both seem priced similarly and in terms of product range, look
> like mid-range steel bikes.
> Corsa: Dediacciai tubing
> Technos: Columbus Neuron tubing
>
> 2. I've heard of reports of steel frames being flexy after a few years
> of riding. To what extent is this true? I'm a big rider, 6ft3in,
> although I don't weigh overly much, (188 lbs). I don't want to get
> a nice steel bike and find out that it goes 'soft' on me after 2-3
> years.
>
> 3. How's the new '99 105 groupo compared to the '99 Ultegras? Will
> it be sufficient to race with? I've done 4 years of tri-racing but
> this will be my first foray into the road-racing world......
>
> 4. Colnago's straight-blade fork is new to me. How does it compare to
> say, a conventional carbon fork (e.g. Look HSC)?
>
> 5. Any views from '98 -'99 Technos and '97 -'98 Corsa owners?
>
tku...@diabloresearch.com
proxy.airnews.net>,
jo...@laninga.com wrote:
> FWIW: I have a Colnago BiTitan (Titanium) and a Corsa 0.1 (steel). I use the
> Colnago for hard fast ride with "the boys", and find it fast, quick to turn,
> and relatively soft to ride. It is racing geometry and is a bit twitchy on
> rough roads, no problem but you have to pay attention.
>
> I use the Corsa for longer road trips, usually week long trips in the
> mountains. I re-built it last year and put Ultegra triple on it for this
> purpose. It is a very comfortable bike and for me ideal for long efforts
> like described. It also does well on hard fast rides but seems superior for
> longer trips, maybe because it uses a longer top tube than the Colnago. It
> tracks as if it is on rails, even on rough roads.
Funny thing is that the BiTitan has a short top tube and the 0.1 has a
medium length top tube. Most other Colnagos are slightly long.
My Corsa 0.1 is the 60 cm version of yours but with Record or Chorus
stuff. I find the top tube to be a bit too short but I already have a
130 mm stem. No big deal -- still the best bike I ever rode.
My favorite ride for most of the time is my Vitus 992. I can't think
of any ride I've ever done where I wouldn't take the Vitus. Just last
Sunday I rode 35 miles through rain and heavy wind and in the middle of
that I rode down a muddy path for about a half mile before the mud stopped
the wheels turning. Up upon my shoulder and a two mile slog through
adobe mud growing by the pound on my feet until I got to the pavement
again, used a Eucalyptus stick to clean the mud off enough to clip end
and then home again in an absolute fog of fatique. Wowsers, that's the
life.