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B-Hide's creation to compliment a stunning Colnago C59
Recently we had the pleasure of being asked to provide a saddle to compliment a 2013 Colnago C59.
Before we started the design we felt it was important to understand the background of such a beautiful frame and we thought we would share these findings with others.
It all began in 1952, when aged only 20, Ernesto Colnago handed in his notice at the Gloria bike factory to set up on his own in Cambiago, his small hometown to the northeast of Milan. A keen racer himself, Colnago was soon building wheels for some of the best Italian racing cyclists of that era, including Giorgio Albani, the multiple stage winner of the Giro d'Italia, and the legendary Fausto Coppi.
Colnago has worked with many great riders, but no rider did more for the brand than Eddy Merckz who won just about every major title after he joined the Molteni team riding Colnagos in the early 1970s. Merckx's haul included the Tour de France, the Giro and the spring Classics. In perhaps his most celebrated collaboration with the brand, 'The Cannibal' also obliterated the world-hour record in 1971 on a bespoke bike that Colnago developed using a titanium stem, drilled chainrings and alloys that were so advanced they had to be made in the United States because the technology required was not available in Europe.
Colnago has never been shy of innovation from crimped Columbus tubing, to the first carbon lugged bike collaboration, which had hydraulic brakes and gears that work like a F1 gearbox. This was the first of several collaborations with Ferrari in 1986.
Although each Colnago is still designed in-house, now only the C59 and steel Master are built in Italy, and that's mainly because they require lug construction.
The C59 is considered by many as the flagship model, but this particular model is even more special with its art decor paint design is based on the old Colnago arabesque frame and the arrows in the design were chromed lugs on the steel arabesque.
So with such a beautiful frame it was imperative we create something to compliment. As you can see from the pictures below we have integrated both the logo using our gold thread and the arrows using appliqué. We firmly believe simple designs are the most effective, but we can work with you to create the saddle you want to compliment your dream machine.
During our research we also found another link to Colnago and B-Hide. In 1982 Giuseppe Saronni on this Colnago Mexico won the World Championship road race at Goodwood which is just a short spin from our workshop.
REFRENCES:
http://colnago.com/history-2/?lang=en
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