Colnago Master


Gah…

A little history: When I was a little kid (before I owned a proper bicycle) I used to haunt Europa Cycles (back then they were on Clarence St. across from Clarence St. Cyclery) as my parents worked in the city and took us in every weekend.

I used to just walk in and stare at all these bicycle frames on the wall, crazy colours, clover shaped tubing and almost all of them featured little stickers with a dove on them (Columbus Tubing!).

Over the years I kept haunting Europa. I eventually bought a road bike off them when I was in high school (it had friction gears and gold plated parts!) and later I ended up working in one of their bike shops in Randwick.

I’ve always had very high regard for Colnago ever since. I suppose it’s the crème de la crème for me.

I’ve been slowly but surely getting back into bikes again thanks to my Paino and yesterday I thought I’d drop into the official Colnago web site. What I saw there was pretty upsetting. Their new bikes look like everybody else’s bikes. Really ugly. We’re talking swoopy chunky carbon fibre frames (all of which are made in Asia now) and ugly sports shoe like graphics…then I saw the Master and it sparked something. They’ve been re-releasing the same old Columbus steel Master frame for a few years now, it’s the same exact design from the 80’s (1983?), with all the glorious details (check the fancy lugs!).

I did more searching around, funny as all of a sudden I’m chatting to Jing on MSN and Googling bikes (again), and not fish tanks… and then I saw the 2011 Master in white (above). I pretty much had a mini heart attack. Love at first sight.

The idea of having a brand new old skool frame with the latest 2011 componentry excites me. Sure it’s not going to be as light or as fast as the new carbon things but this is a matter of the heart, and for me, that always wins. I dropped a few mails to see if I can get one locally at a reduced price in exchange for Bikes Move Us Forum Sponsorship, no go. It turns out there’s not much margin on these bikes. There is no stock held as they’re made by hand, in Italy (yes, very exciting!) and the wait is apparently up to 9months!

Being as broke as I am I’ll just have to chill for a bit. I’m hoping I can still get this 2011 white frame (colours change every year) next year, somehow. I might never own a Ferrari F40, this might just be the next best thing!

This entry was posted in Bike. Bookmark the permalink.

7 Responses to Colnago Master

  1. Paul says:

    Hot. That will be a nice bike. Is there anything stopping you from adding new gear to thr current frame?

  2. Jarod says:

    You could always put a deposit down on one now, then in 9 months time you’ll have (hopefully) cleared your debt. Go go go for hot colnagos! ;-)

  3. Matt says:

    Hi Justin, a little birdy told me that the price of the frameset from PBK is comparable, if not cheaper than the cost for the store he works in.

    http://www.probikekit.com/display.php?code=J0094

    white, and 1 in every size (not sure how accurate) and seeing as you like to do things your way, it may make more sense to build one up!

  4. Justin Fox says:

    Paul – I’ve often thought about going bonkers with new gear on the Paino but out of respect I’ve decided to keep it as period as possible. So much so I’ve still got to “finish” the project by buying some vintage Campag brake levers as well as pedals and cages.

    Jarod – Nasty kinda thinking! Dangerous!

    Matt – I’m all over Pro Bike Kit. 100% cheaper but it’ll take longer. I’ve got some guys looking into importing one in from Asia at the moment. I might be able to get it for half the PBK price if it’s possible!

  5. Paul says:

    I totally see your angle :D It’s like me spending money on my 27yr old van. lol

    Enjoy it mate :)

  6. Justin Fox says:

    LOL Paul link me to this van please!

    Very nice Panos!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>