Description
Colnago Lux Dream Italian road racing bike.
The frame alone cost about $2300 new and is VERY highly reviewed
http://www.roadbikereview.com/cat/frames-and-forks/frames/colnago/dream-plus/prd_28441_2493crx.aspx
53 / 54cm size (depending on how you measure; the European manufacturers tend to size their frames differently than the rest of the world)
Current specs:
Frame: Colnago Dream Lux
Fork: Colnago Force carbon fiber
Seat post:
Headset: A-Headset
Handlebars: FSA carbon / wing / ergo – 42cm width
Stem: Hylix polished aluminum with titanium bolts – 80mm – (VERY lightweight)
Saddle: Currently a Specialized Power but may change it out for something more traditional.
Groupset: Shimano Dura Ace 7800
Wheelset: Rolf Vigor
Tires: Michelin Lithion 2
Extremely rare bike. Light, fast, and smooth. Everything you could ask for in a road bike. And it has the cachet and quality of the Colnago pedigree to boot.
Colnago is the Ferrari / Ducati of bicycles. Designed and hand built in Italy in very small quantities with cutting edge technology and materials. These older frames are all hand masked and hand painted with incredibly detailed designs and colors. NO decals whatsoever. (See video below.) (Sadly, Colnago started having all of their frames made and painted in Taiwan recently… like every other bike brand in the world. So, instead of being hand-made in a small shop in Italy, your new Colnago is made in the same giant factory in Asia as a Giant or a Trek or a Specialized or a Cannondale. Still good quality frames… just generic mass-manufacturing.)
$2300 frame + $1000 wheels + $1200 groupset + other bits and pieces… puts this bike in the $5000+ range new–as built. And it is shockingly light for an alloy framed bike. We’ve shaved just about every reasonable ounce of weight off that we could–without undermining the build quality.
The front brake is still Ultegra… we’re trying to track down a front Dura Ace 7800. We use those components so often on builds that we’re just temporarily out of them. They are getting harder and harder to find.
Truth be told, we would have loved to have built this bike up with something Italian… like full Campy Record or Super Record. But we just don’t use those parts much so we didn’t have a full gruppo in stock when we built this bike up.
Chain and cassette are brand new and also Dura Ace.
The seatpost is carbon but un-branded.
Bars were just wrapped in a cool new Genetic leopard print tape. We love the look and think it goes great with the RestoMod / vintage style of the bike. But it’s actually turned out to be not super great quality tape. We ordered some online… and when we started installing it, it failed. So… we thought… “Maybe we just got a lemon or some old stock that was bad.” And we ordered another one… and that one also had issues that didn’t show up until after we had wrapped the bars and were testing riding the bike. So… for now, we’re leaving the leopard print tape on… it’s brand new and functional. But the new owner will likely want to replace it at some point.
Worldwide shipping available.
(from online review):
Handling Like A Dream
The handling of Colnagos has never been in much doubt, so it’ll come as little surprise that the Dream handled well. All manner of corners could be taken at top speed with minimal consideration given to the road conditions. Tilt the bike into the corners and there was instant feedback about the level of grip that the Vredestein tyres could yield. Much of the credit for this must go to the straight-bladed, one inch Force fork. With the edge of traction so well signposted it’s possible to lean the bike over and really make the most of it. On the odd occasion when the amount of traction was less than anticipated, the bike really shone.
The Dream builds so much confidence, it nearly led to catastrophe. On one occasion, on a greasy day on the way through Croydon’s back roads on my way to ‘CW Towers’, I was riding out of a traffic junction, with far too much speed, when both wheels slid out from under me. With most bikes this would have resulted in a crash but, thanks to the well-balanced nature of the Dream, a fall was avoided. By the time I’d realised what was happening, I’d slid from one car tyre groove to the next and grip had returned, allowing me to stand the bike up again and continue as if it was intentional.
The only minor flaw in the otherwise excellent handling was found at high speed. While descending with other riders at close to 50mph, the buffeting experienced from other bikes crossing my path had the tendency to upset the front end a little and made it feel somewhat lively. This was nowhere near as obvious as on some other bikes – Cannondale’s CAAD7 for example – but clearly shows that Colnago has made the front end as lively as feasibly possible without having to sacrifice the overall package.
Quality At A Cut-Price
For a bike that’s been around for a couple of years the Dream is very modern in feel, no wonder it’s still in the range. Colnago for the masses? The Dream is about as close as you’ll ever get. It’s definitely still a genuine Colnago with all that the name entails, and yet it is available for less than half the price of the C50. I’m amazed to confirm that the ride does compare with the C50. It’s not quite as sophisticated or ultimately as comfortable, but also a lot less money.
In all, it’s a great frame that makes the brand more accessible than ever before.
(end quote)
And finally, a great video about how each Colnago frame is hand finished in Italy:
A look at the next-gen version of this bike… the C60… with a $6000 frame:
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