V2-r Lightness at its best

V1-r The V1-r marked a major breakthrough in Colnago's history. It was our first simultaneously lightweight and aerodynamic monocoque frame. Thanks to a weight of only 835gr and the robustness typical of Colnago's products, it soon gained great consensus among the public, as well as among our professional riders, as a fantastic frame. Some of the features that distinguished it were the hollow carbon dropouts, hex shaped quick release thru axles for the disc version, the D- shaped seatpost and its direct-mount rim brakes.

Do it all You often hear about the “perfect bike,” with which you can do everything. The V1-r project was born as a compromise between weight, stiffness and aerodynamics, and its award-winning results demonstrate the success of the product. The V1-r was quite successful racing on pavé (like the Women’s Tour of Flanders 2015), in bunch-sprint races and at the uphill time trial of the Giro d'Italia 2016.

V2-r We decided to evolve the project along the same path as the V1-r, retaining key points and improving some technical and aesthetic features. So the V2-r, the evolution of our best monocoque frame, is born.

Seatpost clamp One of the most requested features we have had regarding the V1-r was an integrated seat post clamp, to improve the aesthetic of the frame. We have redesigned the seat tube-top tube area to integrate a wedge-lock clamp without compromising the strength, system reliability and, most importantly, the stiffness of the frame.

Rear brake One of the most striking aesthetic features of the V1-r was the rear brake placed underneath the bottom bracket. This solution allowed us for cleaner lines and an additional removal of about 25 grams, thanks to the lightened structure of the seat stay. Despite the fact that there were no braking performance problems, we received a lot of feedback about the maintenance of the rear brake in that position as well as the poor compatibility with the power meters. So we decided to sacrifice a bit of weight and move it back to a more common position.

Carbon fiber While the first two changes concerned aesthetics and practicality, the ultimate goal was to have the V2-r keep the V1-r’s starting weight at a minimum. So we worked hard to develop technology and materials for a new carbon fiber layup, reducing thickness and eliminating internal wrinkles. Thus, the V2-r has a better and lighter carbon fiber makeup than the V1-r.

headtube While reducing the thickness, we had to face the problem of strength and rigidity. We then completely redesigned the steering zone, with a remarkable reinforcement behind the lower crown. The results were incredible, with an increased stiffness of 7% at the steerer tube, as well as better structural strength thanks to re- positioning the cable-stops from the side of the headtube to the downtube. The brake housing now has its own molded port on the front of the headtube, which also houses the Di2/EPS port.

Geometry We also revised the geometry of the frame, with a shorter head tube (up to 5mm less) and changes to the fork and seat tube to accommodate 28mm tires.