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@Fruit
http://www.cyclingutah.com/may/may00/classic.html
It is known; however, that the current trademark Gilco tubing used by Colnago, in which the main tubes are sort of diamond-shaped instead of round resulted from Merckx's opinion that Colnago's frames did not descend well. Comparing them to DeRosa's, Merckx felt the Colnago to be too flexible.
Upon hearing this, Ernesto set about remedying the problem, even though it was the only complaint he had heard regarding his frames' performance.
But if Eddy Merckx feels your bike is too flexible, you should heed the advice and make changes. Colnago did not want to add weight to the bike design he had worked hard to lighten, so he decided to increase the torsional rigidity without adding weight.
With some work using an ordinary shop mandrel on normal round tubes, he flattened all four sides of the tubes to decrease flexibility under pedalling forces, and unknowingly produced his future trademark.
For many years now, Columbus has drawn the diamond-shaped tubes to Colnago's specification, and two decades of racing have proven the merits of the idea. The resulting frame is light, stiff and offers a compliant ride quality, all of the attributes of a great race bike.