Colnago Master x-light....

....pointless rose-tinted specs anachronism or whip for a king?

Anyone had one?

No, but I have this one...

Ooooooh. I may have just made small sex wee.

So how do you find it fella?

Ooooooh. I may have just made small sex wee.

So how do you find it fella?

Famously I have never ridden it - I prefer to potter the lanes on my Dawes Galaxy, pipe clenched at a jaunty angle, my pewter tankard dangling.

If you plan to buy it I would recommend you try it first. I was riding a Colnago conversion
for a few years and though its the shit. Then the frame cracked and I got an Eddie Merckx
and realized how crap the Colnago was. Cornering was really unstable and the fork was
really stuttery and flexy over bumps. I used the same components and wheels on both frames
and they were the same size.
Last week my seatpost snapped on the Merckx so I used the Colnago again for a few days
and I think its still crap. But that classic paintjob on the red one is nice. Thats the most
important on Colnagos anyway.

fwoar! think your house is subsiding though....

fwoar! think your house is subsiding though....

Fortunately that's just the bike shed...

If you plan to buy it I would recommend you try it first. I was riding a Colnago conversion
for a few years and though its the shit. Then the frame cracked and I got an Eddie Merckx
and realized how crap the Colnago was. Cornering was really unstable and the fork was
really stuttery and flexy over bumps. I used the same components and wheels on both frames

Mightve just been designed for different things, was the colnago a track frameset?

'technically' a low rake fork is not suitable for a road bike because at high speeds you will get lots of wobble where the fork flexes back and forth.

The more forward the front wheel is, the more stable the bike.

Every Colnago I've ever ridden has had the same solid stability that meant you felt like you were cornering on rails. How old was yours sohi?

Mightve just been designed for different things, was the colnago a track frameset?

'technically' a low rake fork is not suitable for a road bike because at high speeds you will get lots of wobble where the fork flexes back and forth.

The more forward the front wheel is, the more stable the bike.

No, both are road frames. It was the straight precisa steel road fork on the colnago.
The frame was also some master yadiyada but titanium. It managed to do
everything wrong, flexy bottom bracket but still uncomfortable over bumps.
Steel might change that a bit but the geometry on the "classics" is the same I think.
I think Merckx went to Derosa to learn frame building so I guess its a different
approach. Thats why I think its best to try them out yourself to find what suits
you best. I would have never guessed that the difference would be that big.

So you've inadvertently answered my question, it's post 1990 or so if it had straight forks. Which titanium frame was it (Colnago have done 3 different versions)?

You're right about Merckx, his factory was set up in Belgium with Ugo De Rosa spending the first 6 months teaching the new staff. I think Merckx frames still have Italian threaded bb shells.

Every Colnago I've ever ridden has had the same solid stability that meant you felt like you were cornering on rails. How old was yours sohi?

it was a 1995 or 96 frame. I always had the feeling I had to "catch" it from tipping
over too much. The merckx feels like it reads my mind I dont have to think
about controlling it at all. It turned me into a complete snob I guess. Before that
I would have said all those bikes are similar and there is not much difference.

So you've inadvertently answered my question, it's post 1990 or so if it had straight forks. Which titanium frame was it (Colnago have done 3 different versions)?

You're right about Merckx, his factory was set up in Belgium with Ugo De Rosa spending the first 6 months teaching the new staff. I think Merckx frames still have Italian threaded bb shells.

It was the last version of the bititan with the square top tube. The merckx is a 10th
anniversary version with italian BB indeed.

i did the DD with a courier who had one of those in red. a beautiful bike, he really liked his, said he felt a bit weird splashing that much cash on a bike but one he had ridden it it was worth every penny.

I've never ridden a titanium Colnago but the fact that they've done 3 different versions and then removed it from their product range suggests they never mastered it (excuse the pun). I've a 10 year old Titanium De Rosa and it's a joy to ride.

I've never ridden a titanium Colnago but the fact that they've done 3 different versions and then removed it from their product range suggests they never mastered it (excuse the pun). I've a 10 year old Titanium De Rosa and it's a joy to ride.

yea, they were made in russia and most of them cracked including mine.
Funny thing is that Burls now uses the same company to produce his frames
and even advertises with Colnagos name but doesnt mention that it was a
complete failure. Poor guys who sink £1000 into them.

I've bought and sold 2 Titanios, 1 CT1(titanium/carbon stays) and 1 Titanio frame set and have never had any issues with any of them. My bike is a Look KG292 in titanium with a Look HSC fork, had it a year, done 8000kms, believed all the bullshit about titanium being comfortable etc, rode a Time VXR Translink(who thinks up these names?) last week, more comfortable, responsive and there may be a titanium Look for sale in the near future!

Bike in photo is not a Master Xtra lite. I had one briefly and realy regret selling it. Weighed 9kg, same as my titanium Look but was realy nice to ride, can't be more specific but it just felt right.