The new Colnago Ace is an important bike for the Italian manufacturer. Sportives have become increasingly popular and the Ace is the company’s first attempt at designing a bike specifically for the task of riding long distances.
We’re increasingly seeing more and more sportive specific bikes released, so it only seems natural that Colnago has followed suit. What you get with the Ace is a full carbon monocoque frame made to Colnago’s usual impeccably high standard, with oversized top and down tubes and a tall head tube, 20mm higher than a typical Colnago of the same basic size, for placing the handlebars at a higher, and therefore less demanding and potentially more comfortable position.
There’s just the one single bike available in the UK, priced at £2,199.95. For this you get a Campagnolo Veloce 10-speed groupset with an FSA Gossamer Compact MegaExo chainset and Colnago-branded X-Brake Three calipers. Wheels are Campagnolo’s Khamsin fitted with Colnago TIII tyres. FSA supply the handlebars, stem and seatpost.
The Ace is an inspiring bike to ride. Out on my usual loops around Kent and Surrey, the Ace handles impeccably, with a mild-mannered nature that will appeal to riders wanting a fast riding yet easy to control bike. The geometry and setup doesn’t throw up any nasty surprises, steering is predictable and reassuring, and the extra height of the head tube made it comfortable hour after hour.
Climbs are where a sportive bike arguably needs to cut it, and cut it the Ace does. The oversized nature of the frame and the low overall weight, with the compact chainset, just made climbing a breeze. It’s not a flighty race bike this, it’s a measured long distance cruising bike with enough edginess to indulge the rider wanting to push on a bit. And best of all is how easy to get comfortable aboard it is, and with road imperfections handled ably and the high position of the handlebars, I can see many sportive riders revelling in the Ace’s ability.
Full review soon…
