The Colnago Master is a road bike frame produced by Colnago since 1983. It is also the last frame that was still produced in steel, after that mainly aluminum and later carbon were used.
It is a frame that has sparked a revolution in the cycling world, thanks to special innovations including the hexagonal section of the cold-drawn tubes that gives the frame greater rigidity. This shape is also known as the “S4” Gilcodesign profile designed and manufactured exclusively for Colnago.
Colnago Master frame from 1984 still with curved fork
The Master frame was born out of Ernesto Colnago's idea to make a product of the highest quality that could also symbolically represent the Colnago brand; in the first place, Ernesto thought of a tube section that recalled the famous clover brand that symbolizes the Colnago logo.
The project was developed by Gilberto Colombo, who in the same years, in close collaboration with the Aubert & Duval steelworks, experimented with the possibilities of a new micro-alloy: the SCV, from which the cold-drawn pipes of the type 15CDV6 were later developed.
A 1991 Colnago Master Più that Team Buckler drove with
These tubes have been produced exclusively for a long time by the Colombo company, Trafiltubi srl, which also produced steel pipes in the most diverse shapes and with different thicknesses (under his innovations Colombo had also developed a machine, the hydraulic mold “T15”, which can give the tubes different thicknesses).
Colombo developed a tube with a hexagonal cross section and variable thickness, specially for Colnago, which he called S4 (or “star profile”), called Gilcodesign. He was also closely involved in the development of the first model of the Master frame and the subsequent variants up to 1987.
Colombo also came up with an interesting innovation regarding the handlebars for the Master's track model, released in 1985: the head set is enclosed in a “cartridge” which provides a beautiful aesthetic design.
Designs by Gilberto Colombo for the Colnago Master Pista with integrated head set
The use of these high-quality alloys and the hexagonal tubes had an immediate effect. In 1983, the year the Master was launched, Giuseppe Saronni won the Giro d'Italia on a Master. It was the first success of the frame that is still listed among the best technologies that revolutionized cycling.
Many variants followed from 1986
- Master Krono from 1986
- Master Dual from 1987
- Master Più from 1988
- Master Olympic from 1991
- Master Decor from 1991
- Master Olympic Art Decor from 1994
- Master Light from 1994
- Master Olympic Art Decor from 1994
- Master X Light from 1998
- Master Ibex mountainbike version
- Master Crono version time trial bike
- Master 55 ° anniversario released in 2009 to celebrate Colnago's 55th birthday. Only 99 copies were produced
From 1991 Colnago also used Tanghe's Ultimate Superlight tubes instead of the Columbus tubes.
The frame of the Colnago Master Dual - note the double diagonal tube which provides extra rigidity
From 1989 the Masters receive a straight fork, called the Precisa which initially received a lot of comments but was soon adopted by all bicycle manufacturers. The advantage of this fork is that it gives the bike more resilience.
Colnago Master Krono 1988
Colnago Master Mountainbike 1988
Colnago Master Art Decor 1997
The Colnago Master 55° anniversario from 2009
After all these years, the Colnago Master is still in the Colnago catalog. The frame has undergone several changes over the years, but the Master remains the top of the range for Colnago's steel frames.
For example, in the 2007 model, the rear forks are made from carbon fiber, while in the 2008 model, they were reduced to steel.
The Colnago Master in all its variants can be considered a cult product and has become a collectors item for vintage racing bike lovers.
The Colnago Master as it can be found in the catalog today
