A proper mid-90s Italian road bike, and one that I’ve deliberately kept looking like an old Colnago rather than trying to make it look new.
This is a circa-1996 Colnago, believed to be a C96, built around a 54cm Columbus Thron Super steel frame with the classic Colnago details throughout: clover motifs, chrome fork, engraved fork crown and that fantastic deep blue paint.
The bike wears its age. There are chips, marks and areas of patina across the frame and components, all of which are shown in the photographs. I think that’s a large part of the appeal — it looks like a bicycle that has actually lived rather than something recently refinished.
More importantly, underneath it is a really lovely period build.
It has a full Campagnolo Chorus groupset, right down to the bottom bracket, paired with a period Cinelli cockpit and Mavic rims. I’ve fitted 28mm SimWorks Volummy tyres, which give it a little more comfort and make it considerably nicer to use on modern roads without changing the character of the bike.
Specification includes:
- Colnago steel frame – approximately 1996
- Believed to be Colnago C96
- Columbus Thron Super tubing
- 54cm frame
- Chrome Colnago fork
- Full Campagnolo Chorus groupset
- Campagnolo Chorus brakes
- Campagnolo Chorus drivetrain
- Campagnolo Chorus bottom bracket
- Cinelli stem
- Cinelli 64-42 handlebars
- Mavic CXP30 rims
- 28mm SimWorks Volummy tyres
- Traditional quill-stem / threaded-headset setup
- Classic Colnago clover detailing throughout
It’s quite a different experience from a modern carbon road bike. The position is unmistakably traditional, the steel frame has that familiar smoothness to it, and the mechanical Campagnolo groupset gives the bike loads of character.
For me, this sits in a particularly nice place in Colnago history. It isn't one of the ultra-collectible early Supers or Masters that you become afraid to use. It’s a high-quality 1990s Colnago that can still be ridden properly, while retaining most of the things that make an older Italian road bike special.
Cosmetically it is not pristine. There are paint chips and scratches around the frame, wear to decals and some age-related marking to the polished components. Please look carefully through the detailed photographs, as I’ve intentionally photographed the bike rather than hiding its imperfections.
Mechanically, it has been checked over and is ready to ride.
Frame size: 54cm.
As always with traditional road-bike geometry, I’d recommend comparing the measurements with a bike you already know fits rather than buying purely on rider height.
A genuinely lovely old Colnago, with a particularly nice specification and exactly the sort of patina I like to see on these bikes.
