Some retraction
I have been contemplating this thread since I am stoopid over Colnago bikes.
It took nearly 11 years of insane lust until I bought a Master Olympic in 1997. Until that day I owned a lot of CCM, 1 Bianchi, 2 Marinoni, and a Vitus. Each bike had its quality and some did a few things really poorly but I loved each one.
The Colnago changed my experience of cycling and changed how every other bike was perceived. That Master Olympic was quantifiably different than anything I had ridden before and I realized a dream come true. Over the years the upgrades came and the first was a Carbon fork, from 8 speed to 10 speed. It has had its chrome straight blade fork restored.
I am not a person to realize a dream and quit dreamong either. I started to lust for a C-40. Good fortune came and I had 1. It is a great bike, like the Vitus in comfort and a little like the Marinoni in stiffness. No speed wobbles on this bike for sure but not really the match for the Master Olympic in the stiffness department but a winner in comfort and the lightness was intoxicating. The Master got fenders! Not a good thing for her.
At the end of the 2007 season I had a great opportunity to get a C-50 built up almost exactly as I wanted. A stem and bar swap and a new set of Nokon cables and I am back in perfect bike heaven. Colnago had reproduced the magic in Carbon. I could have had an Extreme Power but it was actually stiffer than the Master and the Master is plenty stiff enough so I chose the slightly more compliant C-50.
In referencing this thread I am a Colnago Evangelist. I love them and I am aware of the truth in Pietro's story of frame builders in Italy.
How Many C-50, EPS, Ferrari Bikes, Ex power does Ernesto have built each season? 2000? 5000? How long does it take to make 1 and how many can Colnago make at a time? These Carbon frames are not made 1 at a time but they don't make more than 10 at a time. from the video posted it would appear that 6 or so can be baked at a time. I can't recall how long each frame gets cooked but given the alignment table (jig) the number of ovens and a few other things required, I don't believe that the number of Carbon bikes that Colnago makes in Italy can be done piecework in a couple of months. Colnago makes a lot of bikes and I am sure some might be done as piece work. Colnago got into business building wheels at home and he did weld frames piecwork too.
I have known for a long time that many bikes that are made in Italy are done in batches by sub contractors. from a guy who welds 6 dozen frames a day to the artisan that makes only 2 or 3.
I said early in this thread that Colnago gets its carbon from Ferrari and that is not correct. They did the engineering with Ferrari.
Colnago is an ISO 9000 manufacturer and the controls necessary to maintain that rating are hard to meet without a lot of control over the manufacturing process. If Colnago makes their Carbon bikes (except CX1) out of Ernesto's control I would be very surprised. Contracting out is very common for low end and even some high end bikes but it is not the way all Italian bikes are built.
My first good race bike was built by Marinoni who learned frame building doing piecework and apprenticing to one of the big Italian builders so I am familiar with the Italian Method. I don't think Marinoni brazed my frame and I am sure that Earnesto does not work in the frame shop either.
I expect the only places where there are large bicycle factories is Taiwan and China. All the evidence and stories about Colnago I have heard or read says he is in control of the manufacturing of his Carbon bikes in a facility under his direction using his tooling, His spec tubing made in Italy and his spec lugs.
Since Pietro is so sure that most Carbon bikes are made in Taiwan and almost none are made in Italy then it can be assumed that most of those Carbon bikes in the video are destined for the Colnago warehouse which brings me back to the main point. Colnago makes enough Carbon bikes that they could be employed directly by Colnago. I think there is at least 10 months of work there in the batch sizes that factory is working.
I have been contemplating this thread since I am stoopid over Colnago bikes.
It took nearly 11 years of insane lust until I bought a Master Olympic in 1997. Until that day I owned a lot of CCM, 1 Bianchi, 2 Marinoni, and a Vitus. Each bike had its quality and some did a few things really poorly but I loved each one.
The Colnago changed my experience of cycling and changed how every other bike was perceived. That Master Olympic was quantifiably different than anything I had ridden before and I realized a dream come true. Over the years the upgrades came and the first was a Carbon fork, from 8 speed to 10 speed. It has had its chrome straight blade fork restored.
I am not a person to realize a dream and quit dreamong either. I started to lust for a C-40. Good fortune came and I had 1. It is a great bike, like the Vitus in comfort and a little like the Marinoni in stiffness. No speed wobbles on this bike for sure but not really the match for the Master Olympic in the stiffness department but a winner in comfort and the lightness was intoxicating. The Master got fenders! Not a good thing for her.
At the end of the 2007 season I had a great opportunity to get a C-50 built up almost exactly as I wanted. A stem and bar swap and a new set of Nokon cables and I am back in perfect bike heaven. Colnago had reproduced the magic in Carbon. I could have had an Extreme Power but it was actually stiffer than the Master and the Master is plenty stiff enough so I chose the slightly more compliant C-50.
In referencing this thread I am a Colnago Evangelist. I love them and I am aware of the truth in Pietro's story of frame builders in Italy.
How Many C-50, EPS, Ferrari Bikes, Ex power does Ernesto have built each season? 2000? 5000? How long does it take to make 1 and how many can Colnago make at a time? These Carbon frames are not made 1 at a time but they don't make more than 10 at a time. from the video posted it would appear that 6 or so can be baked at a time. I can't recall how long each frame gets cooked but given the alignment table (jig) the number of ovens and a few other things required, I don't believe that the number of Carbon bikes that Colnago makes in Italy can be done piecework in a couple of months. Colnago makes a lot of bikes and I am sure some might be done as piece work. Colnago got into business building wheels at home and he did weld frames piecwork too.
I have known for a long time that many bikes that are made in Italy are done in batches by sub contractors. from a guy who welds 6 dozen frames a day to the artisan that makes only 2 or 3.
I said early in this thread that Colnago gets its carbon from Ferrari and that is not correct. They did the engineering with Ferrari.
Colnago is an ISO 9000 manufacturer and the controls necessary to maintain that rating are hard to meet without a lot of control over the manufacturing process. If Colnago makes their Carbon bikes (except CX1) out of Ernesto's control I would be very surprised. Contracting out is very common for low end and even some high end bikes but it is not the way all Italian bikes are built.
My first good race bike was built by Marinoni who learned frame building doing piecework and apprenticing to one of the big Italian builders so I am familiar with the Italian Method. I don't think Marinoni brazed my frame and I am sure that Earnesto does not work in the frame shop either.
I expect the only places where there are large bicycle factories is Taiwan and China. All the evidence and stories about Colnago I have heard or read says he is in control of the manufacturing of his Carbon bikes in a facility under his direction using his tooling, His spec tubing made in Italy and his spec lugs.
Since Pietro is so sure that most Carbon bikes are made in Taiwan and almost none are made in Italy then it can be assumed that most of those Carbon bikes in the video are destined for the Colnago warehouse which brings me back to the main point. Colnago makes enough Carbon bikes that they could be employed directly by Colnago. I think there is at least 10 months of work there in the batch sizes that factory is working.