Colnago has confirmed the launch of its new V4Rs, amid months of speculation and real-world testing.
The frame has been seen throughout the 2022 season, under the guise ‘Prototipo’, in five different carbon configurations. The final product, the V4Rs, is designed to be ‘ready-to-race’ and Colnago says it is its fastest ever monocoque frame.
The Colnago V4R has a suggested price of £13,131 / €15,260.
Cutting new shapes
The brand claims that, through better integration of the head tube and fork and with use of the Colnago CC.01 handlebars, the bike performs better aerodynamically than the previous iteration, the V3Rs. The brand did not quantify by how much, however.
The V4Rs frame module – frame, fork, handlebars and headset – is also claimed to be 47g lighter than the V3Rs. It’s a small saving which the brand itself acknowledged.
‘It hasn’t been easy to improve this aspect in comparison with its predecessor, the V3Rs, that's why Colnago worked on the weight of the overall module,’ says Davide Fumagalli, Colnago’s head of research and develpoment.
It also features an integrated computer mount – as yet only available to fit the Wahoo Elemnt Bolt V2 – which Colnago says will save 0.75 watts at 50kmh.
Real-world testing
The bike was semi-launched in the summer, with riders such as Tadej Pogačar seen riding it at various World Tour events, including the 2022 Tour de France.
Related: Tadej Pogačar’s Colnago Prototipo
‘While computer and wind-tunnel tests are important, they have limitations,’ says Fumagalli.
As such, the new, more aerodynamically- minded frameset has already been tested at five different configurations at some of the toughest events in order to finesse the final product.
The process, dubbed ‘Real Dynamic Stiffness’ by Colnago, aims to balance rideability with stiffness, trying to create a bike that can perform across all types of competitive road riding.
Made for the pros
The frame’s geometry has also been altered since the V3Rs, with a more consistent reach-stack ratio across the sizes.
Colnago says it used rider feedback to make the changes to the geometry, ‘taking advantage of the experience of those who ride their bicycles for many hours a day’.
The V4Rs is claimed to have higher impact resistance in areas vulnerable to crash damage, such as the seatstays.
A CeramicSpeed SLT headset – already seen on bikes like the Factor Ostro Gravel – has been included as part of the build, as well as Enve 3.4 wheels, Shimano Dura Ace Di2 12-speed with power meter and Prologo Scratch M5 saddle.
Original story continues below
Colnago launches V4Rs in all but name
The Colnago Prototipo – literally, 'prototype'– is a new race bike that will be used by Team UAE Emirates at the 2022 Tour de France, albeit one that, given its name, hasn’t quite been finalised yet.
According to Colnago, five variations of the frameset will be available for the team to race on from tomorrow.
Based in their feedback, a ‘winner’ will be chosen from the five prospective versions of the frameset and put into production, most likely to supersede Colnago’s existing V3Rs all-round race bike.
The Prototipo certainly looks to be in the mould of the V3Rs’ all-round race remit but has a number of frameset modifications – such as a more sculpted head tube, deeper seat tube and bigger bottom bracket junction – to improve attributes like aerodynamic efficiency and stiffness, suggesting it is an update on the design.
Tadej Pogačar has already been spotted aboard one version of the Prototipo, so expect to see more of his teammates riding other variations of the officially unofficial frameset over the next couple of months.
Final stages of development
Colnago says much of the developmental work has already been done on the Prototipo. The frameset tube profiles have been finalised, but the carbon composite schedule is yet to be confirmed.
So the five Prototipo variants will all look the same but perform differently due to slight differences in the layups.
Colnago says this refinement can only be properly done in the most exacting conditions, ie, actual WorldTour races.
Therefore the brand has made the unusual move to officially recognise the prototype bike, rather than conduct real world testing in a more clandestine manner, as is the norm.
‘While computer and wind-tunnel tests are important, they have limitations,’ says Davide Fumagalli, Colnago’s head of R&D. ‘It is difficult to replicate the race-specific situations, the irregularities of the course, the stresses of the terrain, the aerodynamic turbulence, the accelerations in the different moments of the competition.
‘At the level of development we have reached, it is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve improvements. In this way, by taking advantage of the experience of those who ride their bicycles for many hours a day, we feel we can make our racing bikes take a further and important step forward.’
A new way to work
Colnago says the Prototipo uses a monocoque construction, but large elements of the frameset’s lamination schedule were worked out in a modular fashion.
The brand says this allowed them to develop the frameset as a whole more quickly and precisely. It also meant the new Colnago C68 could also be used help inform the design, for that is made using modular sections that are bonded together.
The new construction method facilitied some considerable changes to the frameset’s external form over Colnago’s current V3Rs race bike.
Most of the changes, such as the more aggressively waisted headtube and deeper seat tube, suggest the new bike should be more aerodynamically efficient than the V3Rs.
Colnago also says the bottom bracket junction is larger and more robust, suggesting stiffness improvements too, and credits a collaboration with Norwegian frame designer Torgny Kjeldskaar as key to achieving the developments in the Prototipo.
‘The objectives we set ourselves with Davide and his team involved achieving greater stiffness in the areas where stress is greatest from pedalling plus lower aerodynamic drag against the overall weight of the frame,’ says Kjeldskaar. ‘I think the most important work was to improve aerodynamics through the new head tube design though.’
Colnago hasn't confirmed when the new bike will be ready for the open market, but given how polished the Prototipo already looks, it can't be too far in the future.
Images: Colnago
