Colnago chose the rolling hills and sterrati roads of Tuscany to launch the new V3Rs - the latest iteration of its monocoque, do-everything race bike. You can find all the details on the new release in our launch article.
An 80km loop of the area provided the perfect test conditions to get an initial feel for the bike’s performance.
Over the gravelly, chalk roads Tuscany is famous for the V3Rs’s stability stood out. While it was no doubt ably supported by the bike’s capacity to run wide tyres (our test bikes were specced with 28mm tyres) our route immediately took us on to a 6km section of white gravel and I was able to navigate the unfamiliar, loose surface with confidence.
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After several prolonged ascents with some fast rolling sections in between it became apparent that Colnago seems to have achieved its goal of stiffness and low weight. The bike was always quick to react no matter the terrain and I accelerated up to a given speed very well.
Aerodynamic efficiency is always far more nuanced (certainly at the average speeds most cyclists - myself included - ride at) but based on my experience of holding similar speeds in similar circumstances on other bikes, paired with Campagnolo’s excellent Bora WTO 45mm wheels I can’t say I felt in any way impaired by the V3Rs in my ability to hold good speeds on flat and rolling roads.
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There is no doubt the new Colango V3Rs is an accomplished bike across the board. However, performance of this quality should be par for the course at this price point, so there are only small areas where bikes can differentiate themselves. At this level discrepancies are minute and often subjective but for me, the V3Rs’s handling shines.
Tackling the twisting, rutted gravel roads at a decent speed left me unfazed because the bike behaved so intuitively. Likewise on Tuscany’s winding descents - they have few true hairpins, so many bends can be cornered at high speed.
I quickly learnt that I could tip the V3Rs into a flowing bend smoothly and trust it would track the line I took. It wasn’t even thrown by the frequent sections of broken tarmac mid-bend that would have prompted harsher bikes to lose traction.
Given my limited time with the bike, I won’t begin to dissect what attributes are the result of which design features. All considered though, my initial opinion is that Colnago has achieved its objectives with the V3Rs. It does provide an ideal blend of attributes that lend it to a variety of riding environments, while also including all the mod-cons a performance bike now requires.
The V3Rs is a polished example of what can be done using a conventional monocoque construction, and proves that Colnago is a master of bike design regardless of construction method.
