Colnago has added a new gravel bike to its range. The new bike is part of its premium C Series family which Colnago describes as having “the perfect balance between performance and compliance”.
The C68 Gravel is Colnago's best gravel bike and is described as "a gravel bike unlike any other", for a very good reason.
In line with the existing road and all-road C-Series, Colnago uses a unique modular carbon construction where carbon tubes are bonded into carbon lugs. Not that you can tell as Colnago ensures a seamless finish between each of the frame sections. The tubing is said to be unique to the C68 gravel bike, featuring broader tubes and a larger headtube for increased strength and durability.
As with the other road-going bikes in the C Series, Colnago molds, glues, and finishes every frame in its Italian factory. Colnago isn't the only big brand to opt for Italian-based manufacturing, 3T also keeps frame construction local with its Extrema Italia gravel bike
The geometry has been tweaked from the road C68's, shortening reach and increasing stack for better control off-road. Compared to Colnago's G3-X gravel race bike, the C68 gravel has a longer wheelbase for increased stability. The C68 Gravel has a sloping top tube design and is available in five sizes – 450, 480, 510, 540, 570.
Colnago pairs the C68 Gravel with a new CC.01 integrated cockpit which has a wider flair. The bar is available in a 40cm width at the tops and 46cm in the drops, stem length varies from 80mm to 120mm in 10mm increments depending on the frame size.
The C68 is aimed at racier gravel riding rather than bikepacking as tire clearance is stated at 30-42mm, rather than the adventurous 45mm plus that we are seeing on a lot of other gravel bikes. The frame is also only equipped with two-bottle-cage mounts in the front triangle and a set of top tube bosses for a top tube bag. Colnago does say that the C68 Gravel will be compatible with a gravel suspension fork, although all the builds that are offered ship with a rigid fork.
Colnago will offer three builds for the C68, plus a frame-only option, these include a Shimano GRX groupset coupled with Fulcrum Rapid Red 900 wheels, a SRAM Force XPLR build with Fulcrum Rapid Red 500 wheels, and the highest spec SRAM Red XPLR x Zipp 303S configuration. All the bikes roll on Pirelli Cinturato Gravel H, 700c x 40mm.
As you would expect from a carbon-lugged, carbon-tubed, made-in-Italy bike with a high-end spec, the C68 is very expensive. The cheapest GRX 820 build retails for $7,995.95 / £6,899.95 / €7,250 and the top-spec SRAM Red XPLR eTap AXS bike costs a staggering $13,199.95 / £11,099 / €12,010.
For more details head over to Colnago.com.
