Colnago C68 Gravel review: An incredible frame with builds and details that don’t quite make sense

For anyone who starts caring about bikes, there are a few names that quickly become a dream bike. Are they the best bikes? Who knows and who cares? I've never heard of a kid with a bike poster on the wall, actually, I don't think anyone has posters anymore, and if they do they aren't bikes, but follow me here. If all that was a thing, Colnago would be a bike on a kid's bedroom poster. Colnago is heritage and aspiration turned into carbon and paint and the pinnacle of that is the built-in Italy C series. 

Although the V series is all about speed and performance, the C series is something more. It's born from performance but it's meant to sacrifice a bit of that in the name of an intangible feel. This year the latest generation C68 brings that same feeling to more than just the road. This year there is also a C68 Gravel with an eye on the best gravel bikes. 

Along with introducing a new facet into the C series, Colnago is also making the brand's presence in the North American market known. While Europe owns the heritage of road racing, it's America that claims gravel racing. This year, Colnago wants a piece of that and the play is the C68 Gravel.

What that means is that the American got a shot at this review and now I'm ready to talk about it. Just like you, Colnago means something special to me and I've spent the past few weeks working through the details of riding a C series. What's it like to be on a Colnago C68 Gravel? What's it like to take it on a favourite gravel route? If you've always wondered, or maybe if you are in a position to consider doing the same, keep reading to see my thoughts on the Colnago C68 Gravel. 

Image 1 of 4

Design and aesthetics 

More and more I like to shift this part of the discussion to the design side of things but that doesn't make a ton of sense this time. The Colnago C68 Gravel is a labour of love designed to evoke a feeling rather than count grams and deliver the fastest bike possible. In many ways the actual engineering details are specs that other brands will eclipse. 

Instead, let's start by talking about a choice between a colour-shifting matte green or a high gloss black to grace the tube profiles. Both are striking and what's unique is a sense of understatement. There's a bit of flair to each, with the light catching the sharp edges of the tubes, but it's the kind of thing you might find yourself taking in first before circling back to notice the details. There are no garish logos, just a subtle "Colnago" word mark on the upper part of a single facet of the downtube, a pair of C68 wordmarks on the fork legs, and the famous silver headtube badge. What you can also notice on the headtube is the last visual representation of the construction that really sets the C series apart. 

This year you can choose between a C68 that focuses on road, allroad, or this gravel variant but each of them still uses a lugged construction built by hand in Italy. The headtube, unique to the gravel variant with a different shape and larger 1.5in Acros headset bearings, is also the one place where the lugged construction still pokes through. Unlike the obvious lugs in a bike like the C64, this latest variant uses something more akin to the construction of a typical carbon bike. 

Image 1 of 3

The thing Colnago doesn't mention is that the construction of the C series isn't drastically different from other bikes. It's not unique for carbon fibre bikes to be handmade, almost all carbon bike parts are. It's also not unique to build a bike in pieces and bond them together. That's how modern bikes get built and one way that some frames add lightness is by using fewer pieces. The difference between a monocoque (what is normally considered a one-piece construction) and a lugged construction can be incredibly subtle. You can see an example of that in the way that Colnago sections the frame in the C68.

Despite all that, what the brand can legitimately claim is a level of care and precision that is somewhat rare. There's an advantage to having your production and design under the same roof and the same is true of training your own workforce. The construction of the C series might not be drastically different but it's executed by workers who are trained specifically to build it and under the watchful eye of those who designed it.

The end result is a frame that weighs in at a claimed 1150 grams for a size 480 frame (similar to a 54 or medium in other sizes and measured from the centre of the bottom bracket to the top of the seat tube) with a 480-gram uncut fork and a T47 bottom bracket. There are options for sizes 450 through 570 and all sizes use a 70.5 headtube angle paired with a shorter stem length. Compared to the other C series variants the geometry is shorter and taller, with a longer wheelbase and there is room for up to a 42mm tyre. Groupset options are 1x groupsets in either mechanical or electronic or 2x electronic only. Although the fork is rigid the brand does say that a suspension fork is an option depending on needs and there is mounting for a bento box plus two bottles.

Image 1 of 5

The build

Colnago offers the C68 gravel in three full builds plus the frameset. Price points never get too low with the frameset alone priced at £5,269 / $7,100 / €5,935. The "budget" option from there runs £6,899.95 / $7,995.95 / €7,250 for Shimano GRX RX820 with Fulcrum Rapid Red 900 wheels and 700x40mm Pirelli Cinturato Gravel H tyres. Then the next jump is £8,099.95 / $9,599.95 / €8,690 for a SRAM Force XPLR AXS build with Fulcrum Rapid Red 500 wheels and the same tyres. 

The high-end option is what I spent time with and it includes SRAM RED XPLR but with no power meter included. Wheels are the third-tier Zipp 303s with the same tyres which sit below the Firecrest and NSW options. Rounding out the full build is the rather impressive Sella San Marco Regal Short Dynamic saddle paired with the newly introduced CC.01 Wide integrated handlebar. The CC.01 is a one-piece unit that in my frame size comes in at 40cm width measured behind the controls with an equivalent 90mm stem. As is befitting a gravel bike, the Wide variant of the bar has a bit of flare measuring roughly 47cm at the ends of the drops along with a 72.5mm reach, 120mm drop, and an 82-degree stem angle. I weighed the final build with Garmin pedals at 8661 grams including the Colnago out front mount and Colnago carbon bottle cages.

Image 1 of 3

Performance

Long before the Colnago C68 Gravel came to me I was already thinking about the build. On paper, there's no logical reason to buy a Colnago C series. It's thousands of dollars outside the norm for even top tier frames and there's no performance equation that squares that up. You don't buy it because it performs better, you buy it because of what it is. 

A Colnago C series is all about heritage and branding and it deserves the best. When you show up to a group ride on this bike it's making a statement and it's a very specific statement. When tech writer Will Jones wrote about the launch of this bike he talked about how the C series mood board would feature "dusty roads, sunsets, convertible Ferraris, wood, rich tans, pink suits, and above all, heritage." Running with that mental image of the Colnago brand, the less premium Zipp 303s didn't seem to match up, for me. So I had a lot of fun waiting for a shipping notice and dreaming about what wheels made conceptual sense for the frame. Maybe something really wild like an individually crafted Lavelle Fireroad 5-spoke wheel? Or perhaps something from DT Swiss? I liked the idea of the HED Emporia GC3 Pro I reviewed but maybe that's too American? 

In the end, the bike arrived and I took it out on my own with the Zipp wheels. They work, and on many bikes, they are an excellent choice. On one of the most expensive frames available, they make no sense, so I decided to swap them out. As it turns out, you can't buy one of the builds in the US anyway. American buyers will have to spend time thinking through the choice of wheels themselves but in the end, I decided I wanted to try the Cadex AR wheels with the bike. For a lot of people, this conceptually doesn't make sense on a bike that's not a Giant. They happen to be one of my favourite gravel wheels though and on top of that they are the lightest I have and I happen to think the raw carbon and ultra-loud freehub fit perfectly with the C68. The truth is I also wanted to run a wheel I knew well so I could get a real sense of the frame and experience. 

Image 1 of 2

In terms of the ride, there really is something special about the C68 Gravel. It's exactly the kind of gravel bike I like. With only room for a 42, most people are probably going to run a 40mm tyre and that's perfect for what is essentially a road bike that likes to party. The geometry might be shorter and taller than a C68 road but it never feels like you are down in the bike the way my Salsa Warbird does. Steep descents make you feel perched on top and this is not the bike I'd want to have with me in Colombia. 

Instead, this is the bike that best matches my riding right now. When asked I always like to say I prefer riding roads, I just don't care much if they have pavement anymore. Smooth gravel roads in the coastal mountains of Los Angeles, or nearly anywhere in California, are practically made for this kind of bike. You never need to drive to the ride and if you find yourself in a fast group on pavement, no problem. I showed up to a fast group ride I knew that had about 150 metres of off-road riding and mixed it up at the pointy end with no problem. 

When I took it for my normal 100-ish mile / 160-ish km gravel test loop, I was in love. Half the route is road including some steep climbing. I've already mentioned I enjoy the C68 in this setting but it's just as good when the pavement ends. There are long and relatively gentle gravel descents where the C68 feels fast and fun but there are also sections of logging road double track that really bring the C68 Gravel into focus. 

Road, gravel, whatever riding you are doing what sets the C series apart is the same thing I love about my Enve Melee road bike, compliance. There are much stiffer bikes out there but when a skilled brand perfectly tailors the compliance of a carbon layup it's a beautiful thing. Colnago nails it by getting the compliance just right and building in an almost springy ride. 

In my list of positive details, I said it had "responsive, fun, agile handling" but that's not quite right. The truth is despite my job being about finding the right words, I couldn’t quite do it. That's just what I came up with as I struggled to keep it concise. Instead, it's a kind of bounce and spring that is incredibly fun and somehow beyond words. 

The only thing I did not love was how short the top feels. At the end of a lot of gravel races, there are often long sections of straight farm roads, typically into the wind after 80-ish miles, and this is really my favourite part of the race. I like to get long and tucked in and I can't do it on the C68. I measured my Salsa Warbird with a Cadex AR bar and a 100mm stem and that bike is 2cm longer from the tip of the saddle to the centre of the bar and 3.5cm longer from the tip of the saddle to the tops of the hoods. It's possible I could play with different bars and stems to adjust this but the Colnago setup is a carefully tuned part of the overall bike. If this was my bike, I might save it for long days of adventure with friends and grab a different bike for races. I think that matches with the Colnago vision for the C series anyway. 

Image 1 of 3

Value

There's basically no value proposition here. No one asks if a Ferrari is a good value and I can't imagine wondering if a Colnago C series is a good value. That really only works if the quality is there though. I appreciate there is some cost balancing going on to make the spec work. But less premium wheels on a bike like this make absolutely no sense to me. You could of course upgrade parts at a later date, something most of us probably do. 

The only thing to consider is if you'd be better off with a custom bike. At these prices you could go custom with carbon or steel and get a bike built to your exact specifications. The heritage wouldn't be the same but you'd be getting something uniquely yours. 

Image 1 of 4

Verdict

The Colnago C series stands for something special. It's not about racing but performance is central and so are concepts of refinement, heritage, and style. On the C68 Gravel what that feels like is perfect carbon layup and just right compliance. There's a bounce and responsiveness to the ride that feels incredible on gravel roads even when they get a bit rough. Riding a C series of any kind is a statement and nothing changes when it's the gravel version. 

A product of this calibre is all about the details and the details here are lacking. The wheels Colnago includes on a bike that retails for $13,199.95 / €12,010.00 / £11,099.99.99 are actually a step down from what Canyon includes on the Grail CF SLX 8 AXS which retails for $5,499 / €5,499 / £5,099.

If a company chooses to manufacture a one-piece bar and stem it has to be perfect in every way including a quality out front mount. It might sound like something that's no big deal but you can't always get something different. It's also the kind of detail I would like to see a company like Colnago obsessing over. If you are asking customers to pay top dollar and buy into heritage, every little detail should matter. The Colnago out front mount is cheap plastic, doesn't fit a Garmin 1040, and only attaches with a single bolt. 

Now thankfully, all of this is pretty easy to fix. Start with a frameset only then let your mind go wild with wheel choices. The Colnago bar is actually quite comfortable but grab a decent quality out front mount from FramesandGear. If you want a little more reach you might also look for a bar and stem from someone else. It's a shame you have to go through the hassle but once you get everything dialled, you'll have an incredible bike. The Colnago C68 Gravel frame is one of the best I've ever ridden, just mind the details that Colnago overlooks.