Colnago to Launch Colnago America

[admin]

CAMBIAGO, Italy (BRAIN)?Colnago will launch a direct U.S. subsidiary, Colnago America, Inc., this month.

"We are extremely excited to announce that we have created Colnago America, which will now be the direct supplier of Colnago frames and accessories in America," said Ernesto Colnago from company headquarters in Cambiago, Italy.

Transition of distribution services from Veltec Sports to Colnago America will be complete by the end of the month. The company?s top priority is to make this transition as smooth as possible for its retail customers and in the United States and Canada.

"Over the past several years, Colnago has experienced exceptional growth worldwide, but to reach our full potential in the North American market, we felt for a while, we needed to make a change," said Alex Colnago, Colnago sales manager.

"For the first time in the long history of Colnago sales in America, we will be in a position to have full control over our distribution, sales and marketing. Now we will be able to offer more competitive prices, improved delivery and better service to our retailers and Colnago riders in North America,? he added.

"While we are in the process of defining the complete Colnago America Team, we can announce that our friend Soren Krebs, formerly of Veltec Sports, will be joining Colnago America with sales and general management responsibilities. We are confident that he can lead Colnago America going forward," said Ernesto Colnago.

Krebs, who served as the brand manager for Colnago at Veltec for the past two years, resigned when Veltec ended its relationship with Colnago earlier this year.

?I had a very positive experience working for Veltec for the past two years. I have the utmost respect for Veltec and the people there,? Krebs said. ?When I was offered the opportunity to come work for Colnago, because I had been with them for a number of years, it was quite an easy decision to make.?

Krebs will establish an office and warehouse for Colnago America in Chicago.

Krebs said the location will improve communication with Italy because Chicago is a seven-hour time difference, versus a nine-hour time difference from Veltec?s California offices. In addition, he said Chicago offers direct flights to Milan, making it easy for employees from the two offices to meet face-to-face. And Krebs said due to its central location, the warehouse will offer timely shipping to dealers in every part of the country.

?This is the first time every in a long history that they are going direct,? Krebs said. ?This is very exciting for me and for Mr. Colnago and the Colnago family. It is a new approach for them to work it this way. They will have much more control over marketing, pricing and activities in the market. Pricing will be more competitive because the distributor will not be in the middle. Pricing will benefit the dealer and the consumer.?

Starting tomorrow, Krebs can be reached at soren@colnago-america.com. Colnago America this week will launch a Web site: www.colnagoamerica.com.


More...

[Too Tall]

I have one thing to say...well two things really.

FEH

See the Jerk's classified and act accordingly. You last opportunity to buy local from someone who knows what they are talking about.

Peace, TT.

[peanutgallery]

Questions, questions, questions

Colnago opens the door for a lot of them. Pricing, what to do with existing dealers and their stock, extending credit to dealers and the big one...will the famous summer vacation affect them more than the 2 hours they seem so excited to save. The transition will be interesting.

Agree with Too Tall, get your wallet out and call IBC

[oldguy00]

I have one thing to say...well two things really.

FEH

...

Peace, TT.

Why? I guess I'm not clear on what is a real Colnago, and what isn't??
For the past 3+ years, it has been pretty easy to find any model Colnago (except Ferrari...) for under $3500. R&A Cycles has had C50's on for 3195 for quite some time now, and Total Cycling has a few for 2500US, before that they regularly sold for about 3200. Not sure about Mike Perry's pricing.
So the fact that we are in the worst recession in a long time, this means people will -now- start paying 5k for a Colnago frame?
I think the deals that IBC and RA are offering are good deals, and better than what has generally been available from US shops. But if the new 'Colnago America' makes it only possible for folks to get a Colnago for 5k (frame/fork), I can't see them having much better luck than Veltec...

[riceburner]

Tough to justify the Colnago retail prices on a pure empirical weight and technology basis for sure. The C50 and Extreme lineup seem quite dated based on the carbon lugs used and the final frame/fork weights are quite "portly" by today's monocoque standards. Compare a 56cm Cervelo R3SL at 1.8 pounds and the 56cm Extreme Power at 2.7 pounds and the Extreme Power retails for close to $1500 more.

Oh course, when talking pedigree, history and paint, it may be another story....

[e-RICHIE]

CHESTER, Ct (BRAINDEAD) Richard Sachs will launch a direct U.S. subsidiary, Richard Sachs America, Inc., this month.

"We are extremely excited to announce that we have created Richard Sachs America, which will now be the direct supplier of Richard Sachs frames and accessories in America," said Richard Sachs from company headquarters in Chester, Ct.

Transition of distribution services from Dubya Sports to Richard Sachs America will be complete by the end of the month. The company's top priority is to make this transition as smooth as possible for its retail customers and in the United States and Canada.

"Over the past several years, Richard Sachs has experienced exceptional growth worldwide, but to reach our full potential in the North American market, we felt for a while, we needed to make a change," said Richard Sachs , Richard Sachs sales manager.

"For the first time in the long history of Richard Sachs sales in America, we will be in a position to have full control over our distribution, sales and marketing. Now we will be able to offer more competitive prices, improved delivery and better service to our retailers and Richard Sachs riders in North America," he added.

"While we are in the process of defining the complete Richard Sachs America Team, we can announce that our friend, Jonny Toledo, formerly of Dubya Sports, will be joining Richard Sachs America with sales and general management responsibilities. We are confident that he can lead Richard Sachs America going forward," said Richard Sachs.

Toledo, who served as the brand manager for Richard Sachs at Dubya for the past two years, resigned when Dubya ended its relationship with Richard Sachs earlier this year.

"I had a very positive experience working for Dubya for the past two years. I have the utmost respect for Veltec and the people there," Toledo said. "When I was offered the opportunity to come work for Richard Sachs, because I had been with them for a number of years, it was quite an easy decision to make."

Toledo will establish an office and warehouse for Richard Sachs America in Chicago.

Toledo said the location will improve communication with Italy because Chicago is a seven-hour time difference, versus a nine-hour time difference from Dubya's California offices. In addition, he said Chicago offers direct flights to Milan, making it easy for employees from the two offices to meet face-to-face. And Toledo said due to its central location, the warehouse will offer timely shipping to dealers in every part of the country.

"This is the first time every in a long history that they are going direct," Toeldo said. "This is very exciting for me and for Mr. Richard Sachs and the Richard Sachs family. It is a new approach for them to work it this way. They will have much more control over marketing, pricing and activities in the market. Pricing will be more competitive because the distributor will not be in the middle. Pricing will benefit the dealer and the consumer atmo."

[swoop]

Tough to justify the Colnago retail prices on a pure empirical weight and technology basis for sure. The C50 and Extreme lineup seem quite dated based on the carbon lugs used and the final frame/fork weights are quite "portly" by today's monocoque standards. Compare a 56cm Cervelo R3SL at 1.8 pounds and the 56cm Extreme Power at 2.7 pounds and the Extreme Power retails for close to $1500 more.

Oh course, when talking pedigree, history and paint, it may be another story....

Actually, I think we are talking geometry and sizes.

[GrantM]

Tough to justify the Colnago retail prices on a pure empirical weight and technology basis for sure. The C50 and Extreme lineup seem quite dated based on the carbon lugs used and the final frame/fork weights are quite "portly" by today's monocoque standards. Compare a 56cm Cervelo R3SL at 1.8 pounds and the 56cm Extreme Power at 2.7 pounds and the Extreme Power retails for close to $1500 more.
.

oh please. like any of that shit means anything.

[72gmc]

"Direct flights to Milan"--is that about as relevant as how far Chicago is from the moon?

Congratulations on your move, e-richie. Looking forward to lugged steel in the PR00 paint scheme.

[cw05]

So you're taking orders again?

CHESTER, Ct (BRAINDEAD) Richard Sachs will launch a direct U.S. subsidiary, Richard Sachs America, Inc., this month.

"We are extremely excited to announce that we have created Richard Sachs America, which will now be the direct supplier of Richard Sachs frames and accessories in America," said Richard Sachs from company headquarters in Chester, Ct.

Transition of distribution services from Dubya Sports to Richard Sachs America will be complete by the end of the month. The company's top priority is to make this transition as smooth as possible for its retail customers and in the United States and Canada.

"Over the past several years, Richard Sachs has experienced exceptional growth worldwide, but to reach our full potential in the North American market, we felt for a while, we needed to make a change," said Richard Sachs , Richard Sachs sales manager.

"For the first time in the long history of Richard Sachs sales in America, we will be in a position to have full control over our distribution, sales and marketing. Now we will be able to offer more competitive prices, improved delivery and better service to our retailers and Richard Sachs riders in North America," he added.

"While we are in the process of defining the complete Richard Sachs America Team, we can announce that our friend, Jonny Toledo, formerly of Dubya Sports, will be joining Richard Sachs America with sales and general management responsibilities. We are confident that he can lead Richard Sachs America going forward," said Richard Sachs.

Toledo, who served as the brand manager for Richard Sachs at Dubya for the past two years, resigned when Dubya ended its relationship with Richard Sachs earlier this year.

"I had a very positive experience working for Dubya for the past two years. I have the utmost respect for Veltec and the people there," Toledo said. "When I was offered the opportunity to come work for Richard Sachs, because I had been with them for a number of years, it was quite an easy decision to make."

Toledo will establish an office and warehouse for Richard Sachs America in Chicago.

Toledo said the location will improve communication with Italy because Chicago is a seven-hour time difference, versus a nine-hour time difference from Dubya's California offices. In addition, he said Chicago offers direct flights to Milan, making it easy for employees from the two offices to meet face-to-face. And Toledo said due to its central location, the warehouse will offer timely shipping to dealers in every part of the country.

"This is the first time every in a long history that they are going direct," Toeldo said. "This is very exciting for me and for Mr. Richard Sachs and the Richard Sachs family. It is a new approach for them to work it this way. They will have much more control over marketing, pricing and activities in the market. Pricing will be more competitive because the distributor will not be in the middle. Pricing will benefit the dealer and the consumer atmo."

[SteveP]

Tough to justify the Colnago retail prices on a pure empirical weight and technology basis for sure. The C50 and Extreme lineup seem quite dated based on the carbon lugs used and the final frame/fork weights are quite "portly" by today's monocoque standards. Compare a 56cm Cervelo R3SL at 1.8 pounds and the 56cm Extreme Power at 2.7 pounds and the Extreme Power retails for close to $1500 more.

Oh course, when talking pedigree, history and paint, it may be another story....

extreme power is aimed at a particular rider... ergo- weight less of an issue that other factors. colnago makes light frames if that is what you want.
sizing. colnago makes many, many sizes to fit most any rider. this adds to the cost and adds tremendously to the benefit.
cervelo could be considerd an inappropriate comparison in that, although light in weight, they have had many and numerous quality issues and recalls in the recent past.
they could be considered junk... albeit light junk, as you point out.

a lot of euro carbon ( including time ) use carbon lugs. it is not outdated, it is better in many ways.
although more expensive to build it allows far better quality control on the tubing and it allows very simply the construction of custom race bikes for real racers.
monocoque is certainly cheaper per piece but no way is it better.

[riceburner]

extreme power is aimed at a particular rider... ergo- weight less of an issue that other factors. colnago makes light frames if that is what you want.
sizing. colnago makes many, many sizes to fit most any rider. this adds to the cost and adds tremendously to the benefit.
cervelo could be considerd an inappropriate comparison in that, although light in weight, they have had many and numerous quality issues and recalls in the recent past.
they could be considered junk... albeit light junk, as you point out.

a lot of euro carbon ( including time ) use carbon lugs. it is not outdated, it is better in many ways.
although more expensive to build it allows far better quality control on the tubing and it allows very simply the construction of custom race bikes for real racers.
monocoque is certainly cheaper per piece but no way is it better.

Agreed, you make a great point about fit, but the carbon lug construction with the gluing method seems contrary to the entire point of carbon which is the ability to mold it or conform it to any shape and surface while maintaining high strength and light weight over contiguous areas. Carbon lugs seem like trying to shoehorn a new material into an old manufacturing process with the use of basically glue to mimic the brazing process for metal.

To your point about recalls, I agree that is a huge concern, and the overseas quality control and super lightweight designs have to be addressed responsibly but as experience with the materials evolves, I don't see why we can't have reliable, sub 2 pound monocoque frames in lots of sizes.
I worked at United Technologies and they are building superlight and strong aerospace and military parts for much more intensive applications than bike riding so I think the bike industry will catch up very soon.

[SteveP]

good points of discussion and we will have to look ahead 5-10 yrs to see the answer.

dont dismiss lugged carbon.
if you saw a time frame in half and look at the inside of the tube... it looks very much like the outside...smooth and seamless. this is the rtm process that is accomplished because the mold can be put inside the tube during manufacture.
if you saw any monocoque frame in half you will see a very rough tube interior that allows for much more in the way of stress risers to weaken the material. its the resin/ balloon method... not smooth, not fine.

as for aerospace technology. no doubt you are right.. but big picture ..there is no limit to the money spent on that stuff. bike have to sell for (?) reasonable money ( sort of )
yes the technology will bring the cost down... but it will be awhile and in the meantime lugged carbon does have many demonstrable advantages and few disadvantages
it can be made very light if desired. time vxrs is 850g... pretty light by any standard.

anyway, there is no doubt that changes are in store as years click by.
but it is imprudent to dismiss lugged carbon as old technology until there is something better... and i dont think there is.

[riceburner]

Yes, Time and Colnago make great lugged carbon frames. Apparently Time does even weave its own fiber and uses a hybrid type lug/wrap assembly process but again the prices are really astronomical, e.g. Time VXRS frame retails for almost the same as the Colnago Extreme Power- around $5200 which can hardly be deemed to be affordable by any standard.

To my original point about cost/weight/benefit/technology I still find it hard to justify especially the Colnago retail pricing when it simply pure (non-hybrid) lug and glue technology at less than inspiring frame weights and shocking prices. (Colnago's light 2.1 pound lugged frame model Extreme-C also has a rider weight limit too which really makes me wonder about the integrity of such technology)

[WFSTEKL]

The punting of the brand Colnago around various US distributors is very reminiscent of VDB's plight. There is so much promise, but it is always laced with a vein of poison. It seems that everyone who took Colnago on felt that they would be the savior, but alas, the crooked worm always found its way into the apple.

[coloclimber]

Colnago has been around the block a lot longer than VDB.

The distribution channel change is only a small part of the equation.
This is a radical year for Colnago:
1. Internal headsets (call it whatever you want but its not an external headset)
2. English threaded BBs
3. No ProTour team level sponsorship
4. No distributor in the US
5. Expanded reliance on Asian manufacturing in its product line

riceburner- I can go on for days and days, with rhyme displays that engrave deep as x-rays on your tirade comparing Cervelo's to Colnago's but I dont have the time or energy. Suffice it to say- this thread is not about cost, value or ride quality.

[WFSTEKL]

Colnago has been around the block a lot longer than VDB.

The distribution channel change is only a small part of the equation.
This is a radical year for Colnago:
1. Internal headsets (call it whatever you want but its not an external headset)
2. English threaded BBs
3. No ProTour team level sponsorship
4. No distributor in the US
5. Expanded reliance on Asian manufacturing in its product line

riceburner- I can go on for days and days, with rhyme displays that engrave deep as x-rays on your tirade comparing Cervelo's to Colnago's but I dont have the time or energy. Suffice it to say- this thread is not about cost, value or ride quality.

The point is not who has been around the block longer, it that they've both been around the block enough.

[Catulle]

The punting of the brand Colnago around various US distributors is very reminiscent of VDB's plight. There is so much promise, but it is always laced with a vein of poison. It seems that everyone who took Colnago on felt that they would be the savior, but alas, the crooked worm always found its way into the soup.

The fever is not in the blanket, atmo.

[SteveP]

im not looking to beat this to death... but
premium stuff like time/ colnago cost a lot cause there are a lot of development costs in there. both have worked with major race programs for many, many years and actual volume of sales are not that high.

you cite cervelo. astronomical you say?
the cervelo costs almost the same
visit my other thread about race bikes.
if you had bought a cervelo at the same time as my guy started out with the Time vxr.
heres what you would have gotten.
time a little more money, carbon lugged construction, possibly a little heavier..possibly not
time- 200 elite races, 40,000 miles + still going strong
cervelo... little less money
recalled fork back there somewhere
recalled frame in 07 or 06
recalled fork again in 08
i want to see a picture of the cervelo monocoque with 200 elite races and 40k miles on it.
you cite colnago also. fit can be no compromise- key to the product.
i know of no recalls or notable defect issues w/ colnago. qc is not perfect but the frames dont break. lightest weight is not important in this performance.
light yes, lightest no. has to perform.

anyway, im done here.

Yes, Time and Colnago make great lugged carbon frames. Apparently Time does even weave its own fiber and uses a hybrid type lug/wrap assembly process but again the prices are really astronomical, e.g. Time VXRS frame retails for almost the same as the Colnago Extreme Power- around $5200 which can hardly be deemed to be affordable by any standard.

To my original point about cost/weight/benefit/technology I still find it hard to justify especially the Colnago retail pricing when it simply pure (non-hybrid) lug and glue technology at less than inspiring frame weights and shocking prices. (Colnago's light 2.1 pound lugged frame model Extreme-C also has a rider weight limit too which really makes me wonder about the integrity of such technology)

[Too Tall]

Notably a great discussion. I've much appreciation for Steve and others insight, civility and views from within the industry.