Colnago V4Rs first-ride review: A bike perhaps best left to the professionals

The new Colnago V4Rs hasn’t exactly been the best-kept secret in the world. In fact, the prototype precursor, dubbed the Prototipo, had what amounted to an unofficial launch. Both the old model and the prototype have what would be respectable palmares for any bike, with the former clocking up multiple victories at grand tours and Monuments, and the latter podiuming at the Tour and picking up Il Lombardia too. It’s hard to dispute that, on paper at least, it’s one of the best road bikes on the market. You’d certainly hope that’s the case given it has a price tag north of €15,000 in the UAE Team Emirates spec model I got to ride during the launch…

While I only got to ride it on the launch day for around 85km, we did pack in a lot of elevation, including ascending the Coll de Rates twice, once from each side. Plus I managed to sneak an extra 50km in the following day by using it as what may be the world's most expensive commuter bike to go and photograph some WorldTour bikes from other teams that were having their winter training camps in Spain. This is very much a first-ride review, but all being well, I hope to have the bike back early in the new year to put it through its paces in a more familiar setting. 

Design and aesthetics

The V4Rs very much resembles the V3Rs, and the intermediate Prototipo, visually at any rate. Colnago doesn’t have an aero bike and a lightweight bike, it instead has a bike for pros (the V series) and a bike to “make the very best feeling” (the C series). 

The V4Rs is, as we always expect, lighter, stiffer, and more aerodynamic. Our news piece for the new V4Rs covers all the key details about precisely where it’s lighter, stiffer and more aerodynamic, so if you want to nerd out on it I suggest you head there. The short version is that the whole package (bike and rider) is a claimed 19-20 watts faster at 50km/h, as well as coming in a lighter package; 47g lighter for the frame, fork, headset and cockpit package. Besides the stiffness at the rear, the main gains in weight and aero appear to have been made at the front end with the new integrated cockpit and lighter fork. 

Specifics and wattage claims aside, as those are more or less impossible to verify, the ethos of the bike appears to be very much pro-facing. The presentation, given to a small gaggle of cycling media after breakfast at the UAE Team Emirates hotel in La Nucia, was unashamedly pro-facing. The bike has evolved to more easily win at the highest level, and it doesn’t appear that there has been any consideration for the non-pro consumers. 

While lighter, stiffer, and more aero certainly have impacts on how a bike rides, so does the geometry. The V4Rs is longer in terms of reach than the V3Rs, 5mm longer in fact, which is significant for two frames nominally the same size. In order to counteract the increased length the chainstays have been taken in by 6mm, and the headtube steepened up by a half-degree. 

A longer, more stretched out, and therefore more aero position was the aim, dictated by pro feedback and perhaps the implementation of the ban on the puppy paws riding position. The cockpit too has added to the reach, with it being longer; not so much in the stem, but in the distance from where the stem clamp would be, if it weren’t a monocoque one-piece system, to the hoods. This does have riding implications, as we will get to.

Before we get into the touchy-feely, contentious world of aesthetics there is the matter of the componentry. The pros on the UAE team are currently getting used to the shift (pun intended) from Campagnolo Super-Record EPS to Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 and Enve wheels. It is fairly common in the pro peloton to see Shimano-sponsored teams also sporting Shimano wheels; opting for Enve instead appears to have been a decision based on aero testing. All the top wheel options were tested both by Colnago at the Milan Polytechnic wind tunnel and separately by UAE Team Emirates at the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub in the UK, with Enve ending up as the decision. This does fly in the face of our independent aero wheels wind tunnel testing, but that was done prior to the newest Enve SES wheel launch, and our test was undertaken in isolation, independent of a bike, so in this case we may have to take Colnago’s word. In any case, my test bike came with not Enves, but a lovely glossy pair of Fulcrum Wind 40s. Colnago was at pains to point out that it is ‘agnostic’ when it comes to componentry, and the customer can have whatever they want. To further this point, each journalist present had a different wheelset.

Aesthetics then? A difficult one at the best of times but even more so for an Italian brand with a heritage as rich, and a fanbase as committed as Colnago. The team spec bike, whether for the men or the women, is predominantly just raw carbon to save some grams. The same can be seen in the world of gravel with the Factor Ostro Gravel, and if you like black bikes then it’s manna from heaven. There are subtle silver fade details to accentuate certain parts of the frame, but on the whole, it’s quite a plan package. Classy? Yes. A little dull? Also yes. 

Don’t forget this is a €15,000 Colnago, it should cause folks to faint upon catching a reflection of it in a passing car window. For me, it doesn’t have the visuals of a Colnago, in the team spec or in the block black, white or red versions of the frameset either. It’s safe, it’s conservative, it’s a paint job from a venture capitalist consortium and not something conceived over a late lunch with half a bottle of Barolo. Let the pros save their grams, but please allow my heart to be set aflutter. Let me have Nathan Haas' custom G3-X paint job. 

Performance

This section will be devoid of any mention of the groupset. Thanks to freezing conditions over most of Europe (but fortunately not Benidorm), the test fleet only arrived the evening before we rode out, and as such, I was plagued with skippy gears. It’s Dura-Ace, it’s the pinnacle of Shimano shifting, and I’m relatively confident that when set up by a well-rested and sufficiently caffeinated mechanic with more than 12 hours to build a fleet of bikes, it would perform excellently; our separate Dura-Ace review confirms as such, but in either case, I have taken any drivetrain performance out of my judgement.

My first impression of the V4Rs was actually quite underwhelming. It felt noticeably longer than my long-term Canyon Ultimate, and far less nimble. The reach is only 2mm longer, but mine was specced with a 110mm stem and reachy bars, and having the steering input so far in front of the steering axis slows the handling down. This is compounded by a head angle that is 0.8 degrees slacker, though I’m told this is normal for a Colnago. “Predictable” was the word used most often to describe the handling, and I think that is pretty spot on. 

I don’t want you thinking it is some kind of barge, because it isn’t. It’s an extremely light, very stiff, Tour de France level race bike, but upon first riding the turn-in, particularly on tight corners and hairpins, wasn’t as fast as other race bikes I’ve ridden. Bear in mind though, it’s hard to give a bike you’ve only ridden for an hour the Full Monty on an unsighted descent on wet roads. In more open, faster cornering it is joyous, though it doesn’t necessarily encourage you to change your line. It corners like it’s on rails, but you need to choose your track before you enter the turn.

Climbing is where it feels most excellent, to coin Bill and Ted’s phraseology. The short chainstays and stiff rear keep things noticeably efficient. I think an inline seatpost would improve things for most riders, especially on steeper terrain to keep the weight centralised. Tadej Pogačar himself would agree, given he's running his saddle slammed forward beyond its limit. As is always the case with these early rides, my setup wasn’t exactly how I’d want it, but given time I suspect I’d have the Selle Italia slammed forward on its rails too. 

First impressions are a dangerous thing in this game though, and shouldn’t cloud one's judgement. Luckily, Colnago let me keep hold of the V4Rs to hoon around Alicante between other team camps, which certainly caught the eyes of a few mechanics and other pros alike. I managed to squeeze in another 50km or so, hilly they were too, and things changed a little, particularly at speed.

Our first test ride was on technical roads, it had recently rained, and my tyres were fresh and too hard. On my second ride I let some air out, the roads were dry, and I was able to commit a little more to each corner. At higher speeds, the handling that was at first a little dulled livened up. At speeds where my Canyon can become a little nervy, the V4Rs continued to inspire confidence; this included drafting an oil truck for 10km at around 50km/h. The initial lean-in to each corner was still needed a trifle earlier, but in fast, hard cornering, it felt extremely sure-footed. 

This is the crux of the matter for me. Yes, you can buy this bike if you have a spare €15,000 kicking about, but unless you are going to ride it fast and hard, it’s not going to be an overly rewarding experience. I am reviewing this from the point of view of a cycling journalist; a keen, fit, and relatively competent amateur cyclist, with an emphasis on amateur. I cannot speak from the point of view of a pro, and at 31 years old I suspect I never will, but I am inclined to believe the positive feedback from the pros that normally leaves me full of scepticism. 

Value

It’s €15,000. Fifteen thousand. That’s an incredibly large sum of money to spend on anything. It’s a deposit for a house, it’s a car, and it’s almost enough to buy two of those Canyon Ultimates. For fifteen grand you want whatever you buy to give you enough serotonin to get you through at least three moderately harsh winters. I don’t think this bike will do that. If you gave me fifteen grand and insisted I buy a bike with it, I wouldn't buy this. I’d have to ride at my limit to get the best out of it, and I don’t ride at my limit often enough to justify it. I haven’t ridden the C68, but I strongly suspect that would be a better use of your money. 

Verdict

I overheard a sentence that I initially thought was unnecessarily snobby over dinner. I’m paraphrasing, but the essence was that other manufacturers make bikes for consumers that pros also ride, while Colnago makes bikes for pro racers. I don’t think this is totally true, but in the case of the V4Rs, it certainly has a core of relevance. 

The V4Rs has been designed for pros and this shows out on the road. While you can buy it as a consumer I think that unless you are racing at a high level, or at least riding regularly at an equivalent pace, you will struggle to get the most out of it. What’s more, it doesn’t have the 'icon' factor of other Colnagos. It is pretty unashamedly a bike for pros from my initial impressions.