Colnago has launched an aero road bike with a radical design. The shape of the Colnago Y1Rs was developed after the company refined its computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling, which it claims is twice as accurate as standard CFD models used in bike design.
Novel features include the bayonet mounted, raised handlebars and the Y-shaped seat tube junction. Colnago claims that the Y1Rs is 28 watts more aerodynamically efficient than its V4Rs all-round race bike and nine watts more efficient than an unnamed best competitor aero bike. There’s a 242g stated weight increase over the V4Rs though.
Prices for complete bikes range from €12,300 with SRAM Red AXS to €16,500 for an all-Campagnolo build.
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UAE teams wanted an aero bike option
The feedback from Colnago’s sponsored men’s UAE Team Emirates and women’s UAE Team ADQ teams was that, although the Colnago V4Rs is a good all-rounder, for certain races they needed a focussed aero bike.
Colnago then enlisted the help of aero experts at the Politecnico di Milano in Italy and the Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi to help develop a class-leading aero bike.
Colnago says that CFD models used to develop bike frames are a simplified description of the real world airflow, as assumptions need to be made in developing them. It reckons that actual data from the wind-tunnel may be as much as 30% different from that predicted by the CFD figures.
So the process started out with developing what Colnago says is a more accurate CFD simulation of airflow. To do this it drilled up to 70 small holes in a set of 3D printed bikes and used a wind-tunnel to measure the actual air pressure at different points in the frame.
It used this data to refine its CFD model, then iteratively 3D printed, tested and refined the Y1Rs frame shape to reflect its data.
Colnago says that the result of its analysis is a CFD model that’s twice as accurate as industry standard models, showing around a 15% divergence from its wind-tunnel pressure test results.
This has allowed it to refine the Y1Rs frame shape, which it claims is shown by its studies to be the most aerodynamic UCI-compliant road bike in the WorldTour.
Colnago Y1Rs's novel features
Key features of the new Y1Rs include a down tube with a pronounced kink, a bayonet fork and aero bottle cages.
In addition, there’s that seatpost that is set back from the staggered seat tube, which Colnago calls its Defy shape. It says that this is designed to add vertical compliance for a more comfortable ride, despite the aero tube shapes.
As with the Trek Madone, the short available seatpost travel means that the seatpost needs to be cut to suit the rider’s height, although Colnago states that there’s around 15mm of height adjustment possible for the cut post.
The design of the seatpost junction allows Colnago to wrap the seat tube around the rear wheel, for better aerodynamics.
The CC.Y1 handlebars have a V shape, which slopes up and forward from the fork crown, in what Colnago calls its Wynd shape. It’s reminiscent of the shape of the bars on the Cervélo S5 and the Bianchi Oltre, but even more extreme and, Colnago says, allows the bar tops to be moved away from the turbulent airflow around the head tube, resulting in cleaner airflow over the frame.
Despite the appearance of a lack of support, Colnago says that the CC.Y1 handlebar is its stiffest, thanks to the carbon fibre layup, and is easily able to withstand the forces applied during a 1,600W sprint. It says it’s 16% stiffer than an (unnamed) competitor handlebar, as well as being one of the lightest integrated bar/stems available.
Other aero benefits come from the bayonet fork mount, which has allowed Colnago to lengthen the head tube backwards, while staying within the UCI’s now-relaxed frame tube profile rules. The headset bearing size has been reduced, which has in turn reduced the head tube’s frontal profile and allowed a more aero shape.
In sum, Colnago says that the CC.Y1 handlebar design and its bayonet fork reduce the bike’s frontal area by 19% relative to the conventional headset, stem and handlebar design on its V4Rs: 23,438mm2 as against 28,698mm2 for the same frame size.
Aerodynamic optimisation continues into the down tube, which has a pronounced kink to accommodate the front wheel. Colnago says that its CFD modelling showed that, once the down tube stops following the arc of the front wheel rim, aerodynamics are improved by keeping a straight profile, which moves it away from the front wheel’s wake.
The down tube’s shape helps to shield the custom aero water bottle cages, which will accommodate standard water bottles. The down tube cage also supports the Di2 battery in Shimano builds.
The Y1Rs has a standard BSA bottom bracket. One unanswered question is where you fit a bike computer – we'd guess there's a proprietary mount needed to fit in the central V of the bars.
Colnago Y1Rs aerodynamic figures, weights and geometry
According to Colnago’s wind-tunnel data, the Y1Rs bike on its own has a weighted average drag of 117 watts across a range of airflow yaw angles from 0 to 15° at 50kmh. That compares to a claimed 126 watts in its tests for an unnamed ‘best competitor’ and 145 watts for the V4Rs.
Add in a mannequin and those figures rise to 474 watts for the Y1Rs, 482 watts for the best competitor and 499 watts for the V4Rs.
An aero bike often comes with a weight penalty relative to an all-rounder and the Y1Rs is no exception.
Colnago quotes a weight for a ready-to-paint Y1Rs frame of 965g, as against the V4Rs at 798g (size not specified). Add to that a fork weight of 450g versus 375g and the total frame kit weight (including bearings) for the Y1Rs is 1,415g versus 1,173g for the V4Rs, a 242g difference.
But Colnago also claims that the Y1Rs is 3.5% stiffer than the V4Rs, itself a stiff-feeling bike, with the Y1Rs's ride tuned for stiffness when sprinting.
It says that it has also designed the new bike’s geometry for aerodynamics, with steeper angles and a higher reach-to-stack ratio than the V4Rs for a more tucked, extended ride position.
Each of the five frame sizes gets its own fork, Colnago says for consistent trail and handling. The bayonet mount also makes this necessary to accommodate the different head tube lengths.
Colnago Y1Rs available specs and prices
The top spec Colnago Y1Rs is an all-Campagnolo affair, with a Super Record Wireless groupset and Bora Ultra WTO wheels and is priced at €16,500.
Three Shimano Dura-Ace specs follow, priced at €16,200 with Enve SES 4.5 wheels (the pro team setup), €15,000 with Shimano Dura-Ace C50 wheels and €13,200 with Vision Carbon 45 wheels.
Finally, the SRAM Red AXS spec with Vision Carbon 45 wheels is priced at €12,300.
You can also buy the Y1Rs frameset for €6,710.
