Vintage Colnago Bike Head Badge - Art print - Pasche Design

From the artist

Print of Vintage Colnago Bike Head Badge original illustration by Chris Pasche.

Founded in 1954 by Ernesto Colnago, their bikes have been a constant presence in the pro peloton from the very beginning. No other manufacturer can rival Colnago’s success over the past 6 decades, which continues today with regular victories in the both the men’s and women’s World Tour.

Instead of following his family's farming business, Ernesto Colnago chose to work in the cycle trade, apprenticing first with Gloria Bicycles at 13, subsequently taking up road racing. After a bad crash ended his racing career, he began subcontracting for Gloria, opened his own shop in 1954, building his first frames the same year. While building frames, he remained much in demand as a racing mechanic. He was second mechanic on the Nivea team Giro d'Italia under Faliero Masi in 1955, eventually being employed as head mechanic for the Molteni team of Belgian cycling legend Eddy Merckx in 1963.

The company first became known for high quality steel framed bicycles suitable for the demanding environment of professional racing, and later as one of the more creative cycling manufacturers responsible for innovations in design and experimentation with new and diverse materials including carbon fiber, now a mainstay of modern bicycle construction.