Matt has a new bike project and it is going to be awesome. 

In an age when road bikes are all about light weight carbon fiber frames with thru-axles and hydraulic disc brakes, Matt decided to kick it old-school with a vintage steel Colnago Tecnos frameset manufactured in the mid-to-late 90s. 

(If you need to pause for a moment to come to terms with the fact that something from the 1990s is now considered vintage, take all the time you need. We went through the grieving process ourselves. The Pixies really helped.)

We cornered Matt for some details about why he went for the Tencos, one of the rarer frames in Colnago’s storied history.

Here’s what he had to say:

“I think bike nerds need to have a classic steel frame in their collection and going with a Colnago is in line with the presenters on Top Gear always saying that to be a true petrolhead, you have to have owned an Alfa Romeo. I think the Tecnos fits that mindset.”

“During its run (1995-2001), the Tecnos was the lightest steel production frame made. 20+ years on, it is still competitive with the weight of modern high end steel and I love the super fun tube shapes. The oversized top and downtubes have a five clover shape as opposed to the four star gilco tubing found on the Master. Both the Tecnos and Master, along with the Eddy Merckx MX Leader, are the pioneers of modern tube shapes that are now commonplace.”

“What I’m really excited about is doing the build. I’m not going to dust it off once-a-year for a coffee ride. This is going to be a daily rider. To that end, the steel fork is getting swapped out for a carbon Wound Up fork, both for ride quality and the ability to run up to 28mm tires. The drivetrain is going to be Campy Chorus 11 (I don’t think I need to go into detail about why modern drivetrains are terrific). After riding Eroica California I was reminded how amazing modern brakes, shifters, and clipless pedals are but also that old high end steel frames remain very capable.”

“I’m still sorting out the wheels but am looking forward to working with Ryan at Diablo Wheelworks and my neighborhood shop Golden Saddle Cyclery is going to handle the final build. Even though I bought the Tecnos from a collector in Germany, I’m doing my best to keep it local and support the local LA bike scene.”

Stay tuned for more of the build process along with field trips to Diablo Wheelworks and Golden Saddle. We’ll be going full Huell Howser with Matt’s bike.

REFERENCE MATERIAL
http://www.cycleexif.com/colnago-tecnos

FROM WIKI

• Tecnos; Colnago's lightest steel racing frame made from 1995-2000. Custom Tecnos tubeset made with Columbus Nivachrom steel, oversize top and down tubes with five-leaf-clover shaping. Chromed three point crown-tip lugs on head tube and Precisa steel fork (when not used with a carbon fork). Last iteration was labeled 'Tecnos 2000' including the tubing label.