Primavera, Good Value or Imitation?

ziggy.mcd

I’ve been commuting on my Boardman Hybrid for the last 12 months and I’m now looking for a road bike on which to commute and to use for leisure riding. My mind was set on a Bianchi 1885 with Veloce group set, but having recently seen the Colnago Primavera with 105, I’ve found myself questioning my original choice.

I have no doubt that Colnago make great bikes but as their bottom end offering I’m not sure if I’m just paying for the name.

I guess I need to ride both, (not sure what you can tell from a quick test ride mind), but I wondered if you could pass on any experience of either of these?

Capo

I bought a Colnago Arte last September, it's one up in the range from the Primavera and likewise is made in Taiwan and sports a Shimano groupset (in this case, Ultegra).

It's a lovely bike, and having wanted a Colnago for years, I'm very happy that I now own one, even if purists might argue that since it's not made in Italy, it's not worthy of the name.

If you're paying list price, then there's no doubt that you will be paying extra for the fact that it has the Colnago name on it, and plenty of people on here willl be able to point you towards other bikes with better specs for the same money.

Indeed, when I was looking at getting my new bike, I dismissed Colnago for those very reasons - until I found my Arte, which was 33% off, and which meant it was as good spec if not better than anything else I was looking at within my price range.

It's a very personal decision - if you want a Colnago enough, and you can find a deal on one, I'd go for it. I know that in my case, if I'd decided not to get it and had stuck with my original short list, I'd probably be kicking myself now.