The C50 is Colnago's do-everything, be-everything carbon fiber race bike. It's won races as gnarly as Paris-Roubaix, but it's also won in the equally devastating terrain of the big mountains in the Grand Tours. If your heart is set on Colnago it's hard to imagine choosing any other bike but a C50 -- except, of course, if you have a obsession with the weight of your bike. A medium sized C50 weighs in at about 2.4 lbs, roughly 1100g. By our estimation, that's nicely light. In comparison to some of the jaw-droppingly lightweight bikes on the market, though, it's admittedly a few grams heavy. Colnago built the C50 this way to give it reliable durability -- the cobbles of northern France ain't gentle. But the marketplace is a fickle thing, and the be-all, end-all metric of the 21st Century seems to be bike weight, so Colnago has finally entered into the Weight Watchers fray with their introduction of the Extreme C.

What's an Extreme C? It's a dedicated climbing bike. It weighs in at 900g, and every element of its design went into satisfying the lightness requirements of a climber like 2005 and 2006 Tour de France King of the Mountains Michael Rasmussen. Unlike the bi-conic tubeset you get on a C50, the Extreme C uses round tubes throughout. The carbon fiber Colnago uses is identical in inherent strength to what you get on a C50 and the Twill Weave finish is every bit as beautiful, but the narrow, round cross-section makes the tubes themselves lighter. The lugs are Colnago's shortest, again shaving away grams. And instead of the shock-absorbing HP chainstays, you get oversized round chainstays -- this provides excellent power transfer while further saving weight.

A few important details about the Extreme-C: (1) It has the same 2 year warranty as any other Colnago model. Colnago refused to release a featherlight bike that might be construed as overly fragile. (2) There is a weight limit of 90kg (~198lbs.) on the frame. The durability issue for heavier riders is less compelling to us than the ride quality issue -- a 200lb. rider will enjoy better drivetrain stiffness and increased resistance to torsional and lateral flex by choosing a more appropriate model such as the C50. If you weigh 95kg and you hop on an Extreme C will it explode on contact? Likely not. But manufacturers of lightweight products post weight limits for a reason, so make your purchases (of frames and componentry) accordingly.

The Extreme C is available in 8 sloping sizes and in non-sloping geometry between 51cm and 62cm. It comes standard with a Colnago C75 Carbon monocoque fork. It requires the use of a 1-1/8" threadless headset, an Italian bottom bracket, a braze on front derailleur, and a 28.0mm seatpost.

2008 Colnago Extreme-C Pricing
	Frameset	Record / Chorus	Centaur / Dura Ace	Ultegra SL / Red	Force / Rival
Extreme-C	$4326	7260 / 6853	6258 / 7004	6166 / 6995	6370 / 5992

2008 Colnago Extreme-C Geometry

Seat Tube (c-t)	Seat Tube (c-c)	Top Tube	Seat Angle	Head Tube Length	Setback	Chainstay	Head Tube Angle
51.0	49.0	52.7	75.0	10.6	12.7	39.7	71.1
52.0	50.0	53.1	74.5	11.4	13.3	40.1	71.1
53.0	51.0	53.5	74	12.3	14.0	40.2	71.1
54.0	52.0	54.0	74	13.2	14.3	40.2	71.5
55.0	53.0	54.3	74	14.4	14.6	40.2	71.7
56.0	54.0	55.0	73.5	15.0	15.3	40.5	71.8
57.0	55.0	55.6	73	15.8	16.1	40.7	71.8
58.0	56.0	56.3	73	16.5	16.4	40.7	72.2
59.0	57.0	56.9	73	17.3	16.7	40.9	72.8
60.0	57.1	57.7	73	17.3	16.7	40.9	73.3
61.0 Freuler	58.2	58.2	73	18.3	17.0	40.9	73.3
62.0 Freuler	58.2	58.5	73	18.5	17.0	41.1	73.4
63.0 Freuler	58.2	58.7	73	19.5	17.0	41.1	73.4
64.0 Freuler	58.2	59.0	73	20.3	17.0	41.3	73.4
65.0 Freuler	60.0	59.2	73	21.3	17.4	41.3	73.5

2008 Colnago Compact Geometry: C50, Extreme-C

Seat Tube (c-t)	Seat Tube (c-c)	Effective Seat Tube (c-c)	Effective Top Tube	Seat Angle	Head Tube Length	Setback	Chainstay
45.0 Sloping	42.5	47.0	51.8	75.3	10.8	10.8	39.9
48.0 Sloping	45.5	50.0	53.1	74.3	11.5	11.5	40.0
50.0 Sloping	47.5	52.0	54.0	74.0	13.3	13.3	40.2
52.0 Sloping	49.5	54.0	55.0	73.3	15.8	15.3	40.5
54.0 Sloping	51.5	56.0	56.3	73.0	16.5	16.4	40.5
57.0 Sloping	54.5	58.2	58.2	73.0	18.3	17.0	40.9