Colnago unveiled its new TT1 time trial bike a few weeks ago, as UAE Team Emirates raced the rig on stage two at the Giro d’Italia time trial in Budapest. This is Colnago’s first time trial bike with disc brakes.
Colnago’s previous time trial bike, the K.One, served as the foundation for the creation of the TT1.
Tadej Pogacar used the K.One to win the final 2020 Tour de France time trial and thus the overall that year.
Colnago used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to build the early 3D models, then went into the wind tunnel at the Politecnico di Milano University to further fine tune the design. Colnago also worked with UAE riders on the bike.
The Colnago TT1 is still technically a prototype in terms of UCI classification. Normally, the UCI approval for teams racing bikes requires the machines to be for sale to consumers. That step can be waived by the UCI if the brand is close to making the bike available — although even that process can be stretched out, as we have seen with Cannondale’s latest unnamed time trial bike, which has been listed as a prototype for a year now.
Colnago says the TT1 will go on sale this fall.
Like many recent aero designs, the TT1 features an integrated hydration/storage unit to increase surface area between the seat tube and the down tube, a bayonet-style head tube, and an extremely low seat stay—though the Colnago is one of the lowest we’ve seen outside of the prototype tri-specific (and non-UCI legal) Cadex that Kristian Blummenfelt rode to victory at Ironman World Championships in St. George two weeks ago.