Colnago Y1Rs vs V5Rs vs C72: Colnago road bikes compared 2026

For many cyclists, a Colnago remains a dream bike. Over the years since its founding by Ernesto Colnago in 1954, Colnagos have been ridden to victory by Eddy Merckx, Johan Museeuw and a host of other star names. The brand is still winning headline races today, thanks to Tadej Pogačar and his UAE colleagues in both men’s and women’s racing.

Colnago has throughout its history been at the forefront of bicycle evolution, introducing straight legged forks and being an early adopter of carbon fibre for bicycle frames, as well as a stream of iconic models. It announced the C59 Disc in 2012, long before disc brakes went mainstream.

Colnago continues to innovate to this day, with the Y1Rs aero bike one of the most eye-catching in the pro peloton, while the V5Rs offers a top spec lightweight/aero road bike. The brand hasn’t abandoned its traditions either, with the C72 the latest in a line of steel, then carbon, lugged frames handbuilt in its Cambiago factory in the same suburb of Milan where Ernesto Colnago started out 72 years ago.   

Colnago’s range extends to gravel and time trial bikes too, while it still sells steel models. But if you’re looking for a premium Colnago road bike, which should you choose? We’ll run through the features of the Y1Rs, V5Rs and C72 and make some suggestions on how to choose the best Colnago road bike for you.

Colnago Y1Rs vs V5Rs vs C72: Key features 

Colnago Y1Rs 

• Bayonet fork and V-shaped cockpit reduce frontal area
• 15mm saddle height adjustment for cut seatpost
• 32mm tyre clearance

Colnago V5Rs 

• Slim frame tubing to reduce frontal area
• Monocoque frameset
• 32mm tyre clearance

Colnago C72

• Lugged frame hand-built in Italy
• In-frame storage
• 35mm tyre clearance

Colnago Y1Rs vs V5Rs vs C72: Frameset

The Y1Rs is the most eye-catching of the three bikes, with a bayonet fork mount that allows Colnago to lengthen the head tube while also narrowing it. The bike has a 19% smaller frontal area versus the V4Rs, the V5Rs’s predecessor. The down tube is also narrow at its top, but spreads to shield bottles towards the bottom bracket, although this too is quite narrow, with a 68mm wide BSA shell.

The design of the seatpost allows Colnago to wrap the seat tube around the rear wheel, improving aerodynamics, while adding compliance at the saddle despite the aero seatpost.  

The V5Rs frameset has been narrowed down for a similar reason, reducing the frontal profile by 13% relative to the V4Rs. That’s led Colnago to increase the stiffness of the carbon fibre used, to retain overall frame stiffness. There’s a new production process to increase compaction of the carbon fibre and hence rigidity without additional weight. 

The fork blades are also thinner than on the V4Rs and there’s a D-shaped internal section to the steerer to allow internal cable routing.  

Colnago’s C series frames use lugs at the frame junctions, with the carbon tubing cut to size and glued in place. Over time, the carbon lugs had progressively disappeared with subsequent generations as they were blended into the frame tubing. There was an increasing extent of one-piece moulding, such as the single seat tube and bottom bracket shell member in the C68.

The C72 changes that with a design that emphasises the lugwork with small gaps between the frame tubes and the lugs and contrasting colours to highlight the interface. It’s still assembled in Italy from seven different parts and offered in seven sizes, as was the C68.

In contrast, both the Y1Rs and V5Rs framesets are monocoque and made in Asia.

Colnago Y1Rs vs V5Rs vs C72: Geometry

Colnago usually sizes its bike frames by seat tube length in mm, a system that’s unique to the brand. Thus a size 530 C72 frameset has a 563mm effective (horizontal) top tube length, equating to a 56cm frame size. 

The C72’s predecessors up until the C68 were, in addition, sold with either a sloping or a high top tube, the latter increasing the frame stack and the number of available frame sizes. When it launched the C68, Colnago stopped selling the high top tube models and the C72 too offers only sloping geometry, reducing available sizes to seven. The V5Rs is sold in the same seven sizes as the C72.

With the Y1Rs, Colnago has gone a step further to rationalise its size range, offering just five frame sizes and labelling them a more conventional and more easily understood XS to XL.

The V5Rs and C72 have very similar geometry figures, although the C72 has a slightly shorter reach and higher stack. 

In contrast, the Y1Rs has a lower stack and a shorter head tube. This, in part, is in compensation for the rising handlebars, which add in the extra height removed from the frame. The bike’s head tube is also steeper, reducing the trail figure, which we remarked in our review made for livelier handling than is typical for Colnagos. 

It’s worth bearing in mind that lowering or raising the saddle affects the Y1Rs’s geometry, as it changes the effective seat tube angle, unlike with most frames, where the seat tube angle remains the same regardless of the saddle height. This potentially affects the bike’s handling characteristics.

Colnago offers two different seatpost offsets for the Y1Rs, 0 or 15mm, to help compensate.

In contrast, both the V5Rs and C72 have a conventional seat tube and seatpost design, so seat tube angle is unaffected by saddle height.  

Colnago Y1Rs vs V5Rs vs C72: Weight

Colnago states a weight for an unpainted Y1Rs frame of 965g and a frame kit weight of 1,415g. It claims a complete bike weighs 7.2kg in size M with Shimano Dura-Ace and Enve wheels and our size L review bike was in line with this. It’s around 242g heavier than the V4Rs (Colnago’s comparator before the V5Rs was launched). 

Colnago constructs the V5Rs frameset from high modulus carbon fibre, which it says leads to a 685g weight for a size 485 unpainted frame and a 1,027g frame kit that’s 146g lighter than the V4Rs. 

It claims a C72 frame in size 485 weighs 895g and that builds can weigh from 6.8kg. 

Colnago Y1Rs vs V5Rs vs C72: Components

Colnago fits its own one-piece cockpits to its bikes. The most striking is the Y1Rs’s V-shaped CC.Y1 bars, which attach directly to the head tube, rather than a more conventional T-shaped design. 

As with the frameset, this helps to reduce frontal area and hence wind resistance. There’s limited adjustability, as although there are ten length and width variants there’s just 25mm of height adjustment.

Colnago’s CC.Y1 bars offer effective stem lengths from 95mm to 135mm and widths between the hoods which are all under 400mm, following the narrower handlebar trend. 

The Y1Rs frame’s short seatpost insertion and just 15mm of adjustability mean that it may need to be cut to length to suit the bike’s rider. Although this does limit the opportunity to sell on to a taller rider, they can purchase a new, uncut seatpost if they need to raise the saddle more. 

In this regard, Colnago’s design is less committing than, say, the Giant Propel Advanced SL, where the seatmast height can’t be increased significantly once the frame is cut.

The V5Rs has a conventional round steerer, so it’s compatible with both Colnago’s CC.01 bar/stem that comes fitted to full builds and many third party stems. The CC.01 is wider than the Y1Rs’s bars, with width between the hoods ranging from 370mm up to 430mm. There are 13 size options in total with stem lengths between 80mm and 130mm. 

The seatpost is a custom component for the V5Rs though. It’s available in 15mm offset, which is supplied with the frame, as well as 0 offset, which can be purchased separately.

The C72 is fitted as standard with the newer CC.02 bar/stem. Colnago’s size chart shows just six options with effective stem lengths between 90mm and 130mm and width between the hoods of 390mm to 410mm. It’s claimed to weigh 15g less than the CC.01.

The bike’s seatpost has a D-shaped cross-section and a 15mm offset.

Colnago Y1Rs vs V5Rs vs C72: Specs

As you’d expect, Colnago specs high quality components across its road bike range.

For the Y1Rs and C72, that means Campagnolo Super Record 13, Shimano Dura-Ace or SRAM Red AXS.

Colnago offers the same three groupsets on the V5Rs, but adds Shimano Ultegra and SRAM Force AXS options.  

All three bikes are available with Enve SES 3.4 C or Shimano Dura-Ace C50 wheels. The Y1Rs also offers Vision 45 Carbon wheels, while the V5Rs and C72 can be specced with Fulcrum Wind 420 DB carbon or Fulcrum Racing 600 DB alloy wheelsets. 

Choose a Campagnolo groupset and the bikes are specced as standard with Campagnolo Bora Ultra WTO 45 wheels.

Colnago fits Pirelli P Zero Race 28mm tyres to most specs, although the Fulcrum 600 DB wheels have Pirelli P7 Sport tyres, also in 28mm width.

Colnago Y1Rs vs V5Rs vs C72: Pricing

All Colnago’s road bikes come with a premium price tag. In the case of the Y1Rs, complete bikes start at £11,764 in the lowest priced SRAM Red AXS build with Vision SC 45 wheels. 

The comparable entry price for the C72 is £13,571. 

The V5Rs’s lower spec groupset options allow Colnago to offer builds from £9,000 with the same Vision wheels. Upspec the groupset though and you’re looking at a similar £12,000 whole bike price.

Since Colnago’s bikes are built to order, there is a large array of spec choices, which extend to colour scheme, gear ratios, crank length, handlebar dimensions, saddle and more. There’s an online configurator on Colnago’s website that allows you to choose from available specs and component dimensions.

Colnago Y1Rs vs V5Rs vs C72: Which should you choose?

Colnagos have a reputation for ride quality, as you’d expect from a prestige brand. Nevertheless, the pro orientation may mean that you want to choose carefully.

It’s tempting to choose the Y1Rs for its dusting of Pogačar stardust. We found the bike a bit of a mixed bag though when we reviewed the Y1Rs. Yes, it’s fast and feels fast on flat roads, but tech editor Sam Challis found that he could induce twisting under high torque efforts, which he attributed to the design of the bars and the thin seatpost without a seat tube to hold it firmly in place.

Sam noted too that the ride quality was better suited to smoother roads than we generally have on offer in the UK.

The V5Rs is also in the UAE pros’ quiver and Laurence Kilpatrick was less equivocal about the ride comfort on his first ride, which he found consistent with the bike’s race orientation. 

He reckoned though that a tyre width increase from the 28mm Pirellis fitted would have added extra peace of mind. The handlebars felt over-wide too, although Colnago does offer a choice of narrower bars when ordering.

We’ve yet to ride the Colnago C72, but although its geometry is only slightly more relaxed than the V5Rs it might be a better choice for the less race-oriented amateur. Weight-wise it’s claimed to be similar to the V5Rs, but the wider tyre clearance and in-frame storage could make it more attractive for recreational riders on uneven roads. 

We reckon the C72 looks less race-functional and more stylish than the V5Rs and far more understated than the Y1Rs, which begs for some speed demon to prove he’s faster than you. 

The C68 was, like the C72, initially launched as a single road-oriented model. The range subsequently expanded to an Allroad, a Gravel and even a rim brake frameset. It’s not clear if Colnago will do the same with the C72; at least one of these options is now obsolete, as the C68 Allroad offered 35mm tyre clearance, the same as the C72 Road now offers.

But we reckon the C72 is likely to be well-suited to UK road conditions, particularly when fitted with wider tyres, while adding some understated Colnago style.