Many have a soft spot for the Colnago C64 road bike, as well as the myriad bikes in the C-line of bikes. The C-line goes as far back as 1989 with the Colnago C40. the first carbon road bike to ever win the Paris-Roubaix. Each C-series bike shares distinctive ride quality, carbon construction, and the very best in performance. The C64 Private Edition here in the shop is a shining example (quite literally) of what Colnago can do for road bikes. The new Colnago E64 e-road bike, like the C64, is meant to be the very best of what the Italian has to offer within the e-road bike world.
Let us be clear, there are minimal ties between the E64 (or E64 Performance) and C64 road bike. It eschews the unique lugged tube construction of the C64 and instead uses a traditional monocoque carbon construction. The E64's paint scheme is meant to evoke the C64 but goes short of fully aping it. But it has their star-shaped tubing profiles, a similar (if not the same) fork design, and very similar D-shaped seatpost. Further, the E64 is meant to handle like a C64, with the signature sloping geometry they say furthers its case as a lighter, stiffer, and stronger frame than the competition. The bottom bracket area is larger, with a larger downtube to house the battery and wiring of the Ebikemotion X35 drive unit.
We were one of the first bike shops in the US to bring in the Orbea Gain e-road bike, both of which use the Ebikemotion X35 drive unit. This is the most-natural feeling drive unit we have ever used, with very smooth support out of the lightweight assist system, and we are happy to see it here with the E64. Like in other applications, this rear hub-driven design offers up to 250 W of power and 40 N/m of torque. This is paired to a downtube-mounted 250 Watt-hour battery, good for 20-70 miles of range in our experience depending on the amount of assist used.
The E64 benefits from the breadth of features already on the market for Ebikemotion-equipped bikes. A 208 Watt-hour range extender effectively doubles the bike's range without adding excess weight. There's even the powerful Ebikemotion companion app, which we covered HERE. The app has cool features like assist adjustment based on heart rate, GPS mapping, and max assist customization, all of which make the E64 both an option for longer rides as well as a useful training tool.
How does it ride? Good question. The Colnago C64 is one of the best road bikes available in the world, a veritable superbike in a field of anonymity and the same frame design. It offers sharp steering that makes more sense the faster you go, with a firm ride quality that really encourages riders to push the pace. The E64 manages to remain close to that same ethos, with only a slight change in fit to make the E64 a bit more comfortable on a long ride. The E64 looks to do the same thing by bringing uniquely Colnago performance to the e-bike realm where there is not really anything like it out there.
Will this be the genesis of a wide range of Colnago e-road bikes akin to the C-series? No idea, but this is an impressive debut from Colnago that bodes well for their future of e-road bikes. The Colnago E64 is available in two build kits based around Shimano Ultegra R8020 and Ultegra Di2 R8070 drivetrains. We have both in stock at the shop, and they are faithful to Colnago's DNA.
Have any questions about the Colnago E64 or its Ebikemotion drive unit? Give us a call during business hours, or send us an email any time to info@contenderbicycles.com.
2 comments
Javier, great question. The E64 is limited to 20 mph of assist but because of how light it is, the drive unit isn’t the most powerful. Speed up a hill, therefore, is dependent on where you’re riding, how much assist you’re using, etc.
And in regards to the battery, Ebikemotion says you can do 500 full charges of 0 to 100% before seeing any degradation. Should the battery need to be replaced it can be taken out by your local shop.
Alvin - Contender Bicycles on
How fast will the eye go up a hill ? Also what happens after a few years to battery in downtub is it need to be replaced ?
Javier Tamariz on
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Many have a soft spot for the Colnago C64 road bike, as well as the myriad bikes in the C-line of bikes. The C-line goes as far back as 1989 with the Colnago C40. the first carbon road bike to ever win the Paris-Roubaix. Each C-series bike shares distinctive ride quality, carbon construction, and the very best in performance. The C64 Private Edition here in the shop is a shining example (quite literally) of what Colnago can do for road bikes. The new Colnago E64 e-road bike, like the C64, is meant to be the very best of what the Italian has to offer within the e-road bike world.
Let us be clear, there are minimal ties between the E64 (or E64 Performance) and C64 road bike. It eschews the unique lugged tube construction of the C64 and instead uses a traditional monocoque carbon construction. The E64's paint scheme is meant to evoke the C64 but goes short of fully aping it. But it has their star-shaped tubing profiles, a similar (if not the same) fork design, and very similar D-shaped seatpost. Further, the E64 is meant to handle like a C64, with the signature sloping geometry they say furthers its case as a lighter, stiffer, and stronger frame than the competition. The bottom bracket area is larger, with a larger downtube to house the battery and wiring of the Ebikemotion X35 drive unit.
We were one of the first bike shops in the US to bring in the Orbea Gain e-road bike, both of which use the Ebikemotion X35 drive unit. This is the most-natural feeling drive unit we have ever used, with very smooth support out of the lightweight assist system, and we are happy to see it here with the E64. Like in other applications, this rear hub-driven design offers up to 250 W of power and 40 N/m of torque. This is paired to a downtube-mounted 250 Watt-hour battery, good for 20-70 miles of range in our experience depending on the amount of assist used.
The E64 benefits from the breadth of features already on the market for Ebikemotion-equipped bikes. A 208 Watt-hour range extender effectively doubles the bike's range without adding excess weight. There's even the powerful Ebikemotion companion app, which we covered HERE. The app has cool features like assist adjustment based on heart rate, GPS mapping, and max assist customization, all of which make the E64 both an option for longer rides as well as a useful training tool.
How does it ride? Good question. The Colnago C64 is one of the best road bikes available in the world, a veritable superbike in a field of anonymity and the same frame design. It offers sharp steering that makes more sense the faster you go, with a firm ride quality that really encourages riders to push the pace. The E64 manages to remain close to that same ethos, with only a slight change in fit to make the E64 a bit more comfortable on a long ride. The E64 looks to do the same thing by bringing uniquely Colnago performance to the e-bike realm where there is not really anything like it out there.
Will this be the genesis of a wide range of Colnago e-road bikes akin to the C-series? No idea, but this is an impressive debut from Colnago that bodes well for their future of e-road bikes. The Colnago E64 is available in two build kits based around Shimano Ultegra R8020 and Ultegra Di2 R8070 drivetrains. We have both in stock at the shop, and they are faithful to Colnago's DNA.
Have any questions about the Colnago E64 or its Ebikemotion drive unit? Give us a call during business hours, or send us an email any time to info@contenderbicycles.com.
Javier, great question. The E64 is limited to 20 mph of assist but because of how light it is, the drive unit isn’t the most powerful. Speed up a hill, therefore, is dependent on where you’re riding, how much assist you’re using, etc.
And in regards to the battery, Ebikemotion says you can do 500 full charges of 0 to 100% before seeing any degradation. Should the battery need to be replaced it can be taken out by your local shop.
Alvin - Contender Bicycles on
How fast will the eye go up a hill ? Also what happens after a few years to battery in downtub is it need to be replaced ?
Javier Tamariz on