How a Box of Old Lugs Is Reviving Colnago's Arabesque
Colnago unveiled two strikingly different steel frames in the mid-1980s: the Master, which featured the star-shaped tubes that would become a Colnago signature, and tame lug shaping; and the Arabesque, which had more conventionally shaped tubes, but lugs with significantly more flourish. The Arabesque proved less popular than the Master, and was produced for only a year. This rarity, however, would eventually turn the Arabesque into one of the most sought-after Colnagos by collectors and retro buffs.
But a chance discovery is enabling Colnago to bring back the Arabesque, and in a way the melds the best of both steel models.
According to Alex Colnago, nephew to company founder Ernesto Colnago, an employee was walking in the basement of the company’s Cambiago, Italy, headquarters and factory when he happened across a forgotten stash of original Arabesque lugs. Those lugs are being used to build a limited run of “new” Arabesque frames—in Italy, nearly 30 years after the bike’s original debut.
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Unlike the original round-tube Arabesque models, this new run will use the Master’s star-shaped tube set, marrying the signature details of both frames. This move also prevents any mistaking the new model with frames built in the '80s, which will probably be a relief to collectors of the original Arabesque.
Colnago is currently counting and cataloging the lug sets and isn’t yet sure exactly how many frames it can build, though current estimates are in the neighborhood of 400 to 600. What frame sizes the lugs will allow isn’t established yet, either. The frames will be allocated worldwide with no estimate on how many will come to the US. So far, Japan, one of Colnago’s best markets, has put in the most orders. No price was available at press time.
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