This is the history from Colnago's web site.
1932: Ernesto Colnago comes into the world as first-born son to a family of farmers. After school he helps his father Antonio in the fields.
1944: Colnago serves as a 12 year old apprentice in the workshop of craftsman Dante Fumagalli, where he uses a welding torch for the first time.
1945: Colnago is hired 25 November 1945 at Gloria, a prestigious bicycle factory, formerly at Viale Abruzzi, 42 in Milano.
1946: Colnago starts his bicycle racing career and wins 13 races total, the most important being the 1950 edition of Coppa Caldirola.
1951: At the end of the Milano-Busseto classic, Colnago falls and breaks his left leg. 60 days in a cast put an end to a racing career. Having to sit still for all that time, he asks Gloria to give him some wheels to build at home. This is when Colnago gets the idea of starting his own business.
1952: Colnago leaves Gloria and works as a piece-work sub-contractor in a room of 25 m* in Cambiago.
1954: Colnago officially opens his own bicycle shop in Cambiago; the true start of Colnago.
1955: Fiorenzo Magni (Nivea) visits him in his workshop at Cambiago with a bike that hurts his legs. Colnago adjusts the cranks and in the days to follow, Magni realizes that the pain has gone and he invites Colnago to take part in the Giro dItalia as his mechanic.
1956: 5 September is the memorable day on which he marries Vincenzina Ronchi.
1959: Daughter Anna is born on 17 November.
1960: Luigi Arienti rides a Colnago as part of the gold medal quartetto in the 4000m. tem pursuit at the Rome Olympics, the first major victory on a Colnago bicycle.
1961: Colnago moves to Team Philco with Magni as first mechanic.
1962: He is with Giorgio Albani at Molteni where he remains till 1973. There he wins everything that can be won, first with Gianni Motta, then Dancelli and Rudy Altig.
1964: Colnago is mechanic for the Italian national team for many years.
1966: At Molteni with Gianni Motta, Colnago wins the Giro dItalia.
1968: At Imola, Adorni wins the World Championship with Colnago as mechanic.
1969: Colnago introduces microfusion casting of fork crowns and lugs, which are much more reliable than those obtained with the traditional system of forged fork crowns and pressed lugs.
1970: 19 March: Michele Dancelli wins the Milan-San Remo on a Colnago bicycle.
1970: After Dancelli's victory at Sanremo, Colnago creates the famous Asso di Fiori (Ace of Clubs) logo, now known the world over.
1971: Merckx goes to Molteni, relations with Colnago are the most fruitful, they become colleagues and friends.
1972: Ernesto Colnago in his Cambiago workshop with the custom track bike used by Merckx for his World Hour Record, Mexico City 25.10.72. Average speed: 49.431 km/hour!
1974: By sponsoring Team SCIC, Colnagos adventure starts as official technical sponsor of racing teams. Thirty years later, he has over 5,000 pro wins on his bicycles.
1975: Colnago invents the Mexico frame with a crimped top tube to increase its ridigity.
1977 :Colnago encourages young Giuseppe Saronni to turn a pro for Team SCIC.
THE 80s: During this decade, Colnago creates many experimental and futuristic bicycle models, among which is the aerodynamic Krono Flight in carbon fibre.
1982: Colnagos meeting with Del Tongo is the start of the legendary Del Tongo-Colnago squad. With Beppe Saronni as team captain, he would win the World Championship in England later that year.
1983: The birth of Colnagos innovative, unique Oval cx Arabesque frame. Colnagos Master, with its cold drawn tubes in star section becomes frame that defined the era as Saronni rides his master to win the Giro dItalia.
1986: Colnago begins his collaboration with Ferrari to transfer their cutting edge Formula Uno technology to high-end racing bicycles.
1987: The birth of Colnagos Precisa fork with straight blades, a major revolution in fork designs.
1989: This is the year of Colnagos C35 models to mark his 35th anniversary, with C35s for both for road and MTB and created in close collaboration with Ferrari Engineering.
1990: Colnago builds bicycles with the Italia 90 logo to commemorate the Football World Cup in Italy.
1991: Colnago builds his innovative "Carbitubo" model with a split downtube."Carbitubo wins Colnago the most prestigious and important classic races in the world that year.
1992: Colnago delivers a Carbitubo to the King of Spain.
1993: Colnago creates the Bititan frame in Titanium using the same innovative split downtube. design as his "Carbitubo" model
1994: Tony Rominger wins the World Hour Record with 55.291km covered in one hour. These are the years of Colnagos continuous wins in the racing world.
1994: This is the year Colnago teams up with Giorgio Squinzi, owner of Mapei, to create the team that becomes the strongest in the world. Colnago obtains the patent for a masterpiece model in carbon fibre with one-piece lugs, called C40. So far, Colnagos C40 has won Paris-Roubaix 5 times, 3 World Championships races as well as many of the most prestigious classic races throughout the world.
1997: Colnagos new World Headquarters open in Cambiago.
2000: An ever closer collaboration with Ferrari Engineering realizes the production of Colnagos CF1 Limited Edition: a full carbon fibre racing bike.
2001: Colnagos collaboration with Ferrari Engineering produces the CF2 Limited Edition, an incredible full suspension carbon fibre mountain bike.
2002: More from Colnago & Ferrari Engineering with the introduction of the CF3 Limited Edition, a monocoque carbon fibre racing bike.
2003: At the 61° Fair of Milan, Colnago presents the C50, a natural evolution of the C40 and renews the whole range.
2003:The Colnago company celebrates its 50th Anniversary by producing a very special bike in a limited edition.
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Chuck Schmidt South Pasadena, Southern California
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