Australian gravel racer Nathan Haas has a shiny new carbon Colnago G3X gravel bike to race Unbound this weekend in a hotly contested gravel race that may see 3x highway World Champ Peter Sagan on the beginning line trying for a win. Haas’s secret weapon although, will likely be retro Italian airbrush model…
Colnago G3-X Unbound retro Art Decor customized for Nathan Haas
c. Colnago
Haas final positioned second on the UCI Gravel World Series (sure, that’s a thing now) race just a few weeks again in Seven, Australia. Unbound Gravel isn’t a part of the UCI collection, however loads of huge names are anticipated to indicate up. And he’ll stand out within the pack, racing this Nineties retro-style Colnago gravel bike.
Colnago describes that outdated look as “real works of art”, though for many, the airbrush look was at all times excessive flashy Italian model that now feels dated. Yet, as Colnago has transitioned to an easier, extra fashionable aesthetic, this looks like a pleasant dose of nostalgia to see the model reimagined.
c. Wikipedia
Haas’ new Colnago G3-X gravel race bike for Unbound takes inspiration from the colours and sundown fade on Kansas’s state flag, however taken a bit additional with a touch of neon.
Can I simply say that extra fashionable bikes have to convey again chrome stays? And that shiny chrome fork appears to be like soooo good! (Although, why on the planet are all of the dropouts white as an alternative of chrome!)
The Art Decor bike design even options the silhouette of Nathan Haas himself driving the bike simply behind the headset (…in case he forgets what he’s alleged to be doing mid-race?) Plus the state’s Latin motto “ad astra per aspera” on the highest tube.
“Through roughness to the stars” isn’t a nasty motto each for the pioneers that settled the Midwestern state and for a contemporary icon of gravel racing.
Colnago says that designer Richard Pierce ‘curated’ the look along with Castelli, and Haas needs to be decked out in an identical package too, impressed by the identical ’90s model. We imagined a vibrant, flashy Euro professional look with a number of sponsor logos and color-matched shorts? But fortunately they no less than gave Haas some black bibs for modesty’s sake.
The bike itself is similar Colnago G3-X that we checked out earlier this season below Haas, and the identical bike ridden to win final 12 months’s Unbound by Lauren De Crescenzo.
The G3-X is a motorbike design impressed by Colnago’s a long time of confirmed cyclocross racers, and this Kansas Art Decor customized construct actually does look so much like an outdated cyclocross bike. But it’s a correct devoted gravel bike with larger 42mm tire clearance (with room for the Kansas mud that’s forecast this weekend), longer wheelbase, decrease BB, and usually extra snug & steady geometry for long-distance off-road racing.
There’s additionally 3 units of bottle cage mounts and a direct prime tube bag mount, though no clue what Haas’ race day setup will actually seem like?
Unfortunately for retro Colnago followers, this can be a one-off bike.
You’ll have to seek out your personal Italian airbrush artist to recreate this look for your personal gravel bike…
