I consider myself an enthusiast, not an expert. Please remember that this information is only to be used as a guide. I have listed the following website pages as general references. I hope you found this article interesting. The following websites have a large selection scanned Colnago literature including reviews, catalogues and brochures. Rounded seat stays caps with ‘Colnago’ letteringĬolnago ESA Mexico catalogue page (circa 1987) Colnago Literature.Club outlined symbol on rear brake bridge.‘Colnago’ lettering on top of bottom bracket.Minimalist braze-on front derailleur mount.Fork crown with club symbol and ‘Colnago’ lettering.These images are a combination of four different Colnago ESA Mexico frames and demonstrate the features typically found on a Colnago ESA Mexico frame. General features of the Colnago ESA Mexico. Whilst all the examples I could find featured both crimped ESACOLANGO top and down tubes, the seat tube on some frames is round whilst on other frames the seat tube is also an ESACOLANGO tube as show in these photo’s. Variations between Colnago ESA Mexico frames. Image courtesy of ESACOLNAGO 6 flute tube profile. The Colnago ESA Mexico is built using conventional lugs. Special features of an Colnago ESA Mexico.Īs mentioned previously, ESACOLNAGO SL-Record tubing is the special feature of this frame. The Gilco Master tube profile however, is still used in Colnago Master in 2019.īefore you start with the identification process, you should start here The Colnago ESA Mexico was the last model to be built using these tubes and no longer featured in Colnago catalogues by the early 1990’s.

Whilst the ESACOLNAGO tube profile was released after the Gilco Master profile, it did not enjoy the same longevity. The main distinction between the Colnago Regal and Colnago ESA Mexico, was the Colnago Regal was built using decorative Colnago Arabesque lugs. The following year in 1987, the Colnago ESA Mexico bicycle first appeared in a Colnago catalogue. In 1986, the Colnago Regal was the first bike released with this tubing. In the mid 1980’s, Colnago and Columbus developed the ESACOLNAGO tube which was a round tube with six distinct symmetrical flutes. Image courtesy of In the early 1980’s Colnago began experimenting with crimping main frame tubes to increase stiffness.

Colnago steel frame