Cycling as a hidden excellence of Made in Italy: the Colnago case

From extreme focus to cultural leadership, a historic brand is demonstrating that growth can emerge from deepening its identity, not extending it.

A sector worth more than its volumes

When people think of Made in Italy, their minds immediately turn to fashion, design, automotive, or food and wine. Cycling is far less frequently considered one of the most significant expressions of Italian industrial excellence. Yet few sectors represent as effectively the country’s ability to combine specialized manufacturing, technological innovation, design, and culture.

According to ANCMA (the National Association of Cycle, Motorcycle and Accessory Manufacturers), the Italian bicycle market recorded a decline in volumes in 2025, with approximately 596,000 bicycles sold (-9.4% compared with the previous year). At the same time, however, domestic production of traditional bicycles grew by 6%, exports increased by 11%, and the sector’s trade balance remained strongly positive.

This apparent contradiction tells a story different from that of a market simply in difficulty. Instead, it suggests an ongoing transformation of the sector, in which value increasingly matters more than volume and competitiveness is measured by the ability to create desirable and distinctive products.

This is a dynamic shared by many contemporary Italian success stories. In increasingly globalized and competitive markets, differentiation is no longer determined solely by production capacity, but by the ability to build meaning around products.

Picture: Manolo Bertocchi, Head of Strategy and Marketing, and Nicola Rosin, CEO of Colnago

From product to desirability

An examination of demand trends reveals even more interesting signals. Categories associated with everyday use have experienced declining sales, while segments linked to performance and experience have shown greater resilience.

ANCMA data show that Italian cycling is gradually shifting toward higher value-added segments. Road and gravel bikes now account for more than one-fifth of traditional bicycles sold in the country. Even more significant is their price positioning: 60% of gravel bikes are sold for more than €1,500, while 60% of road bikes exceed €2,000 and 16% sell for more than €6,000.

Cycling is therefore following a trajectory already observed in fashion, design, and premium automotive. Products are chosen not only for what they do, but for what they represent. Competition is gradually moving from price to perceived value, from utility to desirability.

In other words, success depends less and less on the ability to produce more and more on the ability to build identity, authority, and cultural relevance.

The Colnago case

It is within this context that the Colnago case becomes particularly interesting.

Founded in 1954 by Ernesto Colnago in Cambiago, just outside Milan, the company has accompanied some of the most important technological and sporting transformations in modern cycling. From steel to carbon fiber, from early structural innovations to more recent victories at the highest levels of professional cycling, the brand has evolved while maintaining a strong identity.

In 2020, the Colnago family sold control of the company to international investors from Abu Dhabi. Today, the brand is part of the portfolio of Aurora Vision Group, a holding company led by Melissa Moncada.

For many historic brands, the arrival of international capital represents a risk of homogenization. In Colnago’s case, the opposite occurred: the new ownership chose to strengthen the brand’s distinctive elements—Italian heritage, craftsmanship, performance, and culture—demonstrating how global capital and local identity can not only coexist, but also reinforce one another.

At the conclusion of the first business plan developed under the new ownership (2021–2025), Colnago surpassed €76 million in revenue, achieved operating profitability levels comparable to those of the most exclusive luxury brands, and further consolidated its international presence. More than a simple growth story, the Colnago case represents an interesting example of how global capital and local identity can be transformed into a sustainable competitive advantage.

Zero Degrees North: the value of focus

One of the most distinctive aspects of Colnago’s recent strategy is its decision to concentrate on an extremely well-defined territory. The company produces only non-electric bicycles with drop handlebars, positioned in the high-end and ultra-premium segments of the market. No mountain bikes. No city bikes. No e-bikes.

A philosophy that CEO Nicola Rosin summarizes with the expression “Zero Degrees North”: owning a narrow but highly distinctive territory, deliberately renouncing expansion opportunities that are inconsistent with the brand’s identity.

It is a strategy that recalls the principle of less is more. Rather than continually broadening its range, Colnago concentrates its investments on a limited number of product platforms with high technological and symbolic value.

In 2026, the Colnago Steelnovo received the Compasso d’Oro ADI award. The recognition carries significance beyond the individual product and demonstrates how cycling can now be interpreted as a fully fledged design discipline.

“Our story begins in Cambiago, but it does not belong only to the past. Every Colnago bicycle is the result of a vision that combines engineering, design, and elegance into a single idea of performance. But there is an even more important element: truth. Truth in the product, in the processes, in the people, and in the way we tell our story. We believe a brand can become authoritative only when there is complete consistency between what it creates, what it communicates, and what it represents,” says Rosin.

When performance becomes culture

The reference to truth introduces a reflection that goes beyond the product itself. One of the distinguishing characteristics of Italy’s most enduring success stories is their ability to maintain deep consistency between what they produce and what they represent.

When this consistency becomes established over time, a brand’s value ceases to derive exclusively from the quality of its products and begins to evolve into cultural heritage.

Here too, Colnago offers an interesting example through Colnago Cultura, a platform dedicated to promoting the brand’s history, innovation, and identity.

From brand extension to brand expansion

Colnago’s cultural strategy also suggests a possible evolution in the concept of growth for premium brands. For decades, growth was associated with brand extension—that is, expansion into new product categories. Increasingly, however, some brands appear to be pursuing a different logic: not extending their product boundaries, but expanding the cultural and experiential universe associated with their original category.

From this perspective, value does not emerge from entering new markets, but from creating new ways to experience and interpret the meaning of the brand.

“For many years, the growth of premium brands was associated with brand extension, meaning entering new product categories. We increasingly believe in a different concept, which we call brand expansion. Instead of moving away from our category, we seek to amplify it. Books, films, exhibitions, travel, and experiences do not represent an extension of the brand; they represent new ways of experiencing cycling and engaging with what Colnago stands for. We do not expand the brand’s territory. We deepen its meaning,” says Manolo Bertocchi, Head of Strategy and Marketing.

The tours developed by Colnago in collaboration with DuVine represent a significant example of this evolution. The product becomes the gateway to a broader ecosystem made up of territory, culture, gastronomy, hospitality, and relationships. In this context, storytelling gradually gives way to storyliving.

From product leadership to cultural leadership

This evolution reflects a broader change affecting many Italian success stories. The strongest brands do not simply produce high-quality goods; they become cultural reference points within their respective categories.

For many years, Made in Italy built its competitive advantage through product quality. Today, in an economy increasingly oriented toward experience and meaning, the challenge appears different: transforming that quality into cultural authority.

The Colnago case suggests that the future of Italian excellence may not lie in expansion into new territories, but in the ability to deepen and enhance the territories already occupied. Not growing by moving away from one’s identity, but by moving more deeply into it.

From this perspective, cycling represents more than just an industrial excellence of Made in Italy. It is a privileged laboratory for understanding how Italian brands can continue to compete globally: not only by exporting products, but by exporting culture, meaning, and experiences. This may well be the most advanced form of contemporary Made in Italy.

Passo Giau, Colnago at Giro d’Italia
 

The Colnago model

Founded: 1954
Headquarters: Cambiago, Milan

Main range
• Racing: V5Rs, V4, Y1Rs
• C Series: C72
• Gravel: G4-X
• Heritage: Steelnovo, Master

Positioning
• Exclusively non-electric bicycles with drop bars
• No MTBs
• No city bikes
• No e-bikes

Production model
• 70% assembly-to-order
• 30% made-to-stock
• Average lead time: about 3 months

Craftsmanship
• C72 hand-built in Italy
• Steelnovo hand-built in Italy

Customization
• Colnago Customizator
• Color customization for C72 and Steelnovo

Product development
• New platform: about 24 months
• Evolution of existing platform: about 18 months

Distribution
• 1 monobrand store (Abu Dhabi)
• About 10 shop-in-shops

Financial performance
• 2025 revenue: over €76 million
• Operating profitability in line with the most exclusive luxury brands