Tandem Cycling - Colnago / Ferrari Tandem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Colnago-Ferrari-MTB-Bicycle-/170639599746?pt=Road_Bikes&hash=item27bae9a882#ht_7130wt_1141

Something funky with the seller there. That isn't a carbon fiber frame. Shimano Deore components??? $35K???? I've seen Colnago Ferrari's before but never offroad and never a tandem... Wonder if it's legit? Best case, the seller doesn't know what he's selling.

It's a fake. I got this off a Colnago Blog...
"I was very kindly sent a picture of a 'Colnago Tandem' from a reader in Taiwan. Whilst it caused a bit of a chuckle, I decided to do a quick Internet search to see just how many Colnago tandems where out there. So, please see below a few creations from around the world. "

There were pics of a couple other "Colnago" tandems as well.

Fifth (5th) entry in this Blog item I posted a year ago:
http://tandemgeek.wordpress.com/2010/06/21/good-luck-with-that-some-interesting-ebay-offerings/


Unknown, older ‘Colnago-Ferrari’ MTB Tandem for $35,000!!!!!!! - With a tip of the hat to Tim from our Double-Forte off-road tandem enthusiast’s forum for spotting this gem in the general bicycle listings, how about a $2,000 enduro tandem with a set of decals and a custom stand that are apparently worth $33,000! Seriously, nothing special under that paint that I can see: bubble-gum welds and ho-hum tubeset outfitted with dated Shimano XT/XTR components. Now, there are a few nicer Colnago carbon frames out there on Ebay as well, but most of them are priced out of the stratosphere and without much rhyme or reason. The real exception is a 50th anniversary Colnago-Ferrari that actually has a very collectable grouppo and other unique details that truly warrant collector status. The other bikes look like something that was made for folks who are Ferrari fanatics without financial constraints looking for yet another opportunity to bring up their status as Ferrari owners.

. . . loved the neat tandem bikestand!

That is a cool bike stand. For $35,000 you can have one. ;) The interesting thing is that the seller has a real (or what appears to be) Colnago Ferrari single for sale as well. They also have all positive feedback. Wonder if they even know it's not real?

I may have to eat a little crow here, as there may be at least one Colnago tandem floating around....

I decided to do a little more back-checking and was able to find some photos taken inside the Colnago building back in 2006 by a visitor and, son-of-a-gun, there's one sitting in there that looks identical, right down to the bubblegum welds that you find on Kinesis-built tandem frames of that vintage.

http://www.honda-tech.com/showpost.php?p=20923505&postcount=4

And, back in 2007 one of these tandems, complete with the stand, was sold at Auction for 10.350 Euro (about $14k USD) Lot 152

http://www.rmauctions.com/AuctionResults.cfmSaleCode=ff07&SortBy=RO&View=Normal&Category=All&Currency=EUR&tempstartrow=26&currentpage=2&Collection=

http://www.rmauctions.com/CarDetails.cfm?SaleCode=FF07&CarID=L152&Currency=US

Now, as to how one of those things goes from selling at auction for $14k to $35k, that's beyond me, and it's definitely an aluminum frame... not composite per the Ebay ad.

It would certainly be interesting to hear more about the story behind this bike.

In the components, the highlight for me was the 32-38-53 chainrings - I've run some pretty unique combinations before, but nothing like that. I wonder how well the XTR front derailluer handles it?

Maybe it is real???? It's funny, there is nothing at all from Colnago that even mentions that bike or one remotely like it. Wonder if it was a prototype?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Colnago-Ferrari-MTB-Bicycle-/170639599746?pt=Road_Bikes&hash=item27bae9a882#ht_7130wt_1141

Real? Fake? You'd have to be a fool to pay $35k for that bike.

If you are a fool, at least the seller offers free shipping.

Maybe it is real???? It's funny, there is nothing at all from Colnago that even mentions that bike or one remotely like it. Wonder if it was a prototype?

My take is, it's real... but it was a novelty item created to help hype the Colnago for Ferrari MTBs or something back in the mid-2000's.

It appears to be nothing more than a generic Taiwan-made (i.e., Kinesis), tandem ATB frameset with off-the-shelf parts, including a set of Martec road cranks that are nearly identical to the ones they provide to Santana, single-MTB wheels, brakes and fork, and a fancy paint job. Shelfware for the collector with more money than sense to hang in his garage over his collection of prancing pony cars.

That bike is just so out of character for Colnago. All the Ferrari bikes they've sold to the public have top of the line components and other "collectible bits on them. That thing is a piece of junk with a fancy paint job.