£5,799 After 75 years of practice, Cinelli know how to build a top-notch steel race bike
BIKE LAUNCH
Rear dropouts
● The rear dropouts are cast and machined to minimise weight yet still be compatible with modern thru axles
Head-tube
● The 11/8 to 1.5” head-tube keeps the front end stiff and handling sharp
Drivetrain
● Shimano’s 12-speed Ultegra Di2 groupset offers an unbeatable price/performance balance
Italian cyclist Cino Cinelli started building bikes back in 1947 (after winning such legendary races as the Milan-San Remo), and since then, Cinelli have brought out some wildly avant garde designs. A long association with Italy’s Columbus tubing has meant that, even with the advent of aluminium, titanium and carbon (with which Cinelli have also made many fine bikes), they’ve never lost their love of top-end steel road bikes.
01 Fine-looking frame
The Nemo is Cinelli’s race-bred, TIG-welded steel dream machine. The frame is made from triple-butted (the tubes vary in wall thickness to enhance the ride and lower the weight) Columbus Spirit tubing. It weighs 1,850g for a size 56cm and is paired with Columbus’s Futura carbon fork (440g). The machined headtube is 11/8 to 1.5” to keep the front end taut and the steering sharp and there are flat mounts for hydraulic disc brakes, and full internal brake-hose routing.
02 Icing on the cake
The glorious in-house semi-metallic paint highlights the quality of the TIG-welded junctions. Minimal machined dropouts, tapering seatstays and a beautifully integrated seat collar all show the minimalist perfection of a great steel frame.
03 Pure bred
This is a specialist machine: a pure road bike
