Milram legend Erik Zabel is riding his 14th Tour de France, and probably sadly his last. Nevertheless, the former German champion still seems to be living at the sharp end of bicycle development as we spotted him on a completely new Colnago frame this week.
Colnago has yet to release any official details about this new “Extreme Power Super” but a few technical features are apparent just by inspection.
The new EPS closely resembles the current Extreme-C in appearance with its round carbon tubing and carbon lugs, but apparently surpasses even the Extreme Power in its quest for ultimate rigidity. The oversized down tube maintains a constant oversized diameter throughout its length while the top tube now flares even bigger as it approaches the head tube; both are internally reinforced via Colnago’s 3PRS system. The giant chain stays use Colnago’s familiar ‘leaf’-shaped profile.
That head tube also now houses a tapered-and-oversized 1 1/8”-to-1 1/4” steerer tube on a brand-new fork. As on the recently introduced CX-1, the new EPS also makes use of a semi-integrated headset.
Despite appearing to be one of the most modern Colnagos yet, Zabel’s EPS carries a distinctly retro livery, standing out from the black and white Extreme Powers of the rest of his Milram team (which is partly how we managed to spot it). Needless to say, we’ll be keeping our ears very close to the ground on this one and will get more details as soon as they are available.