It’s not officially official from Colnago, nor is it on the UCI-approved list yet, but this prototype TT2 shows there’s a new time trial bike coming soon for Tadej Pogačar to race. In fact, Pogi’s already raced it at the Tour de Romandie, setting himself up in a good position that he’s already turned into the overall stage race lead a few days later.
So how is it different than the current TT1 that debuted four years ago?
Let’s take a closer look at what we can see in this prototype…
Colnago TT2 all-new prototype time trial bike, coming soon
While the details aren’t entirely nailed down, and Pogačar was the only one to race the new prototype this week, Colnago has confirmed that the new TT2 will already be available later this year. So it really is coming soon, and we expect the full UAE team to be on the bike when the regular stage racing season kicks into full gear with the Giro d’Italia next month.
But this is a completely redesigned time trail bike in almost every aspect.
What’s new?
An all-new more conventional fork & headtube design. Smoother, less angular frame shaping. A much shallower seattube and seatpost design. And more conventional dropped seatstays, completely ditching the dramatic horizontal shaping of the TT1.
Colnago explains that their main priority in creating a new TT2 was more about saving weight than necessarily reducing CdA. The existing TT1 is already one of the time trial bikes in the peloton, so making it incrementally more aerodynamic was a secondary concern to making it lighter. And all of these changes look to make the new TT bike much simpler overall, which most often means more efficient use of carbon fiber material, so less material and reduced weight overall.
There are huge visual differences when we look at the bike from a side profile.
But Colnago also wholly redesigned the front edges, where the bike cuts into the wind.
The new TT2 prototype’s more traditional headtube now gets a sharper lower edge to cut and redirect wind around the frame, while the top is more conventionally round as airflow comes off the cockpit and meets the stem. It’s a design that looks a lot like fellow Italian bike maker TRed showed us 2.5 years ago on their X23 track bike (which actually is made in Italy, unlike the Colnago). TRed had explained at the time, that they adapted aerodynamic designs from America’s Cup racing yacht bows, presumably Colnago’s inspiration, as well.
1/2 kilogram lighter, 2W faster & better handling
Ultimately, with a design that is more structurally efficient and more user-friendly in its simplicity, Colnago says they managed to reduce overall bike frameset weight by 550g – including just the frame, fork & seatpost. That’s quite significant, and should help build lighter TT bikes for the pros encountering more hilly time trial courses, or even races against the clock with longer climbing sections.
But even with the simpler design, Colnago engineers still managed to eke out ~2W of drag reduction in the wind tunnel at 50 km/h vs. the TT1, factoring in the weighted average across yaw angles (WAD).
The new design also means a drastically reduced side profile, which helps improve handling in crosswinds. Colnago claims “greater control, fewer corrective movements in the saddle, and ultimately higher speed“.
Already pro race-ready, but coming to consumers in 4 sizes this autumn
This week in its first outing, Pogačar’s Portuguese teammate Ivo Oliveira took a quick 3rd place in the Tour de Romandie prologue on the existing TT1, 6 seconds off INEOS’ Dorian Godon. But Pogi himself, being the only rider on the size Small prototype, was just a second slower, coming in for a solid 6th place on the super-short 3 1/2 minute time trial sprint.
A further boost to real usability, Colnago will make the new TT2 available in 4 sizes (XS-L). The fit & geometry of the small Pogačar raced remains unchanged. Then, the new XS will fit smaller riders, while M & L get taller front ends to better fit riders with more modern cockpit positions, where positioning is critical to maintain their optimized aero tuck as long as possible.
As for the public, Colnago says that the new TT2 will be available through dealer shops at the end of September 2026. That unfortunately sounds like it’ll probably be too late for ambitious privateers looking for that aero and weight advantage at ITT World’s in Montréal starting in the 3rd week of September. Maybe next year.
