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A little porn for the masses

10K views 42 replies 27 participants last post by  Dereck 
#1 ·
My favorite bike - recently repainted
 
#2 ·
Awesome!

What are those rims? Did you have them painted to match?

Len
 
#4 ·
Front end?!

I like the frame colour and the contrasting black but why blue tyres? Black skinwalls would look better with those rims. That bar/stem combo looks a dog/s breakfast as well IMO.
 
#7 ·
sir duke said:
I like the frame colour and the contrasting black but why blue tyres? Black skinwalls would look better with those rims. That bar/stem combo looks a dog/s breakfast as well IMO.

Im sorry but I have to agree about the bar/stem. It doesnt really flow with the rest of the bike. Maybe something old school, like the classic drop bars and a quill stem or whatever its called and with a leather bar wrap. But on a lighter note, that frame is absolutely stunning! Very impressive!
 
#8 ·
Great bike. I'm glad it didn't fall into the water.
 
#9 ·
Absolutely

Matt35 said:
Im sorry but I have to agree about the bar/stem. It doesnt really flow with the rest of the bike. Maybe something old school, like the classic drop bars and a quill stem or whatever its called and with a leather bar wrap. But on a lighter note, that frame is absolutely stunning! Very impressive!

stunning DeRosa.....just gorgeous, but I agree with these guys on the black. I would put an alloy seatpost, and alloy stem, like a Thompson in silver with alloy bars too. Would match the alloy Campy gruppo, but the F/F look out of this world beautiful...very jealous...:thumbsup:
 
#11 ·
beantownbiker said:
I like it, all of it, stem, bars, blue tires and all.
So you really think that a gorgeous De Rosa frame like this is enhanced by that bizarre bar/stem configuration? Have a look at some of the steeds in the classic bikes forum; for my money that stem deserves a soaking.
 
G
#12 ·
sir duke said:
So you really think that a gorgeous De Rosa frame like this is enhanced by that bizarre bar/stem configuration? Have a look at some of the steeds in the classic bikes forum; for my money that stem deserves a soaking.
I suspect there is a very good chance that the owner of this particular bike doesn't care what you think.

He has a stunning bike, with a gorgeous re-paint that he is able to ride with comfort and probably for long distances. He is able to enjoy his bike and what it does, without having the tip of his nose rubbing on the front tire.

It is his bike after all.
 
#13 ·
sir duke said:
So you really think that a gorgeous De Rosa frame like this is enhanced by that bizarre bar/stem configuration? Have a look at some of the steeds in the classic bikes forum; for my money that stem deserves a soaking.
I think that the most beautiful bike in the world is the one that is actually ridden. If the owner needs that stem config to ride comfortably, that's just fine with me, still a nice paint job. I have a nice lugged steel frame with a stem that looks like it OD'd on ******, i love it. I also have a bike that i bought a fork with a longer steerer so i could have a negative rise stem. If this poster is happy with fork, why change just so his bike can "look" right?
 
#14 ·
Indeed a sweet looking bike. Orange looks wonderful when done right.

About the stem - clearly it's not about looks but comfort. Sometimes, you have no choice if you want comfort in a frame that requires adjustments elsewhere. However, you can always have the stem painted/designed to match at cyclart.com for $80 I think. Maybe an orange/black fade?

love the orange rims by the way!
 
#15 · (Edited)
Thanks for the kind words everybody. The bike is a '94 Nuovo Classico that I bought new in '94. Despite the fact that I've been adult riding for nearly 50 years and have owned a whole bunch of bikes, this is my fave of all time.

Len J. The rims are indeed Velocity Deep V's. They come in many colors. I originally asked for yellow, but since they were out of stock & didn't expect any for months, I told'em to ship the orange ones. It's just dumb luck that they're exactly the same shade as the frame. I'm often asked if the frame & rims were painted at the same time.....nope!

Sir Duke. LOL! I agree with you about the blue tires. I'm a man of fairly modest means. Michelin Megamiums, one of my favorite tires, normally cost $30.00+. I saw these on sale for less than 17, so I bought 3 pair. They were only available in blue. The bike used to be blue & yellow, so they looked all right. The worst part is this is still the 1st pair. :). I don't think it looks awful, but black would be better IMO.

Negative coments re: the bars & stem. I wanted to upgrade the bike a little so it could accomodate a carbon fork, so I switched to a threadless system. It'd undoubtably look better with the stem flipped, but since I'm not too far from 65 yrs old, I don't bend quite so easily anymore. The bars are Modolo Ergo 8 bend, which have been my favorites for many years. They are on all my bikes, and they aren't coming off. I guess I should have removed the tape on the stem prior to taking the pics. It's there to keep my HRM from slipping.

The painter was Matt Assenmacher. Matt made a custom frame for me in the early 70's & I rode it until just a few years ago. It was a great (crit) frame. I had him repaint that frame too, & he did a great job. His prices start at $180 for a single color. Add $20 for clear coat, maybe $30-40 for a 2 color fade. His price list is on his web site. Do a Google search for Assenmacher cycles. I had everything in the pics, plus the original steel fork done for $340 including minor repairs, frame saver & shipping.

Glad you liked it.
 
#19 ·
I suspect there is a very good chance that the owner of this particular bike doesn't care what you think.
I suspect there's a 100% chance that the rider doesn't give a flying f%ck what I think. I'm fine with that. I don't think he needs you to fight his corner. I'm exercising my right to an opinion. Are you fine with that?
 
#20 ·
Negative coments re: the bars & stem. I wanted to upgrade the bike a little so it could accomodate a carbon fork, so I switched to a threadless system. It'd undoubtably look better with the stem flipped, but since I'm not too far from 65 yrs old, I don't bend quite so easily anymore. The bars are Modolo Ergo 8 bend, which have been my favorites for many years. They are on all my bikes, and they aren't coming off. I guess I should have removed the tape on the stem prior to taking the pics. It's there to keep my HRM from slipping.
I'm impressed and a little humbled that you are riding such a great bike at 65. My comments re: your bar and stem were made from a purely aesthetic viewpoint. You had the good grace to accept them as such. I think at times we forget there are other criteria by which we should judge bikes- rider preferences, rider physiology, age, sex etc. Unfortunately we live in a culture where 'eye-candy' often takes precedence over fitness-for-purpose. You are without doubt a connoisseur when it comes to bikes and I hope you can get another 65 years pleasure out of it.
Glad you got a laugh out of my comments about the blue tires. I'd have done the same. I'm a big fan of those Michelins and have them on my training wheels.
 
#24 ·
Mace2...."holy crap how tall are you"

LOL!! Damn it! I read that & snorted a little Diet Pepsi through my nose. Lucky I didn't get any on my laptop or I'd have been after your butt.

I'm 6'3" and the frame is a 60cm. It fits me perfectly, because it has a relatively long top tube. I have shortish legs (32" pants inseam) but a long torso & arms. Think 37" sleeve length. I think that's probably what makes the stem look awkward. If it was a 100mm it wouldn't be so bad, but it's a 140 by necessity.

I'm glad to be riding at my (ahem) advanced? age. I've been riding for around 50 years & I'm a former cat 2 roadie. I also raced vets & masters. I no longer compete, but I'm still getting in 5-6000 mi/year. I commute to work year round, a 36 mi round trip, and also am active in a couple of clubs. I can hang in with the "youngsters" for some miles, but they eventually drop me like a discarded powerbar wrapper. Despite the fact that I'm still a strong rider & like go go fast, I also have given myself permission to go slow & smell the flowers, (or hog farms) whenever I feel like it. It's one of the perks of upper middle age.
 
#26 ·
Great looking De Rosa bike!!!! It's always good to see and hear about older riders still pedalling. I'm 34 and one of my riding buddies is 65. This guy is awesome!!! Although he doesn't have a nice vintage bike like this De Rosa, he rides a Trek 5900. On a quick 45 mile ride we were doing, some guy wanted to race him for 5 miles. I was quite amuzed because the guy was riding a Specialized Allez Comp. Not a bad bike by any measure but not a bike I'd be calling people out on unless I knew I was going to win. My buddy took the challenge and he creamed the guy. At the end of the 5 miles, the guy told my buddy that he won because my buddy was riding a better bike. My buddies response was " Yeah sure, and how old are you?" The guy's reply was" I'm 23 years old". My buddy laughed and said " I'm 65." This guy's jaw nearly hit the ground. We need riders like this to keep us going as we get older. All I see are a lot of 20 somethings doing what I did 10 years ago and many are on teams- just like I was. It's good to be reminded that the fun doesn't stop as we get older and the experience they have is priceless.
 
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