[greg75]

Hi folks,

I thought some of you guys might be interested in a few shots of my new De Rosa. It is - I think - a '95 Primato, but I'd be interested to hear from any De Rosa experts here who know for sure.

The original owner bought the frame NOS and built it up in about '98. He says he put 5,500km on it, but there is barely a finger print on it. I think he was as fastidious as I am.

Chrome lugs / Columbus EL OS / Campy Record 9 speed with titanium seat post / Mavic Open Pros....this is my dream bike! Picked it up on ebay a week and a half ago and took the first ride today. I knew it would be good, but I didn't expect it to be quite so....sublime!

Hope some of you out there like it!

Greg

 

[zmudshark]

Beautiful bike. Is this the one that was on eBay a couple of weeks ago?

 

[jupiterrn]

I <3 De Rosa. Get it. Hah, I crack myself up. Very nice bike. Red is the fastest color. Go out and enjoy.

 

[Richard]

That's about as nice as it gets.

 

[greg75]

Yep zmudshark, it was an ebay auction winding up the Wednesday before last. The seller lived about a 90 minutes' drive from me so I was able to see it and test ride before hand. This made the auction a little bit easier as I could bid with more confidence, but it was still a really stressful thing!

 

[zmudshark]

Yep zmudshark, it was an ebay auction winding up the Wednesday before last. The seller lived about a 90 minutes' drive from me so I was able to see it and test ride before hand. This made the auction a little bit easier as I could bid with more confidence, but it was still a really stressful thing!

So you are in Oz? I tried to get a friend to bid on that bike (it fit him, not me), but to no avail.

A Primato is the only bike I'm looking for. Please give a ride report. I have my heart (no pun) set on a flat crowned, Diamente seat stay version.

Toomanybikes just picked up one identical to yours, except his had the flat fork crown. Same color, same chrome head lugs. Absolutely stunning.

Ride the heck out of it!

 

[orbeamike]

Is the fork original?

Beautiful bike and loving the color scheme, pure classic!

Is the fork original to the frame? Typically I see steel De Rosas with lugged flat crowns, a De Rosa trademark.

 

[Guest]

Beautiful bike.

Yes BArry 1021 and zMudshark are right. I just bought one very similar ( smaller and with the flat crown fork) ; I haven't even seen it yet!

 

[FatTireFred]

Beautiful bike and loving the color scheme, pure classic!

Is the fork original to the frame? Typically I see steel De Rosas with lugged flat crowns, a De Rosa trademark.

IIRC the white neo pro came with that fork, except with stickers on the side

 

[AndyP.]

Oh my!!! That IS my all-time dream bike. Nice buy!

 

[Dave Hickey]

That's about as nice as it gets.

+1....I agree.....

 

[greg75]

So you are in Oz? I tried to get a friend to bid on that bike (it fit him, not me), but to no avail.

A Primato is the only bike I'm looking for. Please give a ride report. I have my heart (no pun) set on a flat crowned, Diamente seat stay version.

Toomanybikes just picked up one identical to yours, except his had the flat fork crown. Same color, same chrome head lugs. Absolutely stunning.

Ride the heck out of it!

Well, as for a ride report, only been out briefly so far but here are my first impressions:

The first thing that hits you his the outrageously smooth ride. I'm coming from a Tange No 1 steel bike (admittedly with pretty stiff Araya CT-19 rims) but this is much, much smoother. I find myself realising a lot of the hype about italian bikes is true.

The bike's geometry seems surprisingly relaxed for what I presume was a pretty serious bit of kit in its time. The last owner said DeRosa's have a slightly longer head tube relative to the seat tube size compared to other bikes and I think that must be right. I am still getting used to it (58/58 frame vs my old 57seat tube / 56 top tube) but I am struck by how comfy it is, while still being unmistakeable a race bike.

The bike is very tight, no rattles or play evident anywhere. (A lot of reviews on this forum say that Mavic Open Pros click. Mine do not and I find them very nice to ride on). The excellent condition of this bike is more than skin deep.

I really can't give you much more detail on the bike's road performance yet - I've still to fit the Camp cleats to a pair of shoes. If you're still interested, let me know and I'll post again when I've really given it a good blast.

I've yet to weigh this bike, but I would guess 9kg.On the road it does feel very light and I think a lot of the weight penalty compared to a modern ultra light is in the front end - that chrome fork and quill stem. Because the columbus EL/OS is so light I think I could get it really light if I switched to a carbon fork and threadless headset / modern stem. I don't care...I like it just how it is.

 

[greg75]

Beautiful bike and loving the color scheme, pure classic!

Is the fork original to the frame? Typically I see steel De Rosas with lugged flat crowns, a De Rosa trademark.

I am not sure about the fork. Up until now I've admired De Rosas from afar and I am certainly not an expert.

The only other bike I've seen that appears to be the same is in an old post on this forum, and it seems to have the same fork:

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=16125

I guess I am not an absolute purist, because I think I prefer the sloping crown fork even if it is not original.

 

[greg75]

thanks ..

Thanks everyone for all the kind words. I could have bought a new mid spec Cannondale Six-13 for the cost of this De Rosa so it is good to know that there are plenty of people out there who like it.

 

[brewster]

For me there just isn't any comparison between this and a mid-line Cannondale. Riders that know what they are looking at will be standing with their mouths gapping open. This is what they mean when saying "classic". Ferrari red and silver go together like PB&J.

The only adjustments I'd make if it were mine would be to put some round drop bars on it. Those funky ergos are fighting the image of the rest of the bike, especially since you have a matching pano'ed stem. Some new Deda 215 classic bars would fix that....or NOS round drop 3T bars in silver are not too hard to score on ebay. I'd go with white bar tape and a white Regal and some skinwall tires.....but those are nits. It's a seriously nice bike, way to go.

brewster

 

[greg75]

Funny you mention the bars and stem. The first thing I noticed after I took the bike home was that the handlebars were loose. Despite some serious torque on the stem the bars kept slipping. I eventually realised the bars were 26.0 mm and the stem was old Cinelli 26.4 mm. I shimmed the difference with a piece of aluminium can and now it's fine. The previous owner only bought the panto stem recently and my guess is he never rode it after fitting. I guess some old Cinelli bars in 26.4 mm would be an option but I like the anatomic shape too much. Although the bike is steel, it's still a '95 model so hopefully they don't look too out of place! The white saddle and tape I'm inclined to agree with, but I am in no hurry...I'll need to let my finances recover for quite a while..

 

[ZenNMotion]

Well, as for a ride report, only been out briefly so far but here are my first impressions:

The first thing that hits you his the outrageously smooth ride. I'm coming from a Tange No 1 steel bike (admittedly with pretty stiff Araya CT-19 rims) but this is much, much smoother. I find myself realising a lot of the hype about italian bikes is true.

The bike's geometry seems surprisingly relaxed for what I presume was a pretty serious bit of kit in its time. The last owner said DeRosa's have a slightly longer head tube relative to the seat tube size compared to other bikes and I think that must be right. I am still getting used to it (58/58 frame vs my old 57seat tube / 56 top tube) but I am struck by how comfy it is, while still being unmistakeable a race bike.

The bike is very tight, no rattles or play evident anywhere. (A lot of reviews on this forum say that Mavic Open Pros click. Mine do not and I find them very nice to ride on). The excellent condition of this bike is more than skin deep.

I really can't give you much more detail on the bike's road performance yet - I've still to fit the Camp cleats to a pair of shoes. If you're still interested, let me know and I'll post again when I've really given it a good blast.

I've yet to weigh this bike, but I would guess 9kg.On the road it does feel very light and I think a lot of the weight penalty compared to a modern ultra light is in the front end - that chrome fork and quill stem. Because the columbus EL/OS is so light I think I could get it really light if I switched to a carbon fork and threadless headset / modern stem. I don't care...I like it just how it is.

The fork is probably original, Columbus made their EL blades in the unicrown style. Some makers cut them and used a cast crown, but most didn't. It was the height of the mtb boom and the unicrown thing was what the market called for, unfortunately.

 

[DannyBoy]

In a word wow......

That bike really speaks to me, send it to New Zealand STAT.

I love de Rosa's, I love steel and I love that older generation carbon free Campagnolo and the older curved shift/brake levers - much better than a mid range 'dale etc in my book.

Good photo's too, mine are always crap.