cpsqlrwn

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tchlink:top:en

lostarchitect 

Looks fine to me. I'm not an expert in any way, however.

Picchio Special

It's a De Rosa. I don't know enough to comment on the dating. It has the cool points De Rosa is known for where the dropouts blend into the seat and chain stays, but those taped dropout junctions are a major turnoff. De Rosa usually did much prettier work than that. Though taken as a whole it's an attractive enough frame.
I'd take the "personally built by Ugo De Rosa" business with a huge grain of salt.

cpsqlrwn

+1

cpsqlrwn

Can you explain that to me please? "taped dropout junctions"..... I'm not following that with the pictures. I must be missing some details there. Maybe my eyes aren't so good any more. Thanks!

Picchio Special

Sure. 9th photo down on the left after the decals tells the tale (at least the way it loads on my computer). This was a joining method developed in the 80's whereby the chain stays are split and the dropouts are shoved into the slots and brazed shut. I know I'm not explaining that perfectly well - but it's amounts to what some folks refer to as "plug-and-play" construction, whereby frame parts are basically pulled out of the box, shoved together, and brazed in place, like a set of Lincoln Logs. Same is true for seat stay caps, which at one time involved stays cut on a bias with plates brazed onto the opening, but later developed into a seatstay "plug" where the top of the stays were prefabbed and simply brazed into place. You can clearly see that the transitions in this case result in a simple vertical line - as if the two were "taped" together. It's a very inelegant way to go, but it saves time in the build process, which allows for greater volume. Compare that to this pic:
https://www.wooljersey.com/gallery/v/...80105.JPG.html
There's a concave curve at the end of the stays, and where the dropouts overlap, they narrow to a point where they meet the stays. This takes a lot more work (I used to own that bike, BTW). The overall "flow" and subtlety of the junctions is a lot more evident in the second example - the first is more abrupt. The taped junctions were considered to be stronger when then took hold in the bike building market - but Ugo must have had some reservations about them, since they appear on a relatively small number of De Rosas I've seen.

cpsqlrwn

Thanks for the explanation. I noticed the line you are referring to, but didn't know that it was due to a type of tongue and groove construction. That is a little crappy.

Picchio Special

It's not necessarily a huge deal - and I'm not suggesting you make too much of it - but it's maybe worth noticing and factoring into your personal impression of what value you place on a particular frame. You have to decide for yourself what frames you think are worth paying a premium for and why.

vjp

All what Picchio says is true, and I don't care for the fork crown (love the flat De Rosa crowns!) but it is a fair value.

Old Fat Guy

Authentic, but over priced, in my newly unbanned opinion.

cpsqlrwn

Welcome back, John!

You'd think that someone that had the recent trauma of having their prized possession stolen virtually right before their eyes would deserve to be cut a little slack! Oh well, how was your time in solitary?

Old Fat Guy

Well, given the content here, refreshing!

I will not ever poke fun at paying members again, no matter how self serving they may be

753proguy

How long were you banned for - 27 hours??? Goofy.

gomango

Such a naughty fellow.

Welcome back of course!

Agreed, a few shillings north of what I would pay in my newly "extra" cheap mood/mode.

Old Fat Guy

5 days = 120 hours. The other perp walked in 48.

It's not you you know, it's who you ....

Nevermind.

Picchio Special

I'm with you on the crown. The flat crown was such an important part of the De Rosa "look."

Road Fan

I can just see them leading you back into solitary!

Picchio Special

I got out early on good behavior for agreeing to reread all the old "path racer" threads without posting to any of them.

Velognome 

I'm confused, I thought those were Track Bike threads sorry, good to hear (read) you again.

The De Rosa seems a bit average, some one school me on what I'm missing? I really want to know.

Picchio Special

I don't think you're missing anything.

gomango

Aside from the margin you make when you sell one.

My 35th Anniversario went to live on Lake Minnetonka last Saturday, as it's new owner "had" to own it.

I tossed out an optimistic price and he said ok.

I'll eventually get around to owning an EL-OS Primato though, as I love the ride on that particular bicycle.

For me, it's always been a matter of fit and ride, and my Professional will stay here through thick and thin.

cpsqlrwn

+100

Picchio Special

I think this is probably my next (and maybe last) De Rosa, if the price is right.

Picchio Special

57, give or take - depends on the handling whether give or take would be the way to go.

cpsqlrwn

Strange as it seems, I've got 3 of them in ascending sizes... 55, 56, and 57, but those are all c-t measurements. The c-c measurements are slightly over 1 cm less. The largest one has first generation Chorus with downtube shifters on it and the shorter hoods on the C-Record levers make it a very comfortable ride even though it might be a little on the large side for me. The 55 has full 8-speed Record and the 56 I just got and I'm not sure what I'm going to put on it. At some point, I will probably get rid of at least one of these, just not sure which one, definitely will not be the 55 though. The ironic thing is I am really wanting a Professional and I haven't been able to locate a decent one in my size.