gomango

Problem is though, your "De Rosa" and the Bikeadelic Primato look identical in most ways to my ELOS Giro d' Italia.

This id business is complex at times.

This model of yours though looks like a De Rosa I brought back from Germany five years ago.

Again, no model decal.

Did you email the folks at De Rosa for help with an id?

roadrunner2012

The Bikeadelic Primato clearly says 'Primato' on the top tube. The OP's does not. In the end, it really doesn't matter. I would bet the geometry is the same, and the ride is sublime.

roadrunner2012

Everyone I have had did, though I think Ugo dropped them for a few years on some models. I would not buy a steel De Rosa without them. That's part of the magic.

cbresciani

^ Amen to that!

maym036

I did email Derosa to have more information about the bike. Let`s see if they can help!
I mailed them letters and numbers on the bb and a link to the pictures.

The BB stamp is at the same place as on this frame and has also 2 letters over 3 numbers. Is that the case on all the derosa`s?

KonAaron Snake 

They can be a bit...non-responsive. You might have to email them a few times to get a response. To echo what roadrunner said, Primato, Giro, blah blah blah...it's a spectacular EL OS De Rosa, and I love the color. I know the red is iconic, but I find the blue more interesting.

Let us know what happens!

Dawes-man

I'd like to know what they say at De Rosa. I emailed them about my wife's De Rosa and Cristiano answered pretty much right away.

maym036

I already got a response from Cristiano De Rosa! Not bad I must say, even if the answer is very short and does not go into all the concerns and questions I send them.
Here a copy paste of his mail:

"Hello

We produce this frame end of year 80 , I confirm you to produce this frame with Columbus tube and lugs in microfusion .

Regards

Cristiano De Rosa"

maym036

What did he tell you?

KonAaron Snake 

That tubeset was not offered in 1980.

Interesting...they gave me an earlier date than I anticipated on my Titanio and now I'm curious about the accuracy of their response.

Dawes-man

WE build this frame on the 1990 el over size tube tig welding

roadrunner2012

By end of year 80, I think he means late 1980's.

gomango

+1

They usually get back to me promptly, but I usually have my wife write in Italian.

I couldn't do that if my life depended on it.

KonAaron Snake 

Oy - I feel like an idiot. I'm sure you're right.

When was el-OS first developed?

roadrunner2012

Late 1980's for Nivacrom steels.

cpsqlrwn

Did someone say "Primato"?

This one is my favorite rider and it now has 10 speed ergo shifters which have replaced the Simplex downtube shifters. (and it also has bar tape!) I got this bike from a guy in Canada. It had a carbon fiber fork and he said that the fork on there now is the original. I'm not really sure. It is an EL fork, but it is the standard EL fork which is a unicrowned version with lugs. The guy I bought this from was the original owner and he bought the bike from a company called Rose Versand which was a German distributor of DeRosas at the time. Later they started assembling bikes under their own name and got out of the distribution business and became a huge company in the process. Anyway, maybe this style of fork was a European option. It rides very nicely and fits very well. Also, in response to some previous comments, I've seen plenty of Primatos (probably about 25%) with the classic sloping crown fork as opposed to the flat crown.




This one is the prettiest to me but it has seen a ton of miles and is chipped up all over.




I bought this one recently and it has very low miles. The complete C-Record group is going to come off and be sold in favor of some later 8-speed Record. The C-Record parts are too nice for me, almost like new except for some logo fading.



I used to own BBM's red one but I sold it and I also had another candy apple red one which was a little small and I sold that one to fellow forum person cbresciani. I have a couple other bikes besides the 3 Primatos, so these aren't the only bikes I ride and, believe it or not, many times I prefer to ride the other bikes which are standard SLX or 531. The Primatos are special bikes, no doubt.... very light by steel standards while being good and stiff, but to be truthful, any well made bike with high quality tubing and good geometric integrity is more than acceptable to me at this stage. It's sort of like when you went to college and maybe you had a fast car or a killer stereo. Somebody out there always had a faster car and somebody out there always had a louder sound system. At some point, all the snob appeal and reverance of these beautiful bikes must give way to their utilitarian purpose. As Freddie Mercury once said "Get on your bikes and ride!", and very often I love the simplicity and vintage quality of 531 or SL or SLX.

gomango

Get on your bikes and ride indeed.

Good golly, you are loaded with beautiful De Rosas.

Pleased to hear you ride them though.

Way too nice to just sit there and get dusty.

cbresciani

And I love it, what a great bike it is.

Drillium Dude 

I took a Primato around the block a couple times today - suh-weeeeeeeeeet

DD