I’d like to begin by thanking the Bike Forums community for the information posted on this site. Bike Forums threads have been a great resource to help with a number of questions I’ve had.

I have two questions about an old De Rosa frame/fork I just bought:

What is it?

What is the best way to remove the rust?

For the identification, the frame was advertised as a 1977 but I think it may be a little later. I’ve been using Hilary Stone’s points of identification to try and narrow down the year.

Hilary Stone link: http://italiancyclingjournal.blogspo...-19791980.html

Lug’s and bottom bracket

I have not seen pressed lugs in person, but these look like cast lugs and I believe the bottom bracket confirms this.

Fork crown and decals

I have not been able to find a picture of this fork crown with this particular De Rosa engraving, any ideas?

The De Rosa decal set is very similar to decals used in the 80s except the seat tube decal is on the middle of the tube and not the sides.

Chainstays are diamond shaped.

These details seem to point to it being an early cast lug frame from the late 70’s.

On some of the pictures I tried to highlight the worst parts of the rust (the rust is concentrated on the backend) and would like your thoughts on how best to remove it.

The rust seems pretty bad, are there any bike restorers that may be able to help with removing the rust and touching up the paint?

I appreciate your time and any input you can offer.

Thanks