I will be building up my girlfriends De Rosa Primato tomorrow and wanted to post some before pics. I believe the frame is a 94/95.











The bike was originally given to her by a family friend because it had a dent in the top tube and he already had another one. Not knowing what she had she didn't take the best care of it until we started dating.
This was probably the most stunning bike I had ever seen. Beautiful red paint, chrome lugs, diamond chain stays, the whole 9 yards. Unfortunately, it was in a very sad state when I first saw it- multiple dents on the top tube, and a few stickers on the bike (I had to hold back tears).

I have since convinced my girlfriend to invest in it and allow me to return it to its former glory (or at least do the bike justice). She paid to get it re-sprayed and had a builder attempt to (unsuccessfully) get some of the dents out. The dents are quite minor but they are still visible. The re-paint is no where near my standards (or that of a De Rosa) but its her bike. I ordered a set of decals from Cyclomondo and applied them myself. I'm quite happy with how they came out and would definitely buy from them again.

I'll be building it up with a Campagnolo Chorus/Athena 9 speed group. The parts are in very good condition and I think will look perfect on the bike. For wheels, I've got a beautiful set of Chorus hubs laced to Open Pro rims. Cinelli bars/stem and Selle Italia Turbo saddle round out the build.

I should be done sometime tomorrow evening and will post some pics over the weekend. I don't have the best camera but am hoping I can borrow my friend's SLR and take some nice ones.

-Alex

OT: What year/venue/show is the Slapshot flyer from?

ps...Why weren't the dents filled before paint???

I wanna say that was 2004.

The guy tried to fill them in but I guess it wasn't working...I don't know I'm quite disappointed in the work he did on the bike. He's a skilled builder and knows his bikes but failed to take care of this one. He was suposed to save the chrome lugs but couldn't/didn't, couldn't/didn't fill in the dents, and painted over the dropout adjuster bolts. He also tried to 'fake chrome' the drive side chainstay, but it just looks crappy. I wish I had spoken to him beforehand, as my girlfriend set everything up.

To bad about the lousy shop paint and repair. Love the frame, can't wait to see it done. We need a year and/or serial # for the research buffs.

This was painted by a professional builder?!? Wow!
I can understand your disappointment. At least it's still a DeRosa and can be re-painted anytime in the future. Meantime, she gets to enjoy the ride.

Build it like Madonna's

How does your GF like it?

Finished it today.

The bike rides...like nothing I can describe. It is the nicest riding bike I have ever ridden. Ever. A few things will need to be swapped out and I need to replace the chain, but for now it'll do.
I can see why people love Italian steel. I have a cromoly bike, an aluminum bike for racing, and I have ridden a few full carbon bikes and countless other steel bikes, and this easily beats them all out. The campy 9 speed stuff took a bit of getting used to, and I still need to make some adjustments. Overall, though, the shifting is quite snappy and I'm happy with it.

I'll snap some pictures tomorrow and post em up.

Were the dropout adjusters left in and painted....!?!?

YEP. One of the several parts of the paintjob that really disappointed me.

Took some pictures with my roommate's digital camera. Not the best but they'll do for now.



















I am very happy with the build and how everything looks (well minus the poor paint job and the dents). The bike rides like a dream and barely weighs 21lbs. It definitely needs a new chain and the tires are just what came with the wheels, so I'll definitely be replacing them with some something Italian- maybe some gumwalls? Seatpost has to go too, something Campy would be ideal. Also, I need a braze on Chorus 9sp front derailleur, so if anyone has one please let me know!

Serial # (as it appears on the BB):

EB
889

Can anyone help with a date?

I hope to get a nice 30-40 mile ride on this before I head to Mexico for the summer with the girlfriend (she's there right now and has yet to see the bike). After this it will be hers, but I am sure I will be able to squeeze rides in when she's not around .

A few more pictures:









and yours truly:

Yours truly



Build list:

De Rosa Primato 53cm
Wheels: Open Pro SUP
Hubs: Campagnolo Chorus
Shifters: Campagnolo Chorus 9 speed
Front and Rear Derailleur: Campagnolo Chorus 9 Speed
Headset: Camagnolo Chorus
Cranks: Campagnolo Athena 52/39
Bottom Bracket: Campagnolo Athena
Brakes: Campagnolo Athena
Handlebars: Cinelli Top 66 Ergo
Stem: Cinelli
Saddle: Selle Italia Turbo
Seatpost: American Classic 27.2
Bar Tape: Fizik
Pedals/Clips/Straps: MKS GR-9/MKS

HOW ON GOD'S EARTH DID I MISS THIS?

HOT DAMN...you are a lucky man. That bike is stunning and your GF is lucky as hell. Love the pink.

Don't take this the wrong way, but a girl on a pink Primato? I'd be in serious lust/love!

While some aspects of the paint are curious, (like why would the painter leave the adjusters in place, an Earl Sheib approach, a neighbor had a car painted there and it collected some bird guano on the roof along the way there, the car came back with a texture coat region!? They also painted the emblems then just brushed the tops of the lettering with thinner to finish it off... okay, it was a Falcon) But this is a Primato...

Anyway, I like it, way back I had a pink bike. Girls really liked it. I have to look at rerouting the cables on my Ergo 8 equipped bike, I have not considered this routing, that bike on mine is the only one that puts my hands to going numb in less than 30 minutes, something is getting pressed the wrong way.

Still an amazing bike in my book.

Turned out really nice, but the rubber washer on the XA stem is upside down though. The bevel of the edges should flow with that of the stem. It just caught my eye while I drooling over the pictures. lol.

Ah thank you, didn't even notice this. By the way, how do you know it is an XA stem? And how do you figure out the model of Cinelli stems in general?

Any help with dating this would be greatly appreciated, I can't find a serial database anywhere.