Srjayochz

Hey there guys,

I have been creeping on this forum for the better part of this year. Roughly eight months ago I weighed in at a hefty 260 pounds and being the little guy that I am at 5' 7" I was obese.

I could rep 205 on the bench, squat 295, deadlift 315 but I couldn't do anything that required cardio for more than ten seconds. I ate like a slob because I was convinced that eventually I would do a cut and be huge. Yeah right.

Around the start of my sophomore year, I was riding a walmart special Rhino that was given to me by a friend. I swear I was fixing something every week on that turd. One day I finally had enough after the rear hub went and made me hit the ground pretty nice.

I walked into the local schwinn shop and bought one of their single speed "racers." I thought it was cheap at 320 dollars so I didn't ask any questions. I was so naive.

That bicycle started something in me because within weeks of buying it I stopped driving my car and started commuting by bike. I had not driven the car in so long that the battery would be completely drained.

This is when I started looking for real bicycles.

Continue on next post.

Srjayochz

I had a bit of money from work and decided it was time to go with something that had gears and road nice. After a good two weeks of craigslist hunting this bad boy popped up:


The bike is a 54 cm Bianchi Campione de Italia with a full campy mirage 8sp group. I believe it's a 98 frame. The bike was light years ahead of my single speed schwinn and the training I did with the single speed made me a machine on this bike. Suddenly I had a power band. Within days I was working towards three or four big rides per week and commuting. I was shrinking.

I suddenly understood why everyone was so crazy about cycling. I was becoming someone else. Competitive, fierce, confident.

Srjayochz

All of my friends began to note the changes and before I knew what I was doing I started getting everyone into cycling. I would hunt for what I thought was their ideal bicycle and when I found it I would post it on their wall and nag them until they bought the bike. Worked every time.

The one time I ran into trouble doing this was with this little beaut:


I believe it to be a 1988 Nishiki Modulus that is tange 900 with shimano exage components and a bio pace crank. I bought it thinking about a girl that had asked me to find a bike for her sister. She was going to college and needed transportation. I saw the color combo and it had "if a girl saw this, she would scream" written all over it. My mistake was in actually riding the bicycle. I rode the bike around for a week on campus and the Japanese sure do know how to make steel bikes. Sure the downtube shifters weren't as fast as the ergopower shifters but it has a different feeling all together. Between how it rode and the looks I got, I knew I couldn't give it to her.

So I fessed up about loving the bike and found her sister this:


When I bought the bike, it was a pure disaster. I spent a solid day just cleaning and polishing the frame and then dealing with the mechanical issues. But she loved the bike so I was off the hook.

Srjayochz

By this time I was a craigslist fiend. Seemed like every other day I was either here or there looking at a bicycle. I was working on a paper at two in the morning and decided to take a break and search the bike section and I found this guy:

It's a 54cm 1995 Trek 2100 with the original 105 group. I always wanted one because I loved the look of mating aluminum to carbon fiber and at the price I paid I was more than happy. I had big plans of making this bike a TT bike and training hard on it.

Gary Fountain

Ha, you're hooked.

My prediction: you'll loose a heap of weight (even more) and feel great. And...you'll own a bike or three for the rest of your life.

Srjayochz

But in life, there are many surprises. I would come to sell the trek not even 8 days after buying the bicycle. Something really cool dropped into my lap:


I had only seen pictures of these bikes online, never in person. A good friend of mine had bought the bike for a great price and because of that price he paid no attention to the size. It's a 55cm and not a true 55. More like 54.6 and he ride's a 57 normally. Well, one weekend he brought the bike over to my apartment and left it there. I liked the bicycle but felt uncomfortable about an italian stallion that was equipped with full dura-ace. Of course I went for a ride, I mean who wouldn't.

Gary Fountain

The deRosa is quite a bike even with Dura-ace.

Srjayochz

I should of never gone for that ride. Within minutes I knew it was going to join my stable. I whipped it around to work and felt like a real life ******. The frame just shined and was so rich. The shifting was accurate and strong and the bike was fun to ride fast. I paid the man and felt great about it. I felt great until I remembered that he had informed me about the rust on the frame. Boy oh boy I had no idea what I got myself into.

I started tearing down the frame and looking at what could best be described as spider cracks all throughout the frame and in big sections good old fashioned surface rust.



I started sanding just a small area and before I knew it I had stripped half the bicycle. The rust had not managed to actually damage the steel but there were sections that had I not started the removal process, within a few years with this florida humidity, the frame would of been toast.

Veloh

You saved the DeRosa. Paint it and love it.

Srjayochz

I stripped the frame down and primered all the exposed metal.





The Cinelli Stem and Handle Bars. The stem is gorgeous:


This is how she sits for the time being.

I've spent quite some time now trying to figure out how I want to redo it.

- I will use my uncle's shop to do the restoration. I've used his Devil Bliss HVLP guns before and I feel pretty comfortable in his booth.
- I plan to use the matching machine he has there to order the original color. I'll probably use the PPG 2 stage system.
- I have already measured and recorded the location of the decals and have ordered proper replacements.
- Because the rust is everywhere, I will strip the frame with air craft stripper
- Once it's stripped, the bike is getting dipped in Oxalic Acid.
- After a good cleaning and removal of any oil it's getting sprayed with self etching primer.
- Then unto all the frame prep and painting. Baking, wet sanding, applying decals, pinstriping, clearing. The fun part.
- I intend on documenting the entire process with pictures so if I ever do sell it the next owner will know what work was done.

I'm pretty excited about this but I am taking my sweet time to do it right.

Srjayochz

Also, I weighed myself today. 205. I am in the best shape of my life right now and I have to thank cycling for everything. The next big thing I am working towards is riding a century on my 21st birthday. It's the perfect time to show how far I have come and a great way to start what I am sure will be a fun year in my life.

Gary Fountain

I have been cycling seriously since 1972 and I have had some fantastic bikes over that time but I have never owned a DeRosa. I'm a little jealous - what a great bike and what a fantastic history Derosa has had. I wish you luck with the re-paint and re-build. You'll have to post the photos of the process.

GrayJay

congratulations on your fitness turnaround, amazing what bikes can do.

What tubing is the DeRosa made from? Oxalic Acid rust cleanup is fine for regular CrMo steel but if it is something like nivacrom or niobium steel you should first read;
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/692844-GT-Course-853-Rust-Repair?highlight=Oxalic+Acid

Italuminium

nice inspiring story! good luck with that century, I hope you can take out the De Rosa on that day.

Srjayochz

It's good old Columbus EL Tubing. So no worries there but thanks for the info.

gomango

Interesting story. Congrats on the wellness focus.

As for the De Rosa, you have a "grail" bike for many of us.

Take your time with the renovation process. It sounds like you have access to very high quality equipment that will yield good results.

Who did you order the replacement decal set from, if you don't mind me asking?

I have DA on one of my De Rosas btw, and she runs great. I couldn't care less about the sacrilege part.

Oh, and plenty of pics please. It will be fun to watch the process.

Italuminium

actually, Shimano has a higher market share in Italy than in the rest of Europe. Many top end builders prefer japanese stuff for all kinds of reasons, the top Colnago frame at one point used Tange tubing. Not that I'm a fan of Japanese stuff on italian bikes, all my bikes run campy, but I certainly wouldn't consider it incorrect, especially if the bike came OEM with shimano.

gomango

At this point, I'm only building up "new to me" bicycles with Campy.

.....but I won't take Shimano off a bike just to be correct in the eyes of others.

None of my riding buddies could care less what I have on my bikes.

They do care if I don't take my turn paying for breakfast on the road though.

lotek 

Very Nice.
When your painting the frame don't forget a liberal application of Weigle's Frame Saver.
It'll help with the Fla. humidity.

Marty

Srjayochz

Italuminum
- Thanks a lot, I have right around three months to get the bike done before my birthday and I would love to ride it during the century.


I understand that the Dura Ace components are stock and that may italian frame makers used the Japanese for everything, but at the end of the day I started on Campy and it grew on me very quickly.

I got the decals from gts753 on ebay and they are top notch replicas that do not fade and have the white backing so as to not let the paint bleed from behind. It takes him a while to get it out to you as he is in Australia but he is very easy to talk to and has a great rating.

I have every intention of being extremely thorough about recording the entire restoration process. So no worries there. I just wish I had a better camera.

-Lotek
How do I go about applying the frame saver? I'm having a hard time believing that I would apply an oily substance prior to primer but maybe that's just me.

GrayJay

EL tubing is composed of Nivacrom steel. However, looking closer at the specs Nivacrom has a UTS of 1050mpa so should be ok for the OA bath.

Pars 

Framesaver goes on the inside of the tubes...

You are one lucky SOB, but if you should tire of the DeRosa POS, please forward it to me for proper disposal

Tipmann

Great story and a great thread!

I'd tell you to not give up on your weight loss but it doesn't sound like you're quitting any time soon.

gomango

Good to know they have the decal set. Thank you!

As far as a gruppo, I've have had great luck the last few years with 2009 Centaur thru 10 speed Chorus. I am knocked out by the 10 speed Campy offerings, but I installed a 9 speed Chorus gruppo on my John Hollands.

Equally happy with that choice.

Whatever though, I'm sure you'll figure it out when the time comes.

....and keep up the good work on the wellness front.

You are doing great.

Oh, here is a thread about the application of the framesaver.

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...gle-Framesaver

jan nikolajsen 

Best thread I've read in a good while.