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1983 De Rosa Professional

By abstrait on 07/03/2008. Bike tags: Road bike | 59cm de rosa | campagnolo super record | cinelli 1a | Columbus SL | more tags >>
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This '83 De Rosa Professional is another daily rider and one of my favorite frames,
right up there with the best I've been on. The Professional is often mistakenly called
Super Prestige from the TT sticker signifying the season long competition which
Merckx nailed in 73,74, and 75. Made of Columbus SL, it has rather beefy seat stays
and the characteristic diamond shaped chain stays, all adding to a more rigid rear triangle.

Ultimately, one must ride one of these machines to see what the fuss is all about; simply
put, an Ugo De Rosa bike just feels "Right", this whether hammering the beast,
throwing it into a corner, or taking some sketchy decent. It's light and responsive, with
an amazing ride exhibiting an ability to communicate the road as well as respond to your
commands. Subjectively speaking, it seems to accelerate nicely, and simply feels even more
alive with soul. The De Rosa conveys an exceptional conglomeration of performance, feedback,
and grace.

The preferred wheelset is the Mavic GL-330 with the Vittoria Corsa CG Squadre Prof tubs,
although the beast also does well with the Veloflex Pave and favorite Mavic Open 4 CD,
which still hold the best all around vintage clincher. Moving to the Mavic
GL 330 combo is eye opening although I also like my Rigida Score w/Veloflex Pave's even
those these wheels are somewhat fragile.

1900px shot w/Cinelli Unicanitor & Mavic Open CD/Rigida Score/Veloflex Paves
http://i-vol.com/bikes/photo_de_rosa_professional_3.htm

This is definitely another "I'll never sell it" option. I just love the 80s
Italian bike geometry. There's nothing quite like it, although I have an
equal passion for my three 70s options, the Pogliaghi Italcorse (not pictured),
Raleigh Professional, and Raleigh Professional Track. But the De Rosa, Ciocc, and Colnago
Super all offer that early 80s take that is addictive as a designer drug.

- kh

More photos: http://i-vol.com/bikes/de_rosa_professional.htm

_____________________________________________________________________________

Frame & Tubing
'83 De Rosa Professional ~ 59.5cm C-C ~ 58.5cm TT ~ Columbus SL Tubing ~ Campagnolo Dropouts

Fork and Headset
De Rosa w/Chrome Engraved Crown & Heart cutout Lugs (Columbus SL) ~ Specialized/Campagnolo SR

Handlebars and Stem
Cinelli Giro D' Italia 64-39 ~ Cinelli 1A 140mm & 115mm ~ Ambrosio Bike Ribbon
Ditched the Bike Ribbon, too thick. Back to ye olde Benotto Cello Tape

Brakes
Campagnolo Super Record Calipers w/Pads & Super Record Levers ~ Ame Anatomical Hoods

Front Derailleur
Campagnolo Super Record (Braze-On)

Rear Derailleur
Campagnolo Super Record

Shifters
Campagnolo Super Record

Gearing/Freewheel
Regina Extra 7 (13,14,15,16,17,19,21)

Crankset and Bottom bracket
172.5 Campagnolo Super Record Strada 52/42 & Phil Wood Ti BB

Pedals and Chain
Campagnolo Superleggeri w/Campagnolo Alloy Clips & Alfredo Binda Straps / Regina

Saddle and Seat Post
Selle San Marco Regal Ti, Concor Supercorsas, Cinelli Unicanitor #1 / Campagnolo Super Record Post - 27.2
More seat post on the De Rosa due to experimentation with slightly smaller frame
than I usually take, going for more post and less frame bulk.

Front wheel
Mavic GL 330 (36) ~ Mavic 550 RD Hub ~ Vittoria Corsa CG Squadre Prof tubular
Mavic Open 4 CD (36) ~ Campagnolo Record ~ Veloflex Pave

Rear wheel
Mavic GL 330 (36) ~ Mavic 550 RD Hub ~ Vittoria Corsa CG Squadre Prof tubular
Mavic Open 4 CD (36) ~ Campagnolo Record ~ Veloflex Pave

Water Cage
Vintage TA

Weight
20.5 lbs

People who friended this bike Streetcore, darklordoflove, flatblackcapo, nickp, mastronaut, Zephyrus, Olli-B, sf_danno, asterisk, mr.2ter, onechance, paperthin, coppi 68, phoenix, amnomad, ragnar.jensen, dennisbrowne, GEORGEPALMA, mugatu, sashae, fanta, ClassicSteel, solofe, justinbarnes, Cool Steel, Jeffrey, Valentijn, bryant, Bobby Wham, Shannons2008, bionnaki, Moser London, 79esprit, RyeBokeh, hollowgram5, tazmeraz, woodcn, nago, ravuthpum, hamonryan, brainvacation77, Blair Waldorf, plumbleboy, nexus6, mircsterus, Benzosol, jacobtang, iamsomeguy, cannonhugodale, CraigInTheCouve, DnBo, cobrabyte, cptdpt, retrobiker, jmarc, MADMAN™, Brantford_rides_again, Wouterk, Stelvio, glider, boomboomWOW, retrofit, Jfree, jdesktop, Haegan, jkohel, M0THER, ayor, pappy, MadManu, -S_xOnWheels-, desent, per.k, FLRN HSSL, Deltron, the fumingator, Ruimteaapje, norskagent, spoynter, ColumbusSLX, runenoel, wedger979, campystamp, stalag13, knapprobert, depoca, micahlemasters, plexitone, 212swat, bronto, fanatic, ModaBisikleta, matteozolt, Mølle, Lonx, Cyclingforlife, vqstaphbeard, dnm_25
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Nothing more to say, i

Submitted by Wouterk on 04/21/2011.

Nothing more to say, i guess. Just a lovely ride! It is great you still use it! Thats exactly what i should do. Enjoy the summer!

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beauty

Submitted by the fumingator on 01/10/2011.

too good for words. I can only imagine the ride quality...

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I'm not sure what is more

Submitted by TeenageShutdown. on 11/27/2010.

I'm not sure what is more delicious, the bike or the full rack of wine atop the cabinet! Why choose. An all day ride through the flowing country side savored with wine at the end of the day while staring at this epic machine from the couch!

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Mavic hubs to 330 tubular rims combo

Submitted by old crow on 06/03/2010.

I have the same, only they are the 501 hubs and they are the track version. They are sooo good and you don't see them very much. Looks right at home on the dock.

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Thanks,...ironically, the dock shot is Superbe Pro

Submitted by abstrait on 06/09/2010.

Yeah, the Mavic 550RD were their racing hubs and are quite nice.
I actually have several sets of these hubs. The #1 for rolling
resistance still has to be my O.M.A.S., which was a smaller
company that was an offshoot of Campag employees. Their stuff
was just on the next plane. Also, if you ever get your hands
on the original Campagnolo Pista Track hubs, you'll be amazed
as well. Just uber smooth.

Kudos should go to Suntour Superbe Pro hubs, which are actually
the hubs you see in the dock shot and front of 2nd Unicanitor
shot. My Rigida Score clinchers, one of the lightest clincher
rims ever made, were built with Superbe Pro hubs.

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I want!

Submitted by Wouterk on 03/10/2010.

Very nice bike. Its great to know people do not always use their classic bike as wall deco!

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Doubles

Submitted by abstrait on 06/09/2010.

Yeah, all my bikes double as wall art AND daily riders.

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The...

Submitted by nexus6 on 08/04/2009.

...most beautiful bike on the site.

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Used to have a De Rosa while

Submitted by Ruffinit on 06/03/2009.

Used to have a De Rosa while I was building up my Colnago. It was a bit more extreme than this frame. Metallic rose over chrome and more of a crit bike where the seat tube was indented so the rear tire would fit. You could only use very specific tires or they'd rub the seat tube.. It was a work of art, but I couldn't ride it distances because it would beat you to death. The Colnago is similar to this frame and I love the ride, a true road frame. (I've only had it for 24 years so I'm still infatuated with it) Beautiful build. The white saddle with the Benotto tape looks great. I have the Concors Superleggera which I like a lot, but the Rolls on my Cannondale Black Lightning crit frame.

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Great Rosie....

Submitted by RobbieTunes on 05/26/2009.

You must be pretty tall. I tried a stem like that, made the steering really twitchy, but it looks pretty sleek on that setup.

Does the bike fit otherwise, or is the setup so it fits?

Really pretty ride. I'm eastern NC, too. Lotta tri folks, but if you get up to Emerald Isle by the Sheraton, check out the bike shop, older guy with an appreciation for bikes like yours...

RobbieTunes

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See third shot

Submitted by abstrait on 05/26/2009.

I've shared a few PMs with you on the C&V forum, almost coming up for that Louisburg ride a month or so back. The De Rosa is definitely my favorite geared bike and along with my early Raleigh Pro Track, my smallest frame at 59 (I'm 6'3 ~ 185-190lbs). I have come to prefer a slightly smaller frame for less bulk and more lively handling, with a bit more seat post. The 140 stem is no longer in service, now replaced by the stem you see in the shot with the Cinelli Unicanitor #1, a Cinelli 1A at 115. This bike is amazing on all accounts, with great feel and responsiveness, along with the ability to hang with modern gear, vintage to the core. It gets 200 miles a week these days. Used to frequent Emerald Isle years ago when in Chapel Hill. Wrightsville is closer to home these days. Next time up that way, I'll have to check out the shop. Thanks for the comments.

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Absolutely gorgeous bike.

Submitted by SquadraCorse on 05/26/2009.

Absolutely gorgeous bike. Love everything but the big cable loops.

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Thanks

Submitted by abstrait on 05/26/2009.

Yeah, the cable loops looks rather exaggerated in some of the shots but are actually not bad. A few shots show the front coming from the right, my old preferred way but I've switched back to cross. The third shot with the Cinelli Unicanitor is the latest, just taken a few days back. The probably could stand to be shortened a tad. That bike has had about four different stem lengths before settling on 115.

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Wow

Submitted by Bobby Wham on 12/14/2008.

I think I'm in love!

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nice, nice

Submitted by justinbarnes on 10/17/2008.

i might have to copy that set up... if i can afford it

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for what frame?

Submitted by abstrait on 10/18/2008.

Thanks for the comment. Are you talking about copying this setup for your later model Moser Gara ALU frame? Although I love NUOVO and SR, I think your build should probably be from a later era, with Campangolo Chorus being a good option. It's a lot of the value of Record without the supreme cost and can be found on eBay for a good deal if you're patient. I would head to the mid 90s and later sans carbon fiber for best strength/price. You will need to decide what type of shifting you want and speed (8/9/10), but it will be more fitting with that frame for sure. Good luck, don't kill your bank account.

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good call

Submitted by justinbarnes on 10/19/2008.

i shall have a good look around for some bargain chorus. Thanks for the advice.

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Saddles -R-Us

Submitted by abstrait on 09/29/2008.

Jesus, I've put enough saddles on my De Rosa in the last month more befitting
something belonging in a race horse paddock. It's been a Selle San Marco Tour
with various Concor Supercorsas, the Regal, and even a Brooks Team Pro for long
distance the other day. I cant decide if I like Black or white, either, now
inching towards BLACK, unfortunate considering I have more white saddles than
sense. There is nothing as comfortable as a Brooks saddle once broken in;
it just looks patently absurd on the De Rosa, however. Think I might move
to a black Regal or Rolls, of course, two options I DON'T own. I love the
GL 330 tubs with the Vittorias but they are wearing faster than a toothbrush
scrubbing a tile sandwich...

My last headache is to find another pair of clincher rims I really like.

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Stunning

Submitted by gridplan on 07/03/2008.

It looks showroom new. What a head turner that must be out on the road!

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Thanks...I love this beast

Submitted by abstrait on 07/06/2008.

I have to say, it's one of the most eye-popping red paint jobs I've seen that just explodes in the sun.
You get all sorts of stares from those that know though I'm on the NC coast in a big triathlete rider
town, and most of those guys wouldn't know a vintage steel bike from a bag of rocks; however, older
riders and younger fixed gear freaks recognize it and usually are smitten. Aesthetics aside, I
love the way the De Rosa rides! It's a perfect blend of great handling and ride. Vacillating between
a Selle San Marco Regal in white and my trusty old Concor.

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Very, very nice. I'm

Submitted by darklordoflove on 07/03/2008.

Very, very nice. I'm slightly jealous.

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