De Rosa Road Test — Bicycling!, January 1974, by Richard Jow

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De Rosa
by RICHARD JOW

[Ebykr summary; the article’s running text is not reproduced. Jow rates the handling highly: geometry close to a track bicycle’s, with a 75° head angle, makes the steering quick and demanding, and 1¾ inches of fork rake softens the ride. He found no frame whip in hard sprints, which he credits to the stiff wheels (32-hole small-flange Campagnolo hubs, sprint rims, straight-gauge stainless spokes laced two-cross) and to the Columbus rear triangle. He singles out the workmanship: the De Rosa name or its heart-shaped cutout on almost every part and dark muted green paint with yellow accents. The dropouts and fork tips are finished square, and the stops, guides and bottle-cage mounts are brazed on. He puts the weight at 24 pounds, partly from extra brass at the dropouts and fork tips, recommends the bicycle for criterium racing and names Talbot’s Cyclery of San Mateo, California, as the only U.S. importer.]

[A black-and-white photograph of the bicycle in profile fills the top of the page above two columns of text.]

40 BICYCLING!

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DE ROSA SPECIFICATIONS

FRAME: Double-butted Columbus tubing throughout w/cut-out Prugnat lugs.
top tube: 22¾”
seat tube: 23¾”
chain stay: 16″
fork rake: 1¾”
bottom bracket height: 10-5/8″
wheelbase: 39½”
head tube angle: 75°
seat tube angle: 73°
weight: 24 lbs.
CHAINSET: Campagnolo Strada (new type) w/170 m.m. cranks & 42/53 chainwheels
DERAILLEURS: front: Campagnolo Nuovo Record
rear: Campagnolo Nuovo Record
WHEELS: hub: Campagnolo Record small flange w/32-hole drilling
rim: Nisi Moncalieri
tires: Clement Criterium – 8 oz.
spokes: Stainless steel straight gauge
BRAKES: Campagnolo sidepulls
PEDALS: Campagnolo steel road w/Cornez toe clips & Binda toe straps
FREEWHEEL: Regina 13-21
BAR & STEM: Cinelli – 115 m.m. extension
COST: $650.00

Road Test

Road Test: De Rosa
Finish:
paint 2
chrome None
lug work 1
dropout & fork tip joining 1
detailing 1
overall finish & workmanship 1
Handling:
steering 1
cornering 1
undesirable frame whip 1
ride 1
overall handling 1
1: excellent; 2: very good; 3: good; 4: acceptable; 5: not acceptable.

[Two photographs with short captions: the head of the frame and the stem, the caption pointing out the heart cutouts in the lugs and the name milled into the stem; and the chainset, the caption pointing out the hearts cut into the chainwheel and the brazed-on bottle-cage mounts.]

JANUARY ’74 41