Steven,
Well, there it is. I'm wrong. That is a DeRosa TT bike, modified or otherwise. My primary reservations began on account of the lack of DeRosa stamping on the dropouts and the style of the dropout filing. I felt that the fork was proabably a DeRosa fork that was matched with some unknown frame. The overall style and workmanship did not look DeRosa level from the photos, which aren't that good. When the detail photos of the stay caps appeared I could see that the normal stamped DeRosa caps were not used. The size and shape of the stays were not typical. I did allow for the possibility that it could be a one-off bike or part of a small custom order. Apparently that's what this is. Has anyone made mention of the year of manufacture? Where did it come from. If one makes the claims to sell the bike then they should be able to prove it.
Several years ago I had an opportunity to "broker" a few frames that were used for bike show displays. There were 7 frames. 5 road, 2 track. They were all cueved tube tt style frames. They were built with the single curve seat tube, which is considerably more graceful than the tube on this thing. The frames were fillet brazed and faired in with metal and bondo, sort of like a Cinelli laser. They had DeRosa dropouts on them. They were costom ordered and a short run, specified to show NO brand name; and still the dropouts made it onto the frames. I would have expected other DeRosas to look similar. I will try to get some photos from my friend who still has one and you will see that if they were building bikes like the one my friend has, why in HELL would they make one like that one?
Regardless, I AM wrong. I'm shocked that's real. Especially considering how graceful these other frames are. If I was DeRosa I might be a little reluctant to admit it was their work. Personally I would not neccessarily interprit what DeRosa said about never buying a bike like that to mean that there is something wrong with the frame. He pretty much HAS to say that from several different angles. The bike is still a DeRosa, a modified DeRosa, but a DeRosa none the less. If I recall, what I originally said is, it doesn't look like any DeRosa I've ever seen before. I have my reservations about its origin.
Steven Thomas were chatting last night on the phone. I expressed my regret at having suggested that we tyre glue the seller. I told Steven that I was considering a reduced sentence; use Tubasti instead. Nothing much will stick to that stuff!
I deserve the tire glue treatment. I beg for the mercy of the court. PLEASSSSSE use Tubasti!
Brian Baylis
La Mesa, CA
Now I've done it! I've GLUED my foot in my mouth this time.
>
> For those of you that can read Italian, you can read the final word on the De Rosa time trial bike yourself below. For those that can't read Italian, I have included my translations of both my original message as well as Cirstiano De Rosa's response below. As you can see, the truth in fact lies somewhere between what the seller and what Brian have said. It would seem that both have made some incomplete statements. For me, however, the most important line is Cristiano's statement: "I would never
>
> Steven Maasland
> Moorestown, NJ
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: De Rosa srl
> To: The Maaslands
> Sent: Tuesday, January 07, 2003 10:17 AM
> Subject: Re: Verifica di una bici De Rosa
>
> Caro Steven penso che la bicicletta in questione e'stata modificata ,noi non abbiamo mai costruito uno sterzo cosi pero ' la parte posteriore monta dei forcellini ed dei pendenti originali.Io non comprerei mai una bici cosi'
> Cordialmente
> Cristiano
>
> Dear Steven, I believe that the bicycle in question has been modified, we have never built a bike with such a front end, however the rear part does mount original drop-outs and stays. I would never buy such a bike.
> Cordially,
> Cristiano
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: The Maaslands
> To: Cristiano De Rosa
> Sent: Monday, January 06, 2003 10:46 PM
> Subject: Verifica di una bici De Rosa
>
> Cristiano,
>
> C'è una bici che è attualmente offerta all'asta su Ebay. Il venditore dice che la bici è una De Rosa. Siccome un mio amico sarebbe intenzionato a comprarla se fosse davvero una vostra bici, vorrei chiederti di verificare le foto e dirmi se è davvero uscita da voi. Si possono vedere le foto sulla pagina web seguente:
>
> http://ebay.com/
>
> Grazie,
>
> Steven Maasland
>
> PS: Per conto mio, non mi sembra che sia vostra, ma so di sbagliarmi spesso.
>
> Cristiano,
>
> There is a bike presently being offered for auction on Ebay. The seller claims that the bike is a De Rosa. As a friend of mine has the intention of buying the bike were it to be one of your bikes, I would like to ask you to verify if the bike did indeed leave your premises. You can see photos on the attached web-site:
>
> Thanks,
>
> Steven
>
> PS: It is my belief that it is not one of your bikes, but I have been known to often make mistakes.
>
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