I hope that this can be the last word on this whole affair. We must all recognise that the bike is still for sale and that it will be sold. We must also remember that it also has some reasonably collectible equipment. How often can you find a high quality 24" front wheel, Campagnolo Super Record derailleurs...etc Furthermore, as Cristiano De Rosa points out, it would indeed appear to be one of their bikes. I included the Italian original in my earlier post because Cristiano's choice of words is not perfectly clear. His word 'sterzo' translates literally to 'steering' which I translated to mean front end. I believe my translation to be correct, but sterzo could also mean any part of the forward part of the bike such as headset, headtube, handlebar style or fork assembly. It could also mean the frame strut. I cannot state for sure that my translation fully represents Cristiano's thoughts. As Jan Heine will attest, translation is not cut and dried, there is always quite a bit of interpretation required. One off-list message I received pointed to the possibility that Cristiano is pointing out that it is only the handlebar assembly that has been modified. This may be. Furthermore, Cristiano has been involved as the sole person in charge of all commercial dealings of De Rosa since about 1986, so it is possible that this bike could have been produced prior to his arrival. I would even go so far as to guess that this bike is probably from the early to mid-80's, the same period as the bikes described by Brian. This could of course be verified with the serial number. Lastly, Cristiano's comment that he would not buy the bike is quite normal as he could always build himself a new one on his own, so perhaps one shouldn't read too much into the comment. All told, I think that the bike at the present price remains a deal, whether a fully original De Rosa or not. As such, the seller's comment that he would like to buy the bike for himself does not surprise me. Heck, I would even give some thought to the purchase of the bike at the present price and I am a cheapskate when buying things.
Steven Maasland
Moorestown, NJ
> 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.
> >
> > ---
> > Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
> > Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
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> >
> > _______________________________________________
> _______________________________________________
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