The frame of this bike is interesting:
http://ebay.com/
Once De Rosa began making frames with cast lugs, it appears that not very much work went into finishing said lugs. No thinning to speak of, and while the shorelines of the lugs were probably touched up a little, the castings were likely precise enough that not much of that was required either. The end result is presentable enough, but a bit crude and clunky to my eye. The lack of obvious hand-work gives those later De Rosa frames a strange sterility that has never done much for me. The same is true of many, if not most, of Italian frames post-1978 or so.
This De Rosa appears a little different. The chromed head-lugs would have required polishing, so some material might have been removed, and might account for the thinner appearance of the lugs. But note the seat-lug: no chrome, but it sure looks like someone took a file to it, because it looks nice and thin.
Also, these lugs look a little different from De Rosas usual of the time. Simpler.
The older De Rosas, from before the cast-lugs, show many signs of hand-work, and are far more attractive than the later ones. There is a delicacy to the best ones that is hard to find in nearly any other frame similar-style frame of the period, as well as an obvious hand-wrought quality that is a pleasure to see.. Not all the old ones are equally nice, but nearly every one I've seen (not many, as they appear to be quite rare in this country) is extremely tasty.
This one-off bike on ebay recalls some of that hand-wrought quality to me..and thus, I'm *really* glad its far to big for me, as I would be horribly tempted to bid on it. I'll be very curious to see where it ends.
Charles Andrews
Los Angeles