De Rosa Planet

De Rosa Planet 1998-1999

This one has been my racing bike for one season. It’s a Dedacciai 7003 aluminium frame from the year 1998, the same was used by the professional team Riso Scotti the same year. The particularity of this frame is its exceptional painting; De Rosa indeed released a small amount of frames in the blue-yellow colour of the unfortunately no longer existing Team Ferraro of Arma di Taggia, Italy. I estimate the total amount of those frames to 30-40 pieces maximum.
The frame came with its steel fork, I added the 1999 Campagnolo Chorus group and other components the following year.
Here below the listing of the components and the pictures. Enjoy!

- De Rosa Planet frame with aluminium 7003 tubing made by Dedacciai. The size is a standard 51x53 cm.
- De Rosa steel fork, painted.
- PMP titanium seat post.
- Selle Italia Flite titanium saddle, black leather.
- De Rosa alloy seat post clamp.
- 3ttt status stem, 110 mm.
- 3ttt Ergo Power 2 round “Belgian” handlebar, 43 cm.
- Campagnolo Chorus bearings.
- Campagnolo Chorus 9s ergopower levers from 1999.
- Elite Ciussi water bottle cage.
- Campagnolo Chorus bottom bracket.
- Campagnolo Chorus crank set, 9s in 170 mm length, chain rings 53 and 39.
- Campagnolo Record pedals, Look system.
- Campagnolo Chorus brakes.
- Campagnolo Record 9s front derailleur.
- Campagnolo Chorus 9s rear mech.
- Campagnolo Record 9s chain.
- Ambrosio Excellence rims, light blue anodised finish, for tyres.
- Alpina spokes.
- Campagnolo Chorus hubs, 9s.
- Campagnolo Chorus 9s cassette, 13-23.
- Vittoria Corsa CX tyres, 19 mm section, yellow and black.
- De Rosa blue handlebar tape.

Impressions:

The De Rosa Planet is with certainty one of the best bikes I have ever ridden. First of all it’s a very resistant frame, with a perfect finish and welding. It is reactive, fast and still very comfortable for an aluminium frame. The PMP seat post adds some comfort in my opinion too. No wonder that a professional team adopted it as their race machine in 1998.

De Rosa Primato

De Rosa Primato 1994

This is my second “vintage” project, already more vintage that the Colnago Tecnos one.
I found this one in Italy too, the bike was kind of put-together mixture with Campagnolo C-Record, Chorus and Athena parts.
The frame has seen some wear and is rusty in some parts. The Columbus EL tubing was quite the top end at the time, and it’s still a light weight bike nowadays. An additional interesting feature is the Gewiss Ballan team colours pattern (blue-grey), quite difficult to find. A real “Eugeni Berzin” Replica for collectors.
Here below the listing of the components and the pictures. Enjoy!

- De Rosa Primato frame with particular reinforced bottom bracket, slightly oversized EL tubes made by Columbus. The size is a 52x53 cm, quite standard for the time.
- De Rosa fork, chromed.
- Campagnolo C-Record seat post.
- Selle Italia Flite titanium saddle, black leather with Selle Italia embroidery.
- Campagnolo seat post bolt.
- 3ttt titanium stem, 120 mm.
- 3ttt Prima 220 “Anatomic” handlebar, 42 cm.
- Campagnolo C-Record bearings.
- Campagnolo C-Record 8s ergopower levers from 1994.
- Elite Ciussi water bottle cage with titanium bolts.
- Campagnolo C-Record bottom bracket.
- Campagnolo C-Record crank set, 8s in 170 mm length, chain rings 53 and 41.
- Campagnolo C-Record pedals, Look system.
- Campagnolo C-Record brakes.
- Campagnolo C-Record 8s front derailleur.
- Campagnolo C-Record 8s rear mech.
- Campagnolo Record 9s chain.
- Campagnolo Shamal 8s aero wheels, for tubulars.
- Campagnolo Record 8s cassette, 13-23.
- Veloflex Criterium tubulars, 22 mm section.
- Deda white handlebar tape.

Impressions:

I was writing in a previous post that my Colnago Tecnos was probably the best bike I have ever ridden... well, that's not true anymore! I will put the De Rosa Primato on top of my list. The bike is just fantastic, smooth ride, pure pleasure and unequaled comfort. Even with the Campagnolo Shamal wheels and tyres, the frames absorbs most of the road vibrations, much more than the Colnago Tecnos with the same wheelset. That makes the Colnago Tecnos a pure racing machine and the De Rosa Primato more an "all-rounder", which is just perfect for my current usage.

Colnago Tecnos

Colnago Tecnos 1997

This was my first real “vintage” project, even if I don’t know if one can speak about vintage for a bike which is only 13 years old.
I found it in Italy, the frame has been converted a long time ago to a city bike with a dull steel fork, straight handlebar and Shimano components. I decided to buy only the frame and get the parts myself. The frame was only lightly used and still looked great. The Tecnos is well-known to be the most refined and light steel frame ever made by Ernesto Colnago, maybe less famous than its brother Master Olympic, but definitely as good.
I managed to find a NOS Colnago Precisa fork to match the Gilco Design frame. The project was getting to life…
Here below the listing of the components and the pictures. Enjoy!

- Colnago Tecnos frame with the particular Gilco Design, slightly oversized tubes made by Columbus. The size is a 51x53 cm, quite standard for the time.
- Colnago Precisa straight fork, chromed.
- Campagnolo Chorus titanium seat post, which I will try to replace in the future with a Campagnolo Record titanium or a PMP titanium one.
- Selle Italia Flite Vanox saddle, black leather.
- Campagnolo seat post bolt.
- 3ttt titanium stem, 120 mm.
- 3ttt Ergo Power 2 round “Italian” handlebar, 43 cm.
- Campagnolo Record/Chorus bearings.
- Campagnolo Record titanium 8s ergopower levers from 1996.
- Elite Ciussi Inox water bottle cage with titanium bolts.
- Campagnolo Record bottom bracket.
- Campagnolo Record crank set, 8-9s in 170 mm length, chain rings 53 and 39.
- Campagnolo Record pedals, Look system.
- Campagnolo Record brakes.
- Campagnolo Record 8s front derailleur.
- Campagnolo Record titanium 8s rear mech.
- Campagnolo Record 9s chain.
- Campagnolo Shamal 8s aero wheels, for tyres.
- Campagnolo Record 8s cassette, 13-23.
- Veloflex Pavé tyres, 22 mm section.
- Colnago Pink handlebar tape.

Impressions: The Colnago Tecnos is definitely one of the best bikes I have ever ridden. On it you don’t only feel fast, but also easy and safe. The frame is very reactive and precise in the trajectory. Coupled with Veloflex tubulars that makes the Colnago Tecnos probably the most enjoyable bike to ride with!

De Rosa Planet Pictures

Outdoor shot of my De Rosa Planet 1998 with Veloflex Pavé tyres.