My recommendations

I will post in this section the products which I consider to be the best and why.

Let's start with the tubulars cement or glue. I used to glue my tubulars with this one and I'm happy to see that it's still being produced. I'm talking about the Velox Tubasti, mastice gutta. Never had problems with it and in my opinion a bit better than the Vittoria glue. On top of that it's one of the cheapest on the market!

I'm also recommending strongly all the Veloflex products, both tyres and tubulars are fantastic. How to legally dope your bike! Veloflex might be slightly more expensive than the competition, but they are still manufactured in Europe and they supply many many professional cycling teams under white label. Veloflex offers the tyres which give you the closest sensation to drive on tubulars! Tubulars are still ahead in my opinion in terms of comfort and precision, but having Veloflex tyres on your rims is the best alternative to tubulars... Have riden many years Wolber, Vittoria, Continental and Michelin, but Veloflex takes it all.

If you want to fine tune your bike, then PMP is your best choice. I'm using their products since 1998 and I just love them. The titanium seatposts are great, not only they look very good on a bike, but they also filtrate a lot of the road vibrations, even when you have a very stiff frame. PMP offers a wide range of products, quick release skewers and bolts are a must.

Using Silca Pompe pumps for almost 20 years, I strongly recommend them! They are reliable and strong, those ones won't let you down!

If you are looking for something exceptionnal, then the Marresi cycling shoes are for you. Made from leather in Italy, they ally a beautiful vintage look and a pure italian style design.

Not a vintage one but probably one of the best cycling apparel manufacturer around these days, namely MEM. Made in Italy, which is getting rare...

SCI-CON s.n.c., established in 1980, had been the first company in Italy which recognized the cycle bags and accessories field as an available commercial area with a certain expanding future. For almost 20 years the company has been projecting and manufacturing bicycle travel bags and under-seat bags. I really recommended those product for their great design, ease of use and durability.

De Rosa Primato pictures

The De Rosa Primato 1994 Team Gewiss-Ballan Replica in its version "indoor". Still waiting for better days for making pictures outside...

Finally some sunny days! I managed to do some outside pictures of my De Rosa Primato, but not completely in the Gewiss-Ballan Team Replica since I used the Campagnolo Shamal HPW wheels from 1996. Also the Selle Italia Flite saddle doesn't match the Replica and will be replaced with a black one soon...

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 pictures

The Colnago Tecnos with Campagnolo Shamal wheels and with FIR rims.