My 1986 De Rosa SLX

Thanks everybody!

When I bought the bike last december it was in very good condition.
The two previous owners had been very nice to her. (The picture below is from the day it bought it).



The grouppo was full Chorus except for the wheelset; a very nice pair of Fir/Edco Competition wheels... nothing wrong with the set but it bugged me it wasn't Campagnolo. Luckily I found a NOS wheelset with Athena 7-speed cassette hubs and Mavic Open 4CD rims, and sold the Edcos.

New cables, aero bottle, tyres, bartape, a Regal and some elbow grease et voilá!... a De Rosa so nice I almost do not dare to ride it
I've only done 3 rides on her since I finished it 4 months ago.

I have a couple of other very nice steel bikes that I ride on a regular basis. The De Rosa I wanna keep as mint as possible and ride it only on special occasions.

A gorgeous machine. Enjoy!

Work of art, I'd like that above my fireplace.

This forum makes you sick with jealousy some days...

Will

Beautiful!

It deserves to be ridden, after all, that's what it was made for!

Italians really know how to craft a beautiful looking bike- I love the De Rosa graphics too.

beautiful!

now get that saddle slid all the way back in the rails and get a nice pair of period Ambrosio sprint rims and some classic tan sidewall tubular tyres and you've got the nicest bike on this site!!!!

but that's only my opinion!
rusty

I'm with you on the Ambrosio tubulars, these clincher wheels make it kinda heavy. And the low profile of tubular rims just looks better.
Eventually I'll build it up with period correct C-Record, but for now the Chorus gruppo will do.
The saddle position however I can't change, this is the perfect postion for me.

well it's a beauty - keep an eye on ebay for ambrosio metamorphosis rims - 32 holes are ideal. ambrosio montreal are also a good period rim to keep an eye out for

rusty

That is outrageously gorgeous

Well... it's been more than two years and I've only taken this beauty on two(!) very short rides

It's too nice to be ridden (for me at least), but it should be enjoyed and taken out by someone somewhere.
Right now it's just doing nothing, hidden under a blanket. Those NOS Michelin tires have already developed some serious cracks... damn shame.

Still a little hesitant if I should sell it, but I also have a mint '93 EL-OS Primato which will be built up soon.

Other than that I exclusively ride my Cervélo RS or Ti Litespeed, so I really can't complain.