Doriano De Rosa goes to art school

[Ciavete]

Rode Doriano De Rosa's beautiful Prima to Marin County. So many beautiful rides there. I've always loved bicycles; I don't know why. I'm lucky to have a few handmade frames by master builders like Doriano. I think of them as an art collection; they each have stories to tell. Doriano. Dario. Richie. Preparing now to build Kirk's masterpiece Gothic. All steel, or at least will be after I put steel forks on the Prima and Peg.

The Prima will need some paintwork soon. Thinking of putting DORIANO on the downtube. My buddy Tony @ A Bicycle Odyssey suggested: D. De Rosa. Will put it in the hands of master Joe Bell; he'll know what to do.

Hopefully one day a Tomii, and saw a Zanconato yesterday. Sweet. Got to mix up some of the young bucks with all those old timers.

Cheers.

IMG_8009 (2).jpg

[Ryun]

Looks great.
My prima is my favorite bike hands down

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by Ciavete

Rode Doriano De Rosa's beautiful Prima to Marin County. So many beautiful rides there. I've always loved bicycles; I don't know why. I'm lucky to have a few handmade frames by master builders like Doriano. I think of them as an art collection; they each have stories to tell. Doriano. Dario. Richie. Preparing now to build Kirk's masterpiece Gothic. All steel, or at least will be after I put steel forks on the Prima and Peg.

The Prima will need some paintwork soon. Thinking of putting DORIANO on the downtube. My buddy Tony @ A Bicycle Odyssey suggested: D. De Rosa. Will put it in the hands of master Joe Bell; he'll know what to do.

Hopefully one day a Tomii, and saw a Zanconato yesterday. Sweet. Got to mix up some of the young bucks with all those old timers.

Cheers.

Attachment 1697965161

It would be faster with Campagnolo....


Kidding, beautiful rig...

Something in Italian about steel and Doriano? Acciaio d’ Doriano?

[Ciavete]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

It would be faster with Campagnolo....

Kidding, beautiful rig...

Something in Italian about steel and Doriano? Acciaio d’ Doriano?

I like that... will put it in the mix. Thanks Old Spud; I'll tell Tony Tom this one came from you.

On Campy, I love, if not covet, the old stuff. Their new gear leaves me cold. A sales rep once told me their primary market is a) young riders and b) Europe. I guess they like that plastic fantastic look. I've thought about a classic gruppo, but I'm surrounded by climbs here in Northern California and I don't have the horsepower your generation clearly had. (I did two Eroicas last year - California's and Italy's - heavy steel bikes with little cassettes, how did you guys climb Stelvio and the like? I mean... damn!)

The other geopolitical matter, rich in irony, is that Campy is hardly Italian anymore. As per Doriano they manufacture almost everything abroad. That's one of the reasons I'm rooting for Doriano. His dad and Campagnolo may have largely abandoned Italy, but he has not. Maybe he's a lost romantic - and if you get to know him you'll find there's a lot of artist in the man - but at least he's honoring the tradition and craft, all 100% in Italy.

Cheers.

p.s. Hey Ryun nice ride

[tylercheung]

What happened with all that "made in Vincenza/Romania" thing?

[cgolvin]

Beautiful bike, chapeau. Er…capello?

I had an extended conversation with Doriano last year, and when I sell the 993 that I inherited from my father I think I'll resuscitate the discussion.

I had originally planned to put a Record groupset on it but am now thinking about Potenza with a shiny metal post and cockpit. With a mid-compact crankset and 11-32 cassette I'll have enough range to climb anything I expect to encounter (including Alba Road).

As to the old days of climbing on a 42-23…oh to be young again.

[Never]

Why re-brand/re-paint a Bixxis as anything other than a Bixxis?

The name Bixxis has enormous significance to De Rosa junior, on various levels. It would seem very odd and maybe even rude in a way to trivialize that significance by changing the dt graphics. Why?

But, not my Bixxis....

And, "hardly Italian"? Campagnolo is still very Italian. They have not "largely abandoned" Italy simply because they/others produce some components abroad. Who cares where that beautiful Falz is made, for instance.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by Ciavete

I like that... will put it in the mix. Thanks Old Spud; I'll tell Tony Tom this one came from you.

On Campy, I love, if not covet, the old stuff. Their new gear leaves me cold. A sales rep once told me their primary market is a) young riders and b) Europe. I guess they like that plastic fantastic look. I've thought about a classic gruppo, but I'm surrounded by climbs here in Northern California and I don't have the horsepower your generation clearly had. (I did two Eroicas last year - California's and Italy's - heavy steel bikes with little cassettes, how did you guys climb Stelvio and the like? I mean... damn!)

The other geopolitical matter, rich in irony, is that Campy is hardly Italian anymore. As per Doriano they manufacture almost everything abroad. That's one of the reasons I'm rooting for Doriano. His dad and Campagnolo may have largely abandoned Italy, but he has not. Maybe he's a lost romantic - and if you get to know him you'll find there's a lot of artist in the man - but at least he's honoring the tradition and craft, all 100% in Italy.

Cheers.

p.s. Hey Ryun nice ride

Younger, racey type riders, yes..plus those who also like the finer things, like Rolex, Ducati and Ferrari.

Campag main market is Europe, JAPAN and the US.

LOTS of Campag made in Romania, lots in Italia(still Vicenza) and a very small part in Asia via Tektro(brakes, lower end)..ALL of the stuff from that 'American' company, sram, is made in Asia..Even shimano, a LARGE chunk is made in Malaysia. BUT Campagnolo is Italian through and through..sram is hardly 'American' through and through nor is shimano...all about 'Japan'..

[Ciavete]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

Younger, racey type riders, yes..plus those who also like the finer things, like Rolex, Ducati and Ferrari.

Campag main market is Europe, JAPAN and the US.

LOTS of Campag made in Romania, lots in Italia(still Vicenza) and a very small part in Asia via Tektro(brakes, lower end)..ALL of the stuff from that 'American' company, sram, is made in Asia..Even shimano, a LARGE chunk is made in Malaysia. BUT Campagnolo is Italian through and through..sram is hardly 'American' through and through nor is shimano...all about 'Japan'..

Good stuff, thanks Old Spud. I had the opportunity to visit the Ferrari plant in Maranello once. Amazing. By the end of the tour you're left thinking a quarter of a million dollars is a bargain, not that I'll ever put that notion to the test

You make good points. For some reason, fair or otherwise, I hold some brands, like Campagnolo and Ferrari, to a higher standard of provenance than others. Campagnolo, to me, represents emotion, lore, & legacy, all inextricably tied to Italy. I don't have any of these sentiments for Sram or Shimano. I got a different account from Doriano of how much Campy production still takes place in Italy. I can't think of them as Italian through and through unless there's a skilled Italian worker standing in front of a machine or workbench cranking out the components in Italy. I concede this is a nostalgic image. Years ago during summers I worked alongside my dad in a factory in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York, back when Greenpoint still had factories; maybe that's where I got these antiquated notions.

Just some philosophical musings on a summer Sunday afternoon.

BTW, Dave Kirk made me a beautiful steel fork which I'll put on the Prima, so in the end it'll be an Italian American bike

Cheers.

[colker]

Originally Posted by Never

Why re-brand/re-paint a Bixxis as anything other than a Bixxis?

The name Bixxis has enormous significance to De Rosa junior, on various levels. It would seem very odd and maybe even rude in a way to trivialize that significance by changing the dt graphics. Why?

But, not my Bixxis....

And, "hardly Italian"? Campagnolo is still very Italian. They have not "largely abandoned" Italy simply because they/others produce some components abroad. Who cares where that beautiful Falz is made, for instance.

Yes to this^^^^^^^^^^^^.
Respect.

[FlashUNC]

Why ignore what these masters spec'd on their bikes and put on a steel fork when they originally came with carbon?

To continue your metaphor, you're telling these artists the work they created is wrong.

[Ciavete]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

Why ignore what these masters spec'd on their bikes and put on a steel fork when they originally came with carbon?

To continue your metaphor, you're telling these artists the work they created is wrong.

As explained to me by Dario, the carbon fork is a solution to a) a significant weight penalty over steel and b) an aesthetic mismatch with the oversized steel tubes of the frames. Both Doriano and Dario are fine with steel forks, they just think the market's preference is for carbon. I imagine they're 100% correct. I got Doriano's blessing on Kirk's steel fork before ordering.

As for me, after having ridden many miles on both, I've concluded I definitely prefer the ride of steel forks, despite the weight penalty. I see where Dario is coming from on the aesthetic issue, but it doesn't bother me at all.

We'll see, it's admittedly an experiment. I may regret it on the big climbs, and enjoy it the rest of the time.

[colker]

Diogenes the cynic, the philosopher, said he had no city and belonged everywhere.
Why should we go back 2.000 yrs later to care if anything is made in Italy, Asia or the USA? It´s made by men and women everywhere and that´s good.

[thoreau]

Wonderful looking bike! Big fan of the classic look

[m4rk540]

Yep, why not keep the forks that the designers believed would bring out the best qualities in their designs? Kirk likes steel but Dario and De Rosa Junior don't intend their bikes to be ridden with 32mm tires. I'm with Never and FlashUNC on this one. But, hay, if you've got the cash or want to wax nostalgic (nostalgia as opposed to aesthetics)....