Current De Rosa Neo Primato

[yashcha]

Have any forum members recently acquired a Neo Primato? How would you rate the quality (paint, alignment, structure, overall finish)? Would love to see some pictures and hear some stories about these frames! I have never seen one in the US but I saw dozens of them zipping around the city on my last trip to Japan and I oogled one through the window at The Bixxis tokyo shop.

[alexstar]

Not recent, but I have a 2004 model in Molteni orange, previously owned by a couple of other forum members. It's a great bike - De Rosa's classic geometry and handling characteristics agree with me very much. It's built with oversized Deda tubing and is noticeably stiffer in the BB and rear end compared to my Cinelli Supercorsa, which was built with standard-diameter Neuron, and vastly stiffer than my old Colnago Super, which was built with Columbus SL.

The lugs are fairly plain and workmanlike, nothing fancy, but nicely done. The paint is generally well applied, a little thick on some of the lug shorelines, but very pretty and durable compared to some other Italian bikes I have owned. The alignment is spot on. Overall, it is a good bike and is well made. The overall finish (paint, lugs, etc.) is not on par with a bike made by a master and painted by Joe Bell, so if you want a work of art, this is not the bike for you. If you want an Italian bike with classic style that rides very well, looks great, and is race-capable, check it out.

[yashcha]

Originally Posted by alexstar

Not recent, but I have a 2004 model in Molteni orange, previously owned by a couple of other forum members. It's a great bike - De Rosa's classic geometry and handling characteristics agree with me very much. It's built with oversized Deda tubing and is noticeably stiffer in the BB and rear end compared to my Cinelli Supercorsa, which was built with standard-diameter Neuron, and vastly stiffer than my old Colnago Super, which was built with Columbus SL.

The lugs are fairly plain and workmanlike, nothing fancy, but nicely done. The paint is generally well applied, a little thick on some of the lug shorelines, but very pretty and durable compared to some other Italian bikes I have owned. The alignment is spot on. Overall, it is a good bike and is well made. The overall finish (paint, lugs, etc.) is not on par with a bike made by a master and painted by Joe Bell, so if you want a work of art, this is not the bike for you. If you want an Italian bike with classic style that rides very well, looks great, and is race-capable, check it out.

Sounds like a capable mid range lugged frameset with some Italian flair. What is cool about the Primato is that it is now Black Label so you can get custom paint for no additional fees. Man, I remember the first De Rosa I saw was at the Druid Hill summer Crit series back in 1997. It was a red De Rosa Giro D'Italia and the image of that bike is still burnt in my retina to this day.

[Jere]

Originally Posted by yashcha

Sounds like a capable mid range lugged frameset with some Italian flair. What is cool about the Primato is that it is now Black Label so you can get custom paint for no additional fees. Man, I remember the first De Rosa I saw was at the Druid Hill summer Crit series back in 1997. It was a red De Rosa Giro D'Italia and the image of that bike is still burnt in my retina to this day.

Man you just sparked a few memories Druid Hill.
C dales Crits , steel forks , 36 spoked wheels with a race stripe
with the Finnish line at the bottom of the hill.
I’m really getting old
JB

[saab2000]

About a decade or so ago I was contemplating this exact topic. I bought a Zanconato instead. I rode it today and have zero regrets. Lugged steel with great tire clearance and a ride that just can't be beaten.

Consider a more modern version of this classic. I'm glad I did.

This is the most recent picture of this one and it has changed exactly 0.0% since this picture was taken. Today was a great ride on this one. No pics of today's ride, but it was about 2 hours with some pretty rough asphalt and 25mm clinchers. Tons of tire clearance and true road race handling.

Needs all new cables and housing and a new chain and probably a whole new groupset. Much of this is from the original built and it's getting tired. Looking for a lugged steel racer but with room for modern tires? This should be on your very, very short list.

[yashcha]

Originally Posted by saab2000

About a decade or so ago I was contemplating this exact topic. I bought a Zanconato instead. I rode it today and have zero regrets. Lugged steel with great tire clearance and a ride that just can't be beaten.

Consider a more modern version of this classic. I'm glad I did.

This is the most recent picture of this one and it has changed exactly 0.0% since this picture was taken. Today was a great ride on this one. No pics of today's ride, but it was about 2 hours with some pretty rough asphalt and 25mm clinchers. Tons of tire clearance and true road race handling.

Needs all new cables and housing and a new chain and probably a whole new groupset. Much of this is from the original built and it's getting tired. Looking for a lugged steel racer but with room for modern tires? This should be on your very, very short list.

I'm currently rolling on a Zank Lugged crosser with a pretty road geo so I know the magic of which you speak. Is Z still making lugged frames anymore? I know he recently did a run of the Max frames.

[yashcha]

Originally Posted by Jere

Man you just sparked a few memories Druid Hill.
C dales Crits , steel forks , 36 spoked wheels with a race stripe
with the Finnish line at the bottom of the hill.
I’m really getting old
JB

Did you ever think you were hallucinating when you could occasionally see the giraffes head poking up from the trees behind corner #2, right before the hill (there was a zoo behind the park)? On 100+ degree Code red days, I could not tell if that was real or I was suffering brain damage on lap 25.

[Jere]

Originally Posted by yashcha

Did you ever think you were hallucinating when you could occasionally see the giraffes head poking up from the trees behind corner #2, right before the hill (there was a zoo behind the park)? On 100+ degree Code red days, I could not tell if that was real or I was suffering brain damage on lap 25.

Ha Ha I was to busy trying not to blow up or fall in that gutter on the right.

[OtayBW]

Originally Posted by yashcha

Have any forum members recently acquired a Neo Primato? How would you rate the quality (paint, alignment, structure, overall finish)? Would love to see some pictures and hear some stories about these frames! I have never seen one in the US but I saw dozens of them zipping around the city on my last trip to Japan and I oogled one through the window at The Bixxis tokyo shop.

Curious as to why the interest in the 2000's reissue (Neo)Primato vs a 90's. Differences are largely EL-OS tubing in the latter and slight differences in geometry: 90's Primato (in the ~mid-size range) has 0.5-1.0 cm shorter TT and slightly slacker STA. The Primato in this size range (~55-56) was also specced with a 72.5 HTA and 40° rake to give a fairly high trail for the bike. This fits me personally very well, and the handling follows with very 'light', even slightly 'twitchy' steering as slower speeds, but very confident and stable steering and cornering at high speed - especially in descents. For me, it is a magic carpet ride....

I haven't ridden a Neo P, but I would expect that slight differences in geometry may contribute to some non-trivial differences in handling, etc. (?). Just wondering if you had considered any of this or had any additional info. Thx!

[thwart]

Back when I was riding the open road, I could grab this, the Peg, or the Parlee... they were really interchangeable.

Fast ride... ? No worries. This bike has never held me back.

I've owned a lugged Zanc road bike. The DeRosa does not suffer by comparison. Both are great bikes.

Oh yeah, easily fits a 28... for awhile, I was running carbon fenders and 24 Pave tubulars.

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by thwart

Back when I was riding the open road, I could grab this, the Peg, or the Parlee... they were really interchangeable.

Fast ride... ? No worries. This bike has never held me back.

I've owned a lugged Zanc road bike. The DeRosa does not suffer by comparison. Both are great bikes.

Oh yeah, easily fits a 28... for awhile, I was running carbon fenders and 24 Pave tubulars.

Outstanding! That’s the template for my Zanconato. Love the rolling farmland in Wisconsin!

[thwart]

Originally Posted by saab2000

Love the rolling farmland in Wisconsin!

The 'driftless' (untouched by glaciers) area of SW Wisconsin has to be one of the best areas to ride a bike.

Now if we could just drop three or four months of winter off the calendar...

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by thwart

The 'driftless' area of SW Wisconsin has to be one of the best areas to ride a bike.

Now if we could just drop three or four months of winter off the calendar...

Exactly. People who haven’t ridden there are unaware of how great it is for cycling about 8 months of the year. I’ve spent considerable time in the LaCrosse and Trempealeau areas and frequently get to River Falls. Great cycling.

[yashcha]

Thanks all for your input! These frames with custom paint and shipping run about $1650~1720 so I was definitely getting the itch to add a lugged roadie in the red color scheme, as owned by thwart.