Digital WorldBike – De Rosa

Continuing with our recap from the virtual Digital WorldBike show, De Rosa is next on the list. We had a chance to check in with Nicholas De Rosa, the oldest of the third generation of the De Rosa family involved in the business. The main highlights for the Italian brand are a few newer models and a new logo design that is being rolled out that came about from a partnership with the famed design house, Pininfarina.

Let’s start with that new logo. The rollout started last summer and continues to move forward on new products. It’s not a drastic change, but it reflects the passion of the brand by retaining the heart that has been a part of the brand since it’s founding by Ugo De Rosa in 1953. The heart around the De has been removed and the new typeface is a more modern design that gives the impression of forward motion and an openness to the demands of the future. De Rosa and Pininfarina worked together to create a new logo design to better match the focus of the brand, creating high performance, light, and aerodynamic bikes for professionals and enthusiasts of all levels.

The new logo was part of the introduction of three updated models, the Merak, the SK Pininfarina and Idol.

Merak

The Merak is De Rosa’s flagship racing bike. It is all about performance, lightweight, and responsiveness. It’s not the first time we have heard the Merak name at the top of the De Rosa lineup. It’s heritage traces back to the 2000 UCI Road World Championships with a win from Romans Vainsteins. The model began to creep down the lineup as other bikes like the Proto and SK Pininfarina were introduced, but it has regained its top bill status.

The 800g disc brake only frame includes a 1.5″ headset top and bottom, which allows for completely internal cable routing using FSA/Vision’s ACR (Aerodynamic Cable Routing) system. This allows all of the cables to be routed through the custom painted Vision’s Metron 5D ACR integrated handlebar/stem combo. The front brake drops down the steerer tube with the rest of the cables/hoses routing through the stem and a special ACR headset before splitting out to the various points of the bike.

The Merak is an all-around bike, ready to take on alpine climbs or your next grand fondo. The full carbon frame features all of the modern touches, flat mount disc brakes, BB86 bottom bracket, and clearance for at least 28mm tires in the back, 30mm in the front. The frame looks like it would fit in with the aero road frame crowd, but the SK Pininfarina fits into that category.

The Merak is available in eight sizes from 43-58cm, and six different colors. Stock builds are available in high-end mechanical and electronic builds from Shimano and Campagnolo.

SK Pininfarina

Sponsored teams like Team Confidis have the Merak available to them as their all-around bike, but when the sprinters are looking for something more aerodynamic, the SK Pininfarina is their weapon of choice. SK stands for Super King and as you can tell, this was another collaboration with the design house, Pininfarina, the same group that has worked with brands like Ferrari, Maserati, and BMW to create iconic, high-performance cars. It’s obviously not the first time that we have seen a team-up with a high-end auto brand to create a superbike, but the SK Pininfarina is a little different than some of the others.

For me, the SK Pininfarina is an aero bike that is still keeping it classy. The lines are still smooth and clean, and besides the extended airfoil on the seat tube to hug the rear tire, it doesn’t scream aero bike as others can. If James Bond was a sprinter, this would be his Walther PPK. Sleek and effective.

The second generation of the SK Pininfarina sees mild updates from the first generation that debuted in 2015. It is now a flat-mount disc only frame and shares the same ACR system with the Merak to keep all cables out of the wind. The top tube has been flattened, and the seat tube has been tweaked to take advantage of no longer having a rear brake mounted on the seat stays.

The frame and fork went on a diet as well, dropping down to 950g for a medium frame. The SK Pininfarina is available in eight sizes from 46-60cm and comes in six different colors as well. Groupsets are limited to higher-end Shimano and Campy groupsets.

Idol

The Idol sits more in the mid-range, behind the Merak, SK Pininfarina, Proto and King, but you’d be mistaken thinking that it was just another mid-range bike. The frame has a beautiful arc that runs from the top tube into the seat stays, giving it a very fluid shape. This is the bike that De Rosa says will be sporty enough for racing, but will be comfortable enough to get you through the longest of grand fondo events.

The updated model adds in some of the same features as it’s updated big brothers, like a flat mount disc only frame and ACR system cable routing. The Idol is available in eight sizes, 42-56cm, and comes in six different colors. Frame weight is 1050g, and the Idol is available in mechanical and electronic builds from Shimano and Campagnolo groupsets.

Gravel

If getting dirty is a little more your thing, De Rosa has the Gravel. It is a performance-oriented bike, not really the bike you are going to use for bike packing adventures. Instead of focusing on adding mounts for every bag or extra bottle that you can think of, they keep it simple with mounts on the top tube for a top tube bag. Available in frame only or built up with Shimano GRX, it also comes with 44mm deep FSA wheels, a nod to the sporty nature of the bike. It might not have the same integrated design as the Merak, SK Pininfarina and the Idol, but it’s still worth mentioning with the gravel craze that the world is seeing right now. The Gravel is available in five sizes from 49-58cm, and only one color. Hope you like chocolate.

www.derosa.it