For De Rosa bicycles, 2023 was a very sad year and a great year. In March, Ugo De Rosa, founder and maestro of the bike brand, died at the age of 89. The year also marked the 70th anniversary of the founding of the brand.

The Advanced Design of the De Rosa Settanta Frame

The De Rosa Settanta is the bike that they created to celebrate that anniversary. In Italian, Settanta means 70, and when you look at the bike, you’ll see immediately that they have lavished all their love and expertise on the design. It truly is the most advanced bike ever to come from , a brand that has been renowned as the bike builder for champions. The frame is made using a variety of high-modulus carbon fiber. Developed in conjunction with Pininfarina, the Settanta looks elegant while remaining aerodynamically efficient. That’s largely thanks to the deep knowledge the Pininfarina designers bring to the table. If you are a car enthusiast or appreciate the school of modern Italian design, it’s likely you are already familiar with the Pininfarina company. They are the gurus behind the iconic designs of things as varied as the Eurostar bullet train, the Forever Cambiano pencil, as well as numerous supercars from Alfa Romero, Ferrari, etc.

With that in mind, carbon layup has been structured to provide the right mixture of stiffness and suppleness to enhance performance while ensuring a comfortable ride quality. Carbon of varying tensile strength and weave density has been strategically placed to make sure the power goes directly to the pedals and the road vibrations are dampened before they travel to up the frame to the rider. That exceptional mix of comfort, handling and performance is actually something many of the very best Italian brands excel at. Where the Settanta has the advantage is that the designers have managed that tightrope act while still keep the frame wonderfully lightweight.

Impressive Lightweight Construction of the De Rosa Settanta

In a size 54 the frame weighs only 730 g, and the fork adds a minimal 280 g to the bargain. Those are impressive numbers even these days of super light disc brake racing bikes. With super clean integrated cable routing and a head tube specially sculpted for clean aerodynamics, the De Rosa Settanta cuts through the wind with ease, while the rear end of the frame helps smooth out detached airflow.

The De Rosa Settanta comes in eight sizes and three dedicated builds of the highest quality from Campagnolo, Shimano, and SRAM. The frame can handle up to 32 mm tires, which makes this one of the most versatile super bikes on the market. And as the last bike Maestro Ugo had a hand in the design process, it feels like owning a little piece of history.

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