This auction puzzles me. The seller is asking big bucks for this bike, but only shows 6 photos. Claims it is a De Rosa but gives no proof of the matter, except for the opinion of some unnamed experts (BTW, the seller is located in Northern Italy, so for a $5K bike, a 3 hour drive to show Ugo is nothing). There are a number of details that resemble my 1960 De Rosa bikes, but just as many details that don't have anything to do with them. My 60's De Rosa bikes all have "flanged" chainstay and brake stay bridges. All of my bikes have headlugs that have virtually identical shape where they are brazed to the head tube (they vary on the part where the top tube and down tube are brazed, with some having the hearts and some not). My "Chiorda-De Rosa", which has been recognized by Ugo as being one of his, has the same BB shell that was used on other De Rosa bikes in the early 70's; but it is different from the one seen on the auction bike. My bike likewise has non-dimpled chainstays, w hereas this frame has the dimpling (which also does not correspond to the other 60's De Rosa bikes that I have seen). Furthermore, it would appear that the seatstays are somewhat "smaller" than those I have seen on other similar sized Ugo-built bikes from that period (but that may be an optical illusion). To the best of my knowledge, Ugo only ever built "Chiorda" bikes for pros riding on the Salvarani team. All the Salvarani team bikes were painted dark metallic blue, not light blue like this one.
Now lets look at the components: the brake levers are 2nd generation curve. The calipers have post CPSC Q/R. It is claimed that the parts are NOS condition, but the seatpost is all chewed up, the rubber adjuster rings on the brakes are missing, the cranks are well used...
I wouldn't want to be the one who bets $5K on a bike that might turn out to not even be a De Rosa.
Having said all that, I would however be very happy if the bike were to sell for the asking price.
Steven Maasland
Moorestown, NJ
USA