Meet the De Rosa Settanta road bike

De Rosa was started in 1953, now about 70 years ago. Over the years, the Italian brand built bikes for the likes of Francesco Moser and Eddy Merckx, and more recently for team Cofidis until 2022.

Now, De Rosa has decided to commemorate those years of road racing success with a bike called the De Rosa Settanta. 

The Settanta – which translates to the number seventy in Italian – was designed in collaboration with design firm Pininfarina to build what they call “the most advanced De Rosa bike of all time.”

Hello, Settanta! (Image: De Rosa/Pininfarina)

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De Rosa and Pininfarina are proud of having molded traditional frame design with aero tube shaping. Finished carbon peeks out from the seat stays under a matte clearcoat finish.

The Italian brand says the Settanta is a standalone frame design that looks to be their lightest yet; De Rosa claims a size 54 cm frame weighs 730 grams and a fork weighs 280 grams. This is about 70 grams and 90 grams lighter than a Merak frame and fork respectively.

The Settanta uses a zero-setback seatpost. (Image: De Rosa/Pininfarina)

No complete bike weighs have been shared but those numbers are plenty light for any bike, much less a highly integrated one such as the Settanta. 

Fully-internal cable routing makes an appearance here courtesy of FSA’s ICR headset and stem. The frame uses a BB86 bottom bracket shell and is said to offer a max tire clearance of 32 mm. 

The Settanta’s top tube and head tube flow a bit more smoothly into the upper headset thanks to an inset and color-matched upper bearing cover. (Image: De Rosa/Pininfarina)

The frame’s look overall isn’t too far off from the De Rosa Merak, though the Settanta receives additional refinements such as an in-set upper headset cover, among others.

Comparing the two geometry charts, the frames share nearly identical reach, stack, and front-center, numbers as well. The official size names they use don’t perfectly lineup, however, but if you’re comfortable on a 54 cm Merak, you’ll find a similar fit on a 52.5 cm Settanta. 

Every Settanta receives a headtube logo with the De Rosa heart and the number 70 to commemorate 70 years since the brand’s inception in 1953. (Image: De Rosa/Pininfarina)

Two paint schemes are available, and each frame receives a special anniversary Settanta headtube logo with the De Rosa heart. Builds will be available with a range of drivetrains from Campagnolo, Shimano, and SRAM. 

Learn more about the De Rosa Settanta at derosa.it.

Pininfarina is better known for designing cars, but this isn’t their first collaboration with De Rosa. (Image: De Rosa/Pininfarina)

(Image: De Rosa/Pininfarina)