# Rossin RLX, another addition to the fleet.



## steelisreal2 (Jun 26, 2006)

After deciding not to buy any more bikes until a couple of my current projects were finished, I just could not resist this Rossin RLX - White Quadro Frame (even with the pink accents), constructed from Columbus SLX tubing.
Frame has a few marks which will be easily touched up, overall in very good nick including chrome. I will build this up with a mixture of late 80's - mid 90's Campagnolo Record/Chorus and with down-tube shifters! 










Hopefully I will get it built up next weekend, just wanting for some more parts to arrive. 

In the future would love to get it back to one of it's original specifications with Campagnolo Croce D'Aune, just love the mechanics of that Croce D'Aune rear derailleur.
Rossin's made there way to New Zealand in the 80's via Ten Speed Drive Imports.


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

Very sweet looking...Where did you find it?


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## buck-50 (Sep 20, 2005)

that's one purty bike with one uuuuuuugly paintjob...


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## nenad (May 5, 2004)

I can't blame you at all for not being able to resist. It's going to be a stunner when you build it up.


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## DannyBoy (Feb 19, 2004)

Nice, where d'you get it from and what shape is it in? Not NOS I assume??

Tubulars or clinchers?


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## lancezneighbor (May 4, 2002)

Congrats on the find! Very nice indeed. When I first got into cycling Rossin were my dream bikes.


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## steelisreal2 (Jun 26, 2006)

I purchased the Rossin from a guy in Christchurch (South Island, New Zealand), he had purchased it solely for its Campagnolo C-Record gruppo, as the frame was to small for him. 

I remember a local guy in the cycling club having one of these with Croce D'Aune on it - it was the classic 80's Italian bike (Campagnolo/Columbus/Pantographed/Cinelli), no-one cared it had pink squares on it. I have always liked the Rossin Ghibli - in the Mondrian colours, its an image I remember clearly from all those 80's cycling magazines - Velonews/Winning and the likes.










I have a Campagnolo Chorus/Ambrosio Synthesis Durex Super Professional tubular wheelset for it.


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## brewster (Jun 15, 2004)

Very nice score. Please post the complete build shots. I like seeing the Rossin's around because they were a cycling icon back in the day and there aren't many still around. I know I'll have a unique bike that is unlike any other at any ride. Looks like yours varies a little from mine in the rear dropout design, cable stop, and fork crown. My 1990 Prestige model gets it's name from the Tange Prestige tubing it uses.The color doesn't photograph too well on mine. I'd say is somewhere in between orange and pink. "floresent salmon" is the best thing I can think of to describe the color. The wild paint is one thing that set Rossin apart in the 80s. It's got period accurate DA 7401 8sp full grouppo on it. I thought I'd share since I can't pass up a Rossin thread. :thumbsup:


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## steelisreal2 (Jun 26, 2006)

*Change of plan....*

I came across this photograph (below) of a Rossin with a Suntour Sprint gruppo on it, looks very nice. So as I already have a complete NOS Suntour Sprint gruppo in storage, I might as well put it to use and fully restore my Rossin RLX frame. 










The Rossin RLX I have was offered with Shimano's second tier Sante gruppo, along with various Campagnolo gruppos. So I figured that Suntour's second tier Sprint offering is a better looking than Sante. I know its not Campagnolo, but Suntour Sprint was in it's day was splendid value for money, everything looked expensive and the finish was superb.

I have just brought this Cinelli 1/R (1 Record) Stem with a hidden clamp, off eBay. Pantographed with "Rossin" & "R" inside pentagon and Italian stripes. The stem will be matched to a new set of Cinelli Criterium 42cm handlebars.

















Good Suntour components are starting to become quiet rare now and very expensive. Most of the Sprint components have been gathered from older bike stores where the various components have been long since forgotten and moved out the back, plus a few bits of eBay. The NOS Suntour Sprint BH-SP00 Hubs I found also had a complete set of spare bearings inside the box, along with the spoke calculations for a cross 2 spoke pattern for tubular rims. So I laced the hubs into a NOS pair of Mavic GP4 rims, which matched the calculations provided. 










Finished off with new brand set of Suntour PE-1500 Wheel Covers









Various components gathered, Suntour Sprint CB-7500 Brake Set - 
Suntour Sprint CB-7600 Brake Calipers.









Suntour Sprint FD-SP00-B Braze On and Suntour Sprint FD-3900 Clamp Front Derailleurs, I have covered my bases for a future project, purchasing both Clamp and Braze On front derailleurs.









Suntour Sprint 9000 RD-SP10-SSB Rear Derailleur.









Suntour Sprint SP-6200 Chain with it's unique inner plates. Thanks to David @ The Bicyclist's Retreat for hunting around his warehouse to dig up a couple of these for me.









My Rossin frame will be media-blasted, re-chromed (rear stays have a bit of rust setting in) and a local "bicycle friendly" sign-writer is going to help me re-produce all the Rossin's decals, except the pink squares - which will be in various blue hues. They will also try to re-produce the Ten Speed Drive Imports decals as well.

This is the specification for the final build:-
Wheelset:- Suntour Sprint BH-SP00 36h Hubs/DT Competition 2.0-1.8/Mavic GP4 Rims
Freewheel:- Suntour Winner Pro NW-7000 Ultra 7 - 13T - 19T
Headset:- Suntour Sprint HS-SA00
Bottom Bracket:- Suntour Sprint BB-500 (Italian)
Crankset:- Suntour Sprint CW-7500 52/42T 170mm
Chain:- Suntour Sprint (Pro) SP-6200
Shift Levers:- Suntour Sprint SL-IP00-B
Front Derailleur:- Suntour Sprint FD-SP00-B
Rear Derailleur:- Suntour Sprint RD-SP10-SSB
Brake Levers:- Suntour Sprint CB-7700 
Brake Calipers:- Suntour Sprint CB-7600 
Handlebars:- Cinelli Giro d'Italia - 42cm
Stem:- Cinelli 1/R "Rossin" Pantographed - 110mm
Handlebar Tape:- Ambrosio Bike Ribbon (Blue/White)
Seat Post:- Suntour Superbe Pro SP-SB00-L
Saddle:- San Marco Regal (White)

I have managed to track down various Suntour Technical Bulletins and a NOS Suntour Bicycle Components Catalog - Edition 89 (1988), one of these is being offered on eBay at the moment for US$150.00!!
Reading through one of the bulletins found there is an interesting way that chain length was worked out on Suntour derailleurs:-










Suntour Superbe Pro and Sprint 9000:- two lines molded into the plastic bushing between the pulley cage and the main body.
Correct chain length is found by shifting into highest gear (ie. 53T x 12T) and adding or substracting links so the dot on the pulley cage is lined up with the notch on the derailleur body 

I will post various updates as the project processes - Cheers


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## keppler (May 25, 2007)

Sometimes you just don't know what's in front of you until you learn what you could have had.

I only bought a road bike a few short years ago. I went to a boutique shop that does excellent fittings. After I got the fitting the shop sales guy presented me with a bunch of old Italian steel and aluminum race frames. I told him I was looking for a nice Italian frame (preferably made in Italy) with Campy.

He kept showing me this Rossin stuff that I'd never heard of, and I wasn't too interested in as I knew nothing about the brand nor did I want a ‘heavy’ steel frame, so I ended up settling on another Italian brand I had heard some thing about with a (what felt like) a lighter aluminum frame. 

They had a good bit of Rossin frames around the shop, and had the guy told me about its history I would most likely have gone with one.

I now have experience with both aluminum and carbon bikes. I prefer the carbon one as it rides amazingly well and I can do longer rides with it. The aluminum one still rides great and looks new, but the ride is stiff, especially over rougher roads and I feel pretty beat up after very long rides. 

Lately I've been toying with the idea of getting a classic Italian steel frame. A favourite of mine is Tommasini, but Rossin just came to mind recently when I was riding my mountain bike one night after work and I saw a Cyclisto bolting past me on a Rossin frame. 

I'm going to call that shop; hopefully they still have a few of them around...:thumbsup:


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## Salsa_Lover (Jul 6, 2008)

Could you please post the spoke lenght you got in your calculations ?

I want to build a set of wheels in 32x3 using Mavic GP4 rims and Shimano DA ( or Ultegra ) hubs but the rim is not avaliable at the DT-Swiss spoke calculator and I see is thiner than the Open Pro.


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## zmudshark (Jan 28, 2007)

Salsa_Lover said:


> Could you please post the spoke lenght you got in your calculations ?
> 
> I want to build a set of wheels in 32x3 using Mavic GP4 rims and Shimano DA ( or Ultegra ) hubs but the rim is not avaliable at the DT-Swiss spoke calculator and I see is thiner than the Open Pro.


Use this spoke calculator, GP4's are in it:

http://lenni.info/edd/


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## MShaw (Jun 7, 2003)

zmudshark said:


> Use this spoke calculator, GP4's are in it:
> 
> http://lenni.info/edd/


Thanks!

Just used that to calculate my Omega XL/571/2 wheels. (297/299!) Woot!

M


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## morti (Sep 26, 2009)

*Here's my Rossin!*

http://web.me.com/mfmortimore/Site/Photos.html


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## j-dogg (Feb 19, 2009)

I may be able to get original Ten Speed Drive Imports stickers for you, if you haven't already done so. I built my Ciocc restoration in their bikeshop and stumbled over a few of their stickers recently. They have 407 area code phone numbers on them and appear to be foil.

If you are interested I can snap a few pics.


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## Fantino (Jul 30, 2008)

*to the OP*

steelisreal2, how about an update on the Rossin/Suntour build? Do you have the frame back yet?


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## steelisreal2 (Jun 26, 2006)

*Slow progress on the Rossin...*

Progress of the Rossin has been a bit slow, have been working on the completion of my Biddle time trial bike https://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=194860

I have a graphic designer currently replicating all the decals, with the 160 square colours beening inspired by an Eddy Merckx frame. These will be sorted and printed early in the New Year. Hopefully I get my frame back as well, the designer has become attached to it hanging on his office wall.

Colours not true on this print out:-









Also having a issue trying to find a painter that is also passionate about bikes, with my Bibble project the decals were incorrectly applied and the information supplied was very specific. So once I got it back I had to have decals sorted out, more expense and hassle. 
I had my previous Montagner and Chesini X Uno projects painted by a guy who was passionate about these old bikes and it wasn't a money making venture. Unfortunately he died in cycling incident about 12 months ago, he has been a great lost.

I have purchased all the componentry and parts required for the build, right down to handlebar tape. All going well should hopefully have it softed by April '10.


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## blue280z (Oct 17, 2010)

Bought this from mister Marinoni in his Terrebonne shop during my last year of university in 87. I wanted a custom Marinoni but there was a backlog so he offered me a Rossin frame and custom painted it. (He apprenticed under Mario Rossin and had a steady supply of frames it seemed 

Nice read: Marinoni Brief


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## holdsworthy (Oct 19, 2010)

*Rossins*

They look really sweeeeet, just finished my Team Shimano AL, Dura Ace 7400 crank arriving this week


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