# Is DeRosa out of business yet?



## QQUIKM3

Just noticing how this forum is evaporating, no pro team use, and I don't see anyone riding them anywhere.


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## mriddle

*Yes, they went out of business.*

You should go buy a specialized.


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## Trialtir USA

*Stronger than ever*

I'm sure this thread started in jest. With the introduction of several new models including Protos, Merak Evolution, 838, 848, Milanino and a several more in the pipeline for upcoming season De Rosa is seeing extremely good sales and market capture.

Because they are not sponsoring Pro Tour does not mean anything except to a very small percentage of people out there. Ask most cyclists who won Pro Tour events and they would still say Lance. In other words, having a Pro Tour team does not facilitate De Rosa's identity but concentrating on making the best bike you'll ever ride does.


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## merckxman

De Rosa does sponsor a pro team, Utensilnord-Named (successors to De Rosa-Ceramica Flaminia); the team is a UCI "Continental" team. By in large, it's the ProTour level teams that get just about all the publicity.


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## ultraman6970

De rosa has more prestige than any other brands, they dont need a lot of publicity because their buyers know the brand and know what they are getting. The funny part is when you are riding people ask you what brand is that one... the other one is... what does it say in your components?? campa... what??? 

Same situation with other brands like BMC for example, those sell by itself.

People doesnt know any better than what the store sells or magazines says.


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## Fredrico

*I got one compliment the other day.*

"Nice bike." the guy quipped, as he eased past on his Lightspeed. I returned the compliment. :biggrin5:

The Shimano/Specialized/Trek/Giant/Fuji crowd doesn't see DeRosa much out there. Pinarellos and Colnagos are the status bikes around DC. I don't have much time to ride my DeRosa retro bike I bought new in the 80s. Most people aren't impressed. But man, does that thing ride nice! There's only one word to describe it: confidence. It'll do anything, accelerate, climb, corner, descend, with aplomb. I've never "outridden" it, 65,000 miles, the same bike the pros rode for twice those miles. At mile 85 on a century when I'm ready to say, "The hell with it!" it says, "Come on fool! We'll make it!"

I think the bikes he builds today are the same. He's stayed small to maintain control over the exquisite quality of his product, somewhat like Campy has. That's rare.


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## enac

*2007 Tour de France Champion riding a De Rosa*

Here's a recent photo of the 2007 Tour de France Champion Michael Rasmussen riding a the new De Rosa Protos to yet another victory. Rasmussen will have a Pro-Tour Team ready to ride soon. Maybe he'll sign Vincenzo Nibali.


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## enac

*2007 Tour de France Champion riding a De Rosa*

The Protos***


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## cda 455

I'm eyeballing a Nuovo Classico with a full Record or Super Record Groupset  !
.


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## enac

*Christina watches....*

There is a new Danish powerhouse team owner on the rise. Move over Bjarne Riis, Christina Watches is going to clean your clock. Introducing Christina Hembo............ Rasmussen's De Rosa Merak on display in her shop.


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## enac

Team Christina Watches----please sign the disgruntled Fabian Cancellara, and V. Nibali and get your Pro Tour team going next year.


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## cda 455

enac said:


> There is new Danish powerhouse team owner on the rise. Move over Bjarne Riis, _*Christina Watches is going to clean your clock.*_ Introducing Christina Hembo............ Rasmussen's De Rosa Merak on display in her shop.


:lol:


No pun intended!


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## Cinelli 82220

enac said:


> 2007 Tour de France Champion Michael Rasmussen


Say again? He was ejected, not champion.


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## Trialtir USA

*Thanks De Rosa Fans*

Thank you to everyone for responding to this thread. The brand is as strong as ever and the passion for all things De Rosa is always rewarded with every turn of the crank on one. 

De Rosa is one of the last builders to still offer standard and custom production bikes in Carbon, Steel, Titanium and Alloy and they take much pride in doing so.


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## brewster

cda 455 said:


> I'm eyeballing a Nuovo Classico with a full Record or Super Record Groupset  !
> .



I love that bike. The dark green looks hot too. I'm glad they are still making frames the way that made them famous.


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## wongjonsilver

*My impressions of*

So, without the chance to take my '12 Merak Evolution on any definitive rides to serve as proving grounds for the performance of the frame, I can only give insight into the quality of the frame while building the bike up component by component. 

From first glance, the finish of the matte black carbon frame is quite nice. Upon closer inspection, there are raw edges of the alloy inserts that are exposed, making it look cheap. Examples of locations that exhibit this are the derailleur housing entry points on the head tube, the rear brake internal routing entry/exit points, top surface of the head tube, and the derailleur hanger area. (I can take more detailed pictures later) There are also imperfections, which look like sink areas in the carbon layup that are apparent in the paint. (will take pictures of this soon) 

My initial impressions are that of mixed emotions. For what I paid for the frameset, I wish it could have wow'ed me more. Fortunately I was able to get a good price on the frameset. The downtube geometry, while I don't doubt the box-section tube, is flexy (compliant by hand-compression. It isn't confidence inspiring for me, but then again, I don't have Cavendish sprinting wattage output. The proprietary mono-link saddle design is a little deterring. However, I was able to find a relatively brand-new SLR Flow Carbonio for less than half the price of any retail-priced saddle from eBay. Another note: the internal routing is not continuous (for the length of the front/rear derailleur lines). After entering the head tube, the exposed cables exit at the start of the down tube for the entire length, exposed to the elements (not a huge deal...but still, there could have been a more elegant solution in my opinion). 

One extremely annoying aspect of the frame that I ran into while putting it together, was the internal routing to the rear brake. I had the cable housings and cable routed (2 pieces - 1) from brake levers to top tube internal routing entry 2) T-T internal routing exit to rear brake caliper). When I squeezed the brake lever, brake housing part1 was pulled into the TT (ferrule + housing). I believe this is unacceptable... I resorted to routing an entire length of brake cable housing to mitigate the housing being pulled into the TT and losing all tension set. Apart from this very bothersome issue, I finished the build that day. 

I was able to take it for a quick spin today, and it did not fall apart. This week should let me come to a more conclusive review on the frame/build altogether on my usual climbs/sprints/descents on some of the same roads the ToC passes through. I really want to love the frame, I really do....


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## Trialtir USA

Reading the thread regarding the Merak Evolution. 
1st - your completed bike looks VERY NICE excellent choice of components.
2nd - you stated you tried to run housing cut at 2 places for the rear brake. We issued a tech bulletin regarding this to our dealer network awhile back. The Merak Evolution is set up to run cable housing all the way through the frame. The routing through the top tube is custom designed to accomodate this set up and will not produce any noise while riding. I've got close to 500 miles on mine at this point and it has been nothing but joyous. 
3rd - you found some areas of concern regarding the carbon in some spots. I would really like to see these photos to better understand what you're seeing here. Was this frame purchased in the states? I ask this only because if there is any issues we would be more than happy to help you resolve.
4th - Merak Evolution seat post. As usual De Rosa always tries to push the boundries by using latest technology. The seat post is actually a custom Selle Italia monolink post exclusive for De Rosa. We do offer an adaptor for this post to convert it over to a 2 rail system if you prefer to run other brands. The reasoning behind going with the monolink was simple - beautiful look and better performance. By keeping the rail to the center of the saddle it takes away lateral play of the 2 rail system. Not super noticeable but it is there and De Rosa always tries to incorporate new technology into each generation of frames.

Again, congratulations on your new Merak Evolution and we wish you many happy miles ahead. 

I look forward to hearing back from you on this forum. Your bike looks fantastic and once you get it out on the road for some more miles I'm sure your going to be a big fan of this model. We swept the NRC last season on the Merak so anything you throw at it in terms of performance needs will be rewarded every time with a smile on your face.


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## Hydrosurfer

Nice ride wongjonsilver. great to see the protos out as well and thanks to enac for posting the photos.
Trialtir - there are two dealers in my area but don't carry actual bikes I can test. do you guys ever circulate demos to shops? i'm looking at a merak II and would be doing a campy buildup, theres little info out there and the US dealers don't even really include availability or pricing on websites so it's been hard to do research, get info etc.


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## Trialtir USA

Regarding demo bikes available. It's like going to a Ferrari or Lambo dealer and saying I really need to drive x model first. The De Rosa brand is legendary for ride quality and thus each model will exceed your expectations given the relative price point you are looking at.

We have tried to offer demo programs in the past but the cost is prohibitive to build out a fleet of various models and unfortunately they never came back from each demo in good order (or were even missing parts that were sent and when returned had inferior pieces).

If you need any information regarding colors, geometry, etc. you can always go to our site or the De Rosa site. If you need pricing you can also contact us directly or your LBS. The internet will give you a base blah blah blah price without the components you really want. Your LBS will give you (as De Rosa intended) a price for the bike you want. There is a great saying from Ugo which roughly translates "I want to fit your bike like a fine tailored suit." This is personal treatment and to get this you also need to have faith in your tailor (read De Rosa & LBS) that you will end up with a great bike and a great ride.


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## Hydrosurfer

Thanks for your quick reply. Haha, yep, that's about what I figured on all fronts, as well as what I hoped to expect. I've been on the same Orbea that i've loved for 8+ years and really looking forward to this purchase and know i'll have it for a long time to come. I'm looking for frame, fork seatpost/mast as i'm going to build it up.
Assuming I order from my LBS, what lead time should I expect/do you have stock in your wherehouse? (i'm a M in most bikes 5'9.5" tall, 33 inseam etc.. so i'm figuring the 54 is my geometry.)
Great that you are out here monitoring forums and that you jump in and seem to be dedicated and passionate...those are the same qualities that make this brand so attractive!


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## Trialtir USA

I'm monitoring this and some other sites to help when I can. Forums are great if the information is but sometimes the "experts" are far from it. I'm not claiming to be the expert but I can at least claim to know the brand very well, the family very well, the models very well and have the trust of the factory to be the distributor in the Americas.

Regarding your question about stock. We have all sizes in stock in the black with red line and a few left in the black with green line. You stated your size but I'm not touching the fit over the net. You need to have someone look at you in person. This is the best way and the most accurate. Again, we want to fit you like a fine tailored suit. 

Enjoy your new Merak Evolution. I've had mine now for a couple of months and can't wait to take it out everytime. For the money I'll put it up against others that cost double the price.


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## Hydrosurfer

Thanks again. I totally get it on fit and just wanted you to know I wasn't a giant or unusually small. I'm a bit keen on the black with white, when do you guys expect/will you get another shipment with more selection?


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## Trialtir USA

Not for a couple of months at best. 

That's it for now. It's happy hour somewhere and also here so my staff and I are out until Monday. Everyone be safe out riding this weekend and keep the rubber side down.


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## enac

*The De Rosa Merak White Line*

The White Line


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## smokva

Trialtir USA said:


> The De Rosa brand is legendary for ride quality and thus each model will exceed your expectations given the relative price point you are looking at.


Hmmm...well...if I had chance to test ride my Neo Pro I wouldn't buy. It was one expensive frame and a good school not to buy something I didn't try before.


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## Fredrico

*Hmmmmm....*



smokva said:


> Hmmm...well...if I had chance to test ride my Neo Pro I wouldn't buy. It was one expensive frame and a good school not to buy something I didn't try before.


Now I'm curious. What about your Neo Pro don't you like?  The "magic carpet" ride I get from my old '84 "Professional" never ceases to impress me, every time I ride it. :thumbsup: Every other bike I've ridden pales in comparison.


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## smokva

Fredrico said:


> Now I'm curious. What about your Neo Pro don't you like?  The "magic carpet" ride I get from my old '84 "Professional" never ceases to impress me, every time I ride it. :thumbsup: Every other bike I've ridden pales in comparison.


Front end is too soft and unstable. To ride it without hands on bars is one scary experience...it scares the shyt out of me. Also the sprinting is not very joyful when you feel on the bars how front end flexes.

I sent mail to the factory before i bought it asking will it be stiff enough in size 59 for someone of 190 cm and 100kg that rides strong. The answer was...yes, no problem stiff enough :mad2: :cryin:


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## QQUIKM3

*My impression is. .*



wongjonsilver said:


> Apart from this very bothersome issue, I finished the build that day.
> 
> I was able to take it for a quick spin today, and it did not fall apart. . . I really want to love the frame, I really do....


. . The Derosa's "look" very good, but attention to detail and quality control are lacking. For Derosa to turn it around, they need to strive to be like Colnago and/or Pinarello as their framesets are of exceptional quality. I've heard of far too many issues with paint and durability to consider a Derosa.


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## badge118

QQUIKM3 said:


> . . The Derosa's "look" very good, but attention to detail and quality control are lacking. For Derosa to turn it around, they need to strive to be like Colnago and/or Pinarello as their framesets are of exceptional quality. I've heard of far too many issues with paint and durability to consider a Derosa.


Some of the paint issues used to be (not sure if still) simply a matter of frames being finished in Europe. EU environmental regs limit paint formulations and some of them are simply not as durable.

Hopped on here because I have a quandry. De Rosa 838 or Colnago CLX 3.0 frame set. Anyone know how the handle (comparitively?) I have owned Colnagos in the past and they are imo among the best handling bikes ever made. I have never owned a De Rosa but I am definitely interested.


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## Fredrico

*One big vote for DeRosa!*



badge118 said:


> Some of the paint issues used to be (not sure if still) simply a matter of frames being finished in Europe. EU environmental regs limit paint formulations and some of them are simply not as durable.
> 
> Hopped on here because I have a quandry. De Rosa 838 or Colnago CLX 3.0 frame set. Anyone know how the handle (comparitively?) I have owned Colnagos in the past and they are imo among the best handling bikes ever made. I have never owned a De Rosa but I am definitely interested.


Colnago used to have a problem with weak paint back in the 80s. All Italian frames were not painted enough. The color lost it's shine and paint chipped and wore off, and frames rusted in a few years.

In the 80s, they all went to Imron, and painted on a primer, a coat or two of color, topped over with one or two coats of clear coat over the decals. I've seen lots of DeRosas since then, and they were all flawless. My 1984 bike has some touch up on it, but the finish is still fine, the chrome chainstay hasn't rusted any, and the decals haven't separated from the frame. The braze on the lugs hasn't rusted, a sign that the joints still have integrity, not something I can say about a lot of old lugged steel frames. It still looks new, cleaned and polished up.

There was a period back in '89-94 or so, when the maestro was turning over tasks to his two sons, the orders kept increasing, and he had some quality control issues. But I've never met a fellow DeRosa rider who didn't extoll the virtues of his mount. The main difference between DeRosa and Colnago is DeRosa prefers longer top tubes, which provides a "roomy cockpit" and makes his bikes comfortable over the long haul, and low bottom brackets, which lower the center of gravity of the engine and makes the bike ride like a magic carpet. But at the same time, rather steep angles make it very responsive. "Skitterish" is not the word, though. The long top tube and low BB keep that sucker right on track wherever you will it, as if telepathically.

Colnagos had shorter top tubes and slacker angles, as I understood it. Most road bikes are now going that way. DeRosas had 74-75 degree angles. LeMond and others started the taste for 73 degree "parallel" angles, and now we're seeing 72 degree head tubes! That's fine. They "understeer," but will lean willingly through a tight turn on the short wheel bases, no problem. But some have toe clip overlap, which means they have very short top tubes. I think that takes away a certain fore-aft stability those old DeRosas and Cinellis and Pogliaghis and a few other Italian builders shone.

DeRosa has been somewhat of a maverick, sticking to his geometries while everybody else followed each other like lemmings into short top tubes and relaxed angles, while at the same time keeping the wheelbases so short, toe clip overlap has become "acceptable." I never have to worry about touching the front wheel on mine, and it handles quicker than my other bike, which does have overlap. 

Eddy Merckx followed DeRosa's philosophy of bike fit. He rode them in the late 70s. I believe Dario Pegoretti's bikes are also similar handling to DeRosas. They all have cult status among aficionados. Go for one, man. You won't look back. :biggrin5:


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## badge118

Fredrico said:


> Colnago used to have a problem with weak paint back in the 80s. All Italian frames were not painted enough. The color lost it's shine and paint chipped and wore off, and frames rusted in a few years.
> 
> In the 80s, they all went to Imron, and painted on a primer, a coat or two of color, topped over with one or two coats of clear coat over the decals. I've seen lots of DeRosas since then, and they were all flawless. My 1984 bike has some touch up on it, but the finish is still fine, the chrome chainstay hasn't rusted any, and the decals haven't separated from the frame. The braze on the lugs hasn't rusted, a sign that the joints still have integrity, not something I can say about a lot of old lugged steel frames. It still looks new, cleaned and polished up.
> 
> There was a period back in '89-94 or so, when the maestro was turning over tasks to his two sons, the orders kept increasing, and he had some quality control issues. But I've never met a fellow DeRosa rider who didn't extoll the virtues of his mount. The main difference between DeRosa and Colnago is DeRosa prefers longer top tubes, which provides a "roomy cockpit" and makes his bikes comfortable over the long haul, and low bottom brackets, which lower the center of gravity of the engine and makes the bike ride like a magic carpet. But at the same time, rather steep angles make it very responsive. "Skitterish" is not the word, though. The long top tube and low BB keep that sucker right on track wherever you will it, as if telepathically.
> 
> Colnagos had shorter top tubes and slacker angles, as I understood it. Most road bikes are now going that way. DeRosas had 74-75 degree angles. LeMond and others started the taste for 73 degree "parallel" angles, and now we're seeing 72 degree head tubes! That's fine. They "understeer," but will lean willingly through a tight turn on the short wheel bases, no problem. But some have toe clip overlap, which means they have very short top tubes. I think that takes away a certain fore-aft stability those old DeRosas and Cinellis and Pogliaghis and a few other Italian builders shone.
> 
> DeRosa has been somewhat of a maverick, sticking to his geometries while everybody else followed each other like lemmings into short top tubes and relaxed angles, while at the same time keeping the wheelbases so short, toe clip overlap has become "acceptable." I never have to worry about touching the front wheel on mine, and it handles quicker than my other bike, which does have overlap.
> 
> Eddy Merckx followed DeRosa's philosophy of bike fit. He rode them in the late 70s. I believe Dario Pegoretti's bikes are also similar handling to DeRosas. They all have cult status among aficionados. Go for one, man. You won't look back. :biggrin5:


Well my first bike was a Colnago Master lite and the way it handled, it was almost damn telepathic. I described it like the difference between a tomahawk and a sidewinder, the tomahawk being the Colnago. ah the power of nostalgia.


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## Fredrico

*Nostalgia, yep!*



badge118 said:


> Well my first bike was a Colnago Master lite and the way it handled, it was almost damn telepathic. I described it like the difference between a tomahawk and a sidewinder, the tomahawk being the Colnago. ah the power of nostalgia.


I guess once you get used to a bike, they're all telepathic. But some, like your Colnago and my DeRosa are that way all of the time, not just within certain parameters, "sweet spots."

I heard Colnagos are fine machines. Back in the day, it had to do a lot with nicely lugged steel. Geometries didn't vary all that much, even if they made subtle differences in "personality."

Ever since aluminum and then carbon came along, they've tried to equal the ride characteristics of those great steel bikes, and failed. There are always tradeoffs. None have ALL the qualities of those old steel bikes. Dario Pegoretti, Richard Sachs, have loyal niche markets for steel I also notice Cinelli is still making their classic road frame of the early 80s. What does that tell you?


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## enac

Rasmussen with his favorite bike.


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## quinnar

Looks like some type of favorite drink, too!

That's certainly a beautiful bike.


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## A-Style

enac said:


> The White Line


Sweet looking ride!


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## enac

It appears that Colnago will be the bicycle supplier of Team Christina-Watches this year. I sure hope that De Rosa gets their bicycles back to the Pro Tour level soon, otherwise they just may go out of business.


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## KFR77

Just purchased a Merak and looking forward to the spring when the roads are clear again. It is one sweet looking bike and hopefully the company will be around for a few more years. New to cycling and having enjoyed the sport it the last two seasons it was time to retire my aluminum Cervelo Soloist 1 and upgrade. In the end it was either a Scott Addict, Trek 5.9 Madone or the DeRosa Merak......no contest it took about 0 seconds to decide. Not knocking the others but the italian styling was as far ahead as a itailan suit when compared to others. She is one sweet looking ride that will preform.


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## mriddle

You made the correct choice, congratulations & enjoy piloting a De Rosa.


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## primov8

KFR77 said:


> Just purchased a Merak and looking forward to the spring when the roads are clear again. It is one sweet looking bike and hopefully the company will be around for a few more years. New to cycling and having enjoyed the sport it the last two seasons it was time to retire my aluminum Cervelo Soloist 1 and upgrade. In the end it was either a Scott Addict, Trek 5.9 Madone or the DeRosa Merak......no contest it took about 0 seconds to decide. Not knocking the others but the italian styling was as far ahead as a itailan suit when compared to others. She is one sweet looking ride that will preform.


Trust me, you won't be disappointed. I actually bought the '13 Merak frameset and built it up to be a backup to the '12 Ridley Noah Pro I had built up earlier in the spring. To my surprise, the ride characteristics of the Merak mirrors the more expensive Noah Pro in every way. Where it excels are days where I ride over 70+ miles; the Merak is a stiff frame, so it sprints and climbs tremendously well but I choose the Merak over the Noah Pro specifically for those long hours on the saddle.

A little tip if you plan on building it up yourself. The rear cable entry on the top tube does not require a ferrule. You actually have to run the length of the cable housing from the shifters, completely through the top tube, exiting out to the rear brake.


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## KFR77

thanks for the comments and suggestions, it was put together by the LBS and that was exactly what they did with the rear brake cable. Selected Shimano Ultegra for the group set and RS80 for the wheel set. Decent mechanical and wheels looking forward to the spring for clear pavement. Currently we just had a nice dump of 50cm of snow and everything is white.


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