De Rosa

De Rosa is a bike manufacturer based in Milan, Italy. The company specialises in high-performance road bikes for both professionals and amateurs.

History

Ugo De Rosa founded the company in 1953 when he opened his first shop. A talented amateur cyclist from a young age, he immediately knew the ingredients required for a true racing bike. Within five years, De Rosa was supplying bikes to Giro d’Italia pros.

After making its mark on professional cycling in 1958, De Rosa bikes became a fixture in the pro peloton. Over the coming two decades, De Rosa worked with Gianni Motta, Francesco Moser, Eddy Merckx and Rik Van Looy. It is Merckx, thanks to his competitiveness and desire to win, who truly helped Ugo to develop his bike frame designs.

During the 1980s, TIG welding allowed De Rosa to build personalised bikes for the optimum racing experience. This was followed only a few years later by another innovation - the titanium frame. Offering high strength and low weight, De Rosa’s titanium bike would be used by Team Gewis-Ballan and sprinter Moreno Argentin.

Around this time, De Rosa’s stock rapidly grew in the US, Russia and other markets. As a result, the company moved into a larger factory in Cusano Milanino. Ugo’s three sons, Danilo, Doriano and Cristiano, also came on board.

De Rosa successfully built bikes from aluminium and carbon as the 20th century became the 21st. The latter material helped the company to craft tailor-made bikes for its riders. With its 50th anniversary frame, the Cinquanta, De Rosa began the era of monocoque frames.

Highlighting its evolution of frame materials throughout its history, De Rosa launched the Black Label line on its 60th birthday - 4 models, each made from one of the four frame materials used by the Italian company. In the last decade, De Rosa launched the Protos and the SK Pininfarina - a road bike built in collaboration with the Italian car designer. De Rosa, with the Protos, returned to sponsoring professional cycling teams in 2018 and became bike supplier for Cofidis in 2020.

In March 2023, Ugo De Rosa died aged 89

Did you know?

Pro cycling

Current sponsorships: Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB, Green Project-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè, Bepink

Highlights:

• De Rosa entered pro cycling in 1958 when Raphael Geminani asked for a bike ahead of the upcoming Giro d'Italia.
• In 1973, De Rosa partnered up with Molteni and its legendary leader, Eddy Merckx. Over the next five years Merckx won the Tour de France, two Giro d'Italias, the World Championships road title and multiple Monuments including Paris-Roubaix, Milan-Sanremo and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
• At the 1974 Giro, 80 out of the 100 riders competing took part on De Rosa frames, even if some lacked the company’s iconic heart logo.
• In the same year Francesco Moser of Filotex won the World Championships road race aboard a De Rosa bike.
• Moreno Argentin delivered Ariostea their first Monument in 1990, riding his De Rosa bike to victory on the cobbles of Ronde van Vlaanderen.
• After agreeing to sponsor French WorldTour team Cofidis in 2020, Victor Lafay took a key stage win from the breakaway at the 2021 Giro d'Italia.