Liisa has a couple of rare bikes and this is another. This is a De Rosa UD. The UD, stood for the builder's name, Ugo De Rosa and was considered the best aluminium frame made at the time, with a ride that almost rivalled steel for comfort, yet the frame only weighed 950 gms.
The UD was unique, as most other aluminium frames had a harsh ride feel, which over the years many other builders tried to mitigate (usually unsuccessfully) by trying to use a hybrid build, with an aluminium front triangle and a carbon fibre rear triangle , or different shaped tubes, etc. So after a few years after alloy frames becoming the dominant frame material, full carbon fibre frames came along and the aluminium alloy frames almost disappeared overnight.
The UD did have one major issue though, as De Rosa used an experimental 'soft' rubberised paint, that was joy to actually touch, but over the years the finish gradually peels off almost all examples, as did this one.
Luckily, we are blessed with one of the world's best frame painters, situated in Toronto, Velocolour. They do amazing work, but due to that, their waiting list is very long.
Liisa's Velocolour paint involves a blue and white colour scheme, with a Finnish flag on the fork and 'SISU' written on the top tube, all reflecting her Finnish heritage. Very, very cool !
Liisa has a couple of rare bikes and this is another. This is a De Rosa UD. The UD, stood for the builder's name, Ugo De Rosa and was considered the best aluminium frame made at the time, with a ride that almost rivalled steel for comfort, yet the frame only weighed 950 gms.
The UD was unique, as most other aluminium frames had a harsh ride feel, which over the years many other builders tried to mitigate (usually unsuccessfully) by trying to use a hybrid build, with an aluminium front triangle and a carbon fibre rear triangle , or different shaped tubes, etc. So after a few years after alloy frames becoming the dominant frame material, full carbon fibre frames came along and the aluminium alloy frames almost disappeared overnight.
The UD did have one major issue though, as De Rosa used an experimental 'soft' rubberised paint, that was joy to actually touch, but over the years the finish gradually peels off almost all examples, as did this one.
Luckily, we are blessed with one of the world's best frame painters, situated in Toronto, Velocolour. They do amazing work, but due to that, their waiting list is very long.
Liisa's Velocolour paint involves a blue and white colour scheme, with a Finnish flag on the fork and 'SISU' written on the top tube, all reflecting her Finnish heritage. Very, very cool !