De Rosa Idol.

Drivetrain.

Mechanical Ultegra 6800. This was right at the point where disc brakes on road bikes were becoming a thing, but the early ones seemed to be noisy and imperfect, so I went with rim brakes.

Even now, radially spoked front wheels are prettier than disc wheels, but while rim brakes retain the aesthetic advantage, I’d always spec discs now for the extra wet-weather and reliable-over-a-really-long-mountain-descent peace of mind.

Wheels.

Original specified with a Fulcrum Racing Zeros as an upgrade to the model-standard Fulcrum Racing Quattros, Rosa has since acquired a Mavic Cosmic Pro Carbon wheelset.

I got the Cosmics in 2019, when Mavic were getting rid of all the big, brash logos and moving toward stealthy carbon rims. Having a fairly brash, white bike, I managed to source one of the last of the older model at a discount from Dutch shop, Mantel.

Finishing Kit.

The original saddle was, as it typical, not the right saddle for me and has since been replaced with a Selle Italia SLR Flow item which allows for longer-lasting ride comfort.

The pedals were included with the sale - Shimano Ultegra SPD-SL 6800 to match the rest of the drivetrain.

The bottle cages are the same Elite Custom Race items I’ve used on all of my bikes since forever, except these ones have little De Rosa logos on so were, predictably, significantly more expensive!