jdawginsc 

I have (had) decided I have enough. I got an AD Superleicht from Hazetguy that was supposed to be it...look at the last part of my signature...

Then...

I am always on the look out for something unique, and have wondered about Italian made MTBs from the early 90s and sort of looked here and there for something Rossin, Basso or Faggin. Had almost won a bid for a Cinelli a year back then put it aside. Then this came up...darnit. Jdawg is an idiot and a sucker. Put in a low bid for poops and giggles, and long story short, it is on its way from Italy for not a terribly painful price shipped. Silly, silly me

I have no idea what it is like but it is roughly my size and sort of interesting.(56cm TT CTC, and ~50cm ST CTC). It looks to be a legit Rossin (if not, I am not sure what I bought).

Let's see what the peanut gallery has to say about the little guy. It might be a Marathon, with a Colnago-like MTB fork. Might be fun. Only Rossin would think this was a coordinating color scheme.


I am assuming and hoping we have some symmetry here

Not sure what to do here...

I like the brake cable guide-stops.

The more pristine side of the head-tube

Braze-ons seem carefully constructed

Pretty stout drops...

Has the usual chain suck chips, but despite the fades, should be reasonably easy to match nail polish/touchup paint. I think

pastorbobnlnh 

Dang Dawg! The Rossin is sweet! If you have buyer's remorse, it can migrate south.

jdawginsc 

If it IS in fact, a Rossin...I am not yet convinced, but the peeling decals are consistent, and the high collar on the seat-tube is really interesting. It was not exorbitantly priced so it is not a horrific life altering decision at least.

I am hopeful that someone may know something. It's unique!

P!N20

I can’t find a Rossin MTB with the extended seat tube like yours.

My understanding is that Rossin didn’t put serial numbers on their frames, except for limited editions which would just be the sequential number - 01 to 50, as an example. Whether this applies to their MTB’s, I have no idea. What’s the serial number on yours?

Also wondering if Rossin put an ‘R’ drain hole in the bottom bracket shell like their road bikes.

Cool frame though, interested if others can shed some light.

jdawginsc 

I couldn’t find a match either looking at images of other Rossins.

If someone did a fakeroo, at least they did it with what seems to be a good quality frame.

delbiker1 

I have no comments on the bike, but I surely have impulse control issues, especially when it comes to bikes. I have gotten much better at just saying no, and sticking with it. However, I still continue to expose myself to the temptation by looking at stuff, a lot, even thought I really do not need, or even really want, anything. I need to work on the "window shopping". Buyer's remorse is not a pleasant feeling.

himespau 

Interesting frame. Looking forward to see your build.

Mr. 66

How does compare to Gary Fisher of the time? I heard they contacted for a few companies.

shoota 

Or West!

jdawginsc 

That was one of the possibilities I considered. I have seen the seat tube seat post area extension somewhere and I just can’t place it.

The downward facing fender mounts also ring a bell on the chainstay and seat stay bridges.

Lattz

Should be an "Adventure" from 91-92. EDIT I'll send you pics, just have to dig a bit. Check Here
Adventure

Similar ST collar to mine on the tria bike (below), although that has no serial (but now looking at your photo, I'll check under the BB cable guide, because it always annoyed me, knowing that they even gave serial nos to custom mades and olympic bikes).

jdawginsc 

Thanks for the link. Getting closer, but the decaling is a slight bit different...which might make it a bit earlier or one of the last bikes they sold (I think they stopped making anything in 1992-93?). Or someone slapped a Rossin decal on a repaint. The head-tube is 1.25" on the pink bike in the link, but I am thinking (and hoping) the headtube is 1.125"

Some of the MTBs were made with Columbus max and some with Columbus Aelle OR, I believe.

This definitely gives me hope though.

Lattz

True, but if I learned anything in my Italian bike history is not everything happens according to the catalogue (or as I used to say, you can't know what a day "Sergio" had when he built the one in question), Rossin with its weathered history is no exception.
Anyway MAX were the Concept and Team models (if those are not the same), if others were Aelle, I don't know, plus "when" is also a question. Marathon was in the catalog together with the (then new) Concept built in MAX which was clearly said was new tubing that year. But there are lugged, brazed, welded, crimpped tubes and normal ones as well. The color scheme on yours is matching a Marathon, although in the catalog the colors are laid out in different order.
Many (but not all) Marathons had under Chainstay brakes as well at least the lugged ones, not sure what happened when they changed to welding.


When the factory went down a few years ago with the last owners, plenty of frames and parts remain (old school and modern as well), no wonder if sometimes raw frames, lugs, stay caps and orig decals pop up, so - also generally - I would not rely too much on decals.

jdawginsc 

Absolutely agreed on the decals. That’s why I wondered if it was a Rossin at all. The linked and pictured guys give me hope though.

could be a one off experiment in the back room when they closed shop!

The straight Colnago fork is definitely a MTB unicrown type, but I haven’t found anything similar.

Lattz

Here is one more with top tube cables amd just like the pink straight filed collars.
https:/corecatcher.wordpress.com/2012/07/31/rossin-mtb/

The fork could actually be from a Colnago but I have found another mtb which is really similar to yours it also had straight fork. Can post pic tommorow when im at the pc again or if i find again on the phone.

georges1

nice and colorful frame congrats

jdawginsc 

Thank you. It will be interesting to see it closer when it gets here!

Lattz

So, here are pics the Colnago fork I thought of




and the other mtb which vaguely resembles yours, but not yours. Both forks have just a lip above the tube connection.

jdawginsc 

Great sleuthing! Definitely pointing me in the right direction.

I am still hoping it is a Rossin, but if not, it’s cool. My hope is still that someone in the shop played a bit and set it in the storage space!

I am leaning toward replacement fork due to the very large threaded portion sticking out from the top. No headset has that amount of stack...

Lattz

We are in the same boat with our Rossins, believe me. Until I find evidence, that it is not one, I can only rely on even less things than you that it is one:
- decals --> as discusssed, they don't matter
- cable guides --> can be used by enybody else as well
- the color (believe it or not, the one on the pic I sent for the seat collar is the faded Subaru rally car blue after god knows how many Iron Mans) and 2 set of pictures of "real TT" Rossins built in Columbus EGO tubes (which are so rare that anybody else would be okay).
- the fact they have blurry past with no info, but a fact that they happily did made to order one offs as well.

I totally think, yours is one as well, I suspect a repaint to Marathon's paint scheme but that's not the end of the world, and as it is a nice one as-is, even if it wouldn't be a Rossin, it also wouldn't be like buying a Martelly for Colnago price.

jdawginsc 

Agreed! We can just assume they are legit until proven otherwise!

I am not heartbroken if it isn’t, since like you said, I really didn’t pay all that much for it, and it looks decent quality even if it isn’t.

I will just build it up as if it IS one!

Incidentally, there is a legit Rossin bike in rough shape on the bay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/334316190734

Lattz

Yeah, saw that as I was fishing for more pics on Adventure. Not a bad bike for the momo if someone wants to have something more exciting than a supermarket bike or a Giant from the same era.