Originally Posted by
Staggerwing
Color me very impressed by the quick call, but I'm still a touch confused.
So it's sort of a Masi? Masi USA, which by the the early 80's was an entirely different entity than Masi Italy, commissioned these frames? They were built in Italy, by a contractor like Bilato, and brought in to supplement the bottom end of the range?
Ironic that the one in Picchio's link is the same oddball size as the one I'm working on.
Don't take this the wrong way, but as repechage notes, they were actually rejected by Masi USA because of evident problems with the build quality.
I don't believe they were originally sold as Masis - repechage will know. But the owner/seller of the one I linked to used to own a bike shop in California and apparently got his hands on some of the reject frames. I believe he's the person who had some painted/repainted as actual Masis - he was selling one on ebay recently decaled as a Gran Criterium, and someone in a position to know spotted it. That's what made me track down the photos I linked to after repechage's post.