jclark78

Hi everyone. Just joined, looking for some information on a bike that was just given to me. I'm a mountain biker, but I wanted to get into road cycling too. My boss invited me to his house and gave me this bike and bucket full of parts. I don't know anything at all about it. I've tried like crazy to scare up info on the web, and this site is about the only place that even mentions Maza brand bikes.

Maza brand frame, "Elite" painted on the top tube near the head
"Made in Italy"
"Columbus" decals and stamping
Wild paint!
"Evolution" cut-out on top-left side of BB shell
"MZ" branding in lots on places
"54" stamped on the underside of the BB shell, non-drive side (serial number??)

Also got some older Campy components, including two rear derailleurs (older Record and Nuovo Record), a front derailleur, brake calipers, a handful of hubs, and a few other bits and pieces.

Sorry for the horrible mess in the background of the photos. Need to clean up the workshop real bad.

Can't wait to build it up into something ride-able. Probably going with a 2x9 setup. He also gave me a Mavic Mechtronic wireless electric shift kit which ought to be pretty cool if I get it working.

Any history, information, or other comments are welcome! I know there's a separate forum for appraisals, but out of curiosity if anyone can throw out a number on possible value I'd love to know (ballpark figures).

Thanks,
-Justin

unworthy1

It's an acronym for two builders who were once connected to Paletti, there's a bit of info in the old CR Archives, here's some from Dale (the Founder) himself:

"MAZA" is, or was, two guys who used to work for Luciano Paletti. They
split
> off from Paletti in the mid to late 1980s. On some Palettis there is
included
> in the decals the letters PMZ which are for Paletti, M____ and Zanetti (I
> think)
> See here:
> https://www.classicrendezvous.com/Italy/Paletti_main.htm
>
> MAZA frames were imported into the 1990s by Branford bike shop and were
> pretty trick, full bore Italian style modern-roccoco.
>
> Dale Brown
> Greensboro, NC"

And there's this from Lou Deeter:

"MAZA: Antonio Mattiali & Zanasasi, Italy. Built for Paletti."

Looks like they "loved the pantograph" on your frame, and it appears to be a Gilco tubed frame, another one of the few frames with Gilco tubes that isn't a Colnago.

jclark78

Thanks so much for the info. I had no idea it was such an unusual (rare?) bike. I feel lucky to have it. Any clue on the year it was made, or production numbers? I'm very curious.

I don't plan on making it perfect or period correct. The Campy stuff is nice but downtube shifters aren't where I want to be. I may touch it up a bit where the paint's chipped to prevent rust, but I plan on riding it. I have some older but decent Shimano 9-speed running gear and Dura-Ace controls for it. It needs a top-to-bottom tear-down, clean and lube before I build it back up.

gearbasher

Here's my Maza. It's TSX tubing and I just broke 50K miles on her. I purchased the frame new from Branford bike. I can't give you any more info, except the company still exists: https://www.emmezetasnc.com/eng08/company%20profile.html

jclark78

The bike (my bike) definitely has a shaped downtube. The tube has something of a teardrop shape, with the point toward the front tire. It's somewhat visible in the image of the underside of the BB.

I should add that the downtube has a gussett skilfully welded on to the headtube connection/lug. The previous owner (my boss) told me he had that done because a crack was forming in that area. This also explains the white paint where it should be a fade, matching the top tube.

Giacomo 1 

I think your going to have yourself a great rider.

The frame certainly is interesting with the crazy fade paint scheme, decals and the unusual MS tubing. These guys loved pantographing everything in sight to! Your build is coming out nice. What kind of wheels are you using?

I think the mixed bag of parts will really hold this bike back from being worth to much. If you were to sell, you'd probably be better off selling it frame only...

jclark78

I do have most of the original parts, including both derailleurs and shifters, and the original brakes. I think the crank might be original but not 100% certain. I think I have the original tubular wheels that went with it also. I do not have the stem, handlebar or the original brake levers. He couldn't find them but he told me he thought he had them somewhere, and if they ever turn up it's all mine. I'll probably never sell it anyway, just curious about its street cred more than anything.

The wheels are pretty bomber, I think they're a set of Ritcheys. If I recall the rear wheel has a sticker about "OCR" - "off center rim technology" or something to that effect. Front wheel has a "ROCK" decal.

Have a set of TRP carbon fiber brakes in white that will match up nicely. Need to scare up barrel adjusters for them but that's all. Came in "the bucket" I mentioned earlier.

Already ordered a stem adapter to use with a threadless stem and an existing handlebar, not the one in the photo but a proper modern drop bar. I have blue bar tape and a blue front tire for it too that should look cool with the fade paint scheme.

jclark78

Curious... I found this decal on the side of the top tube. It's on the non-drive side so I didn't notice it before. One of the names is mentioned above, but the other is not. Looks like "Lanasi and Mattioli" made this bike. This is different from "Mattioli & Zanasasi", which we believe is the namesake.



It's nearly together now. Still waiting on a couple of parts, like the quill-to-threadless stem adapter and some inner tubes.



The TRP carbon fiber brakes and the 7700-C Dura-Ace 'Flight Deck' levers really class it up a bit, along with the Campagnolo Record FD. The RD is a beater from my MTB until the new one shows up. Cassette is a 9-speed Shimano Hyperglide with a SRAM PC-971 chain, although I have a couple of nice Mavic cog sets and spacers so I may assemble my own setup back there to save some weight. It has what may be the original Campagnolo crankset with chainrings at 42 & 52 teeth. Ritchey wheels & hubs, teflon coated cables, Jagwire housings and a Shimano headset. As it sits we're at just about 22 pounds without inner tubes or the stem adapter.

Going to need some new bearings in those Ritchey hubs, these are pretty tired but they'll work for a little while.

Serviced the headset and fully adjusted the drivetrain and brakes last night. BB spins real nice, shouldn't need any attention for a while. It's read to go and stop, just missing one part for steering and then it's ready for the road.

unworthy1

That's a "Z" not an "L": cursive looks a bit different in many European languages. At least now we can see that correct spelling for their names: Zanasi and Mattioli, plus we can clearly see the "quadrafoil" section shaping to the top tube, which is the mark of Gilco-shaped Columbus tubing, and that's what the decal claims, I guess it's also "MS" for multi-shaped which would explain the teardrop down tube...should make for a great riding frame; too bad about the crack but if the gusset fix was done right it's just "cosmetic damage".

stefanprica

hello all,

i know this is an old post... but i have the exact same frame, in the same paint job. my heart skipped a bit, thinking i have the same frame, but my serial number on the BB is different. mine is build with full DA7403 groupset, campa omega v shaped rims.

Bianchigirll 

Great looking bike, I always wanted to try one of those MS frames.

jclark78

That's amazing! I'll try to grab a photo of mine now that it's all cleaned up and rebuilt. I've done a few hundred miles on it since I got it put back together, including a half century, and I really love this bike.

jclark78

A photo from a few months ago now (September '14). Sorry it's backlit. I need to take some better photos.



Here's a better one: