Ahem - the 3V's are ugly. Someone had to say it.

You can take a Raleigh Technium, paint it to look like a 3V, and neither will look any better than the other.

That's disgusting.

-Kurt

thats cool. i know theyre not classic masi's but they are in great condition, look great(cant say they ride great because i havent ridde them yet) and its unusual to get two at the same time. just wanted to share em with every one. thanks again. joe

And that's exactly why I love them. In the '70s and early '80s they were the tool of countless US amateurs who needed to support their racing habits with day jobs. For some of us they were our first (and often last) taste of what a good continental road bike was supposed to be.

And an excellent tool they were.

Screw the sayers of nay. Great looking bikes, you like them, that's all that matters.

I'm sure the majority of people think my Cherry Web Fuji Tiara is ugly as hell but I couldn't give a rats.

Keep posting pics of the great bikes you find...I like looking at them all (but do try to find a neato Fuji now and again... )

I think there are any number of Italian name brand racing bikes of the 80's and beyond that could fit the critique of CdM. De Rosa, Pinarello, Colnago, Gios, all had the guy's with the name still running the show, and maybe even designing the bikes, but there were no revolutions in design really, evolution and by the middle 80's one could say even stagnation with the steel bike.

F. Masi and S. Pogliaghi were a bit older than the others, and one could say missed the boat on the volume production ride. Faliero sold production and marketing rights for some markets, a move for a time that probably helped the actual quality of the brand. He handed his son the keys to the Vigorelli shop, but there were no top tier pro team supply contracts for Masi. A retirement for Pogliaghi also brought changes, the name living on.

Good points.

I bought my Pogliaghi knowing it was coming home to become a rider.

Doesn't have the same pedigree, but it still is a very nice daily rider.

We already touched upon this on BBM's recent De Rosa thread, but it's a fascinating topic.

Some argue that the 'industrial' Masi's and De Rosa's of the last years of steel are superior performers, while others say they lack the soul and craftsmanship of the earlier frames directly off the hands of the masters.

It should be indisputable that the new steel perform better (ie stiffer tubing, more aggressive geometry), and to further this desire for speed, they also don't complain much when their owners subject them to the popular group upgrade. If you want to tag along with the carbon crowd but still fly the colors, this is what you do. Whether you choose one or the other brand will probably hinge on that ethereal notion of 'ride quality', the one bit of mystique left for us neo-classical types.

The allure of the magnificent, truly hand made frames that came out of Italy before everything got so steam lined, now, that's something completely different, going way beyond a craving for physical performance. These frames rarely gets the component 'upgrade', in fact they probably see significantly less road miles. Which is fine because that's not really what its about. I don't own any such classics, so I can only speculate here, but the fascination seems go deeper and be more complex. History, rarity, details lost in time, myth and mystique all play a role in making it harder and more time consuming to play this game.

That's my arguably black and white take on things. Somewhere along the years the borders of these eras got a bit fuzzy, and a few neo-classics will still hold left over fairy dust, while, on the other hand, not all seventies hand filed chrome lugs are alive with magic.

and lets not forget, the nuovo stradas of the era were built in italy-not japan or china or ?- they were also quite expensive for their time. i have a late 80s bicycling mag. and the mail order price of a nuovo strada with chorus was almost 2000.00. compare that with the prices of fujis or top of the line japan bikes-quite a difference. im not saying they were better im just saying the the nuovo stadas werent junk like some people have implied in the past

Wow. You just saved me some money. I have a line on a pristine Italian-built 3v, but I think I'm gonna pass on it now.


Whew..... that was close.

Joe, your next acquisition should be a good camera so we can enjoy your acquisitions more thoroughly. No offense intended.

That's the point of the thing, not to know... too much.

This is a good example of an Italian race bike with updated geometry, it will not ride like a Pog' from the 60's or 70's, but that geometry would probably only appeal to a few at that time. If you needed it you bought a Merckx with "Century" geometry.

Don't mind my opinion - I'm full of hot air, you know.

-Kurt

I've got one of those later, Basso built Pogliaghi's - a 1993 model I believe. It runs neck-and-neck with the Palo Alto as my favorite bike, and I regularly run it for long distances - last Saturday 114 miles and 9500 feet of climbing. Love love love it.

Just having some fun with you, Kurt. I'd have bought it already, but I'm not sure I wanna shell out 6 bills for an Italian bike with 9 speed Dura-ace.... >shudder<

I learned my lesson when a Mercedes took out the Guerciotti I had built with Shimano 600. I could take a hint: My Pinarello Cadore is getting Ergo throughout. First-gen Ergo, of course.

-Kurt

I'm usually happy to shell out $400-$600 for a nice Italian ride with Dura Ace.

1) I know I can get my money out of the gruppo and the wheelset. Case in point is my Tommasini Sintesi. Buy the bike at the right price. Let's say $400 for grins. Sell the the entire drive train and wheelset to my buddy Tommy for $250. I just bought a legit 1994 Tommasini Sintesi frameset for $150. Hang a ( nicely aged) Chorus 10 speed gruppo on her, along with a Serotta Forum purchased wheelset, and you have a standout Italian steed for a grand. That works for me just fine. Its just a smart transaction at that point.

2) In the case of Pogliaghi, I swapped the non-Dura Ace bits for DA. I'll ride the bike with pride until I decide what to do. Do I give up a thing in terms of performance? Hardly. Do the guys I ride with care for one second that its DA. Hardly.

3) I raced Colnagos with DA 7400. This stuff just plain works. I also have a Colnago Master Extra Light w/ 9 speed DA. Does anybody care other than the "guys" on the boards? Nope.

I know some folks that even have 9 speed DA on De Rosas. Shudder!

Ride both brands, enjoy both brands for their own merits. So simple really.

Mine rides like a legend...