I say do something like the above mentioned "my other bike is a(in small inconspicuous font) MASI(in large masi font). Or perhaps "wish it was a(sm font) MASI"

Otherwise someone's gonna be pissed in the future, be it the guy who steals your bike and figures out when he hops on that it rides like a 50lb old Schwinn, or the poor guy who buys it on Ebay, perplexed at first by the high shipping weight. The poor guy's gonna be pissed when it arrives...

My take? It's something only dorks do.

Try the veal...

What happens if OP's name was MASI?

What if my name was Mario Antonio Sanchez Ignacio? Not saying it is but what if...what if. Then would it be so wrong? lol

You could always legally change it ;) Then you'd just be putting your initials on it like others have said.

No. What you're describing is DIY building of a more effective, more functional light, using an existing and presumably broken or obsolete one as a component. That's basically just DIY. In audio I've several times taken dead preamplfiers and made them work and sound good.

I saw a bike at a Michigan used shop (up in the Grosse Pointes, not Ann Arbor), well-painted and decaled with totally plausible Colnago markings including tubing stickers. Looking closer I saw it was more of a bike-boom entry level, like the basic Atalas and Fiorellis of 1969. It would not fool a bike freak, but it could fool a fool. Worst thing was, there was no way to tell what it really was. For the right price, I might have wanted a bike-boomer that fit, was in good shape, and was identifiable. That needed a few hundred $ of repainting for me to avoid offending my DeRosa, Cinelli, and Colnago-riding friends (who are used to me riding cheapo or other frankenbikes).

I suppose you are right. But I still don't feel dissuaded from idly dreaming about building a replica 40s/50's touring bike from my International. The only thing that stops me would be the $$ for a paint job, not any moral/not-impress-my-friends question. Lucky for me, I have no friends so I don't have to worry what they think.

I'd rather put the paint job money against that impossible-to-find frame that will never turn up someday.

I never really cared too much what other people think. I've found most of them don't do it very often anyhow.

I can't possibly imagine wanting to do/make/ride a replica bike (or car for that matter...the parallels are strong in my mind). If anything, I badge down and one some of the Giant/Schwinn type bikes I've picked up along the way some polishing/cutting compound and a buffer have been my friend in getting rid of some of the uglier & larger logos & such. I guess I'm one who if anything will under badge a bike (or car) and probably only consider doing so if I'm in the position of doing that sort of cosmetic work. I'm not going to go out of my way. Relatedly, I have a very nice modern-build 2000 Schwinn Peloton with 853 tubing, and all the modern brifer Ultegra/Dura-Ace stuff making it go (uh, er..other than my legs...). I get great pleasure seeing the mildly distasteful look on other riders' faces as they are looking at badges and see this poor guy who's riding a Schwinn. Great fun! No, it's not a brand new Trek, but darned if it seems to keep up with those Treks pretty well....lol

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/bik/2151121255.html

Is this rebadge an upgrade or a downgrade? I don't know from Italian:

Vintage 1974 Raleigh Pro 56cm Reynolds 531 - $200


Date: 2011-01-08, 9:07PM PST

This is a Raleigh Professional 1974 56cm frame repainted as a Pogliaghi. Some braze-ons have been added to make it suitable as a light touring or randonneuring bike. Right dropout was repaired by framebuilder Bernie Mikkelsen, who also checked the frame for alignment. Reynolds 531 butted tubes, Campagnolo dropouts, Campagnolo Record headset. Nice fastback stays, "CC" cutout in the bottom bracket shell. Asking for $200 or best offer.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=185462

Exactly.

This seems strangely confused. You'll never find a certain frame, so you'll pretend you have one by painting something else? You are totally self-directed and don't care what others think, but also don't care that you don't have what you want, say a DeRosa camoflage rather than a DeRosa?

I dunno. Personally I didn't buy that faux-Colnago, but now I see I should have told you about it. What's your size, in case I find another? I'll even facilitate.

:)

I really don't get the fake-o paint job deal at all.

Edit: I'll save my attitude for another day.

The OP wanted to rebadge a Schwinn into some fancy race bike. I was speaking to that.

What I tried to say, in my incoherent way, is that I think some of those old 50s touring/racing bike had fantastic paint schemes. I'll never find one, or be able to afford one, and that I idly thought about creating a replica with an old International frame that needs a repaint and so what, that's ok. But then, rather than spend the money, I'd rather just keep my unattainable holy grail.

I'm sure that cleared things up.

So your aspiration is more valuable left unattained than approximated? Same here.

Thanks - that nails it. I was just defending the approximate.

So does this come down to a "if you can't pay, you can't play? If you can't afford the real deal then you get nothing? I don't look down at blue collar Joe for taking his Datsun Z and doing a Ferrari GTO conversion or taking a VW Bettle and turning it into a Porsche 356 Speedster? They use all the badges to make it close to the original as possible. so I don't see anything really wrong with my idea.

Here you go, a perfect example of how lame an idea this is:

http://cgi.ebay.com/64cm-Vintage-MAS...item43a46d9f50

One of my high school nicknames was "Maaaaasi". I shortened it for a bike that I had custom built for me.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=185512

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=185513

However, I must add that I prefer this bike to any Masi that I have ever ridden.

...and was it dishonest for Huffy to have Japanese frames badged as Raleighs?

Should a Witcomb be considered a Witcomb if it's a USA-made Witcomb?

Are Treks badged as Klein and Gary Fisher a scam ripoff?

What about Pacific Cycles' ownership of the Schwinn name?

Is "brand name" marketing, in general, dishonest? Unethical? Both?

(Yes, just stirring up trouble :P)

-Kurt

Haha, this sums up what I feel and/or edit more often than I maybe should. Hope you don't mind if I use it in my "signature" here on the forum.

Let her rip.

I should listen to my own advice though. :)

If you can't afford the real deal, you can't afford the real deal.

Putting a 'real deal' sticker on a pretend deal doesn't make it any realer; it just alerts folks to the fact you're more concerned about the name than the quality that made the name... thus fitting quite neatly into a category many folks would describe as 'wanker'.

The opposite end of the spectrum isn't putting a Schwinn sticker on a Masi (which is cool instead of lame, but is still just being silly), it's riding a Masi with no stickers to see who can pick it.

To those with discernment, quality speaks for itself.

Not a replica frame but a story to grind the teeth of C & V ers. http://davesbikeblog.squarespace.com...?currentPage=3