I finished up the gift Masi and took it for a test spin for an hour or so today. Except for some narrow Vittoria tires still to be installed here is its final form:













A few observations: I like the way the black and red combination worked out so I'll probably keep that bottle. The pump is not chronologically correct but old pumps don't grow on trees and I'd rather have something functional anyway! (Plus I'd never match that red.) The bar end plugs are plastic Cinelli with logo, a gift from Harris Cyclery. The brakes, freewheel, and shift levers were gifts from Pastor Bob. The RD long cage is by Henry III, but the RD itself has a bit more slop than I'd like. I may try to replace it or some parts. The Unicanitor saddle may stay but I need to ride it more before passing judgment.

Thanks to all of you for your, parts, encouragement, and advice! Thanks to Bob Hovey for his input, and thanks to Toby Stanton at Hottubes and Joe Massaro.

This bike is fast and smooth, like my Bianchi only more so. It is under 23lbs. It is very likely the last and certainly the best bike I'll ever own.

She certainly has turned out nicely Jim. Congratulations on a wonderful build.

Now, get out there and ride!

Love the bike Jim! It turned out beautifully!

(The forsythia in the background shows the red to great advantage! What a great red color it is!)

^ Ha! I was just going to say that I appreciated how the Forsythia complimented the Masi logo. : )

Good luck with the skinny tires.......I'm kinda a more meaty
tire guy, myself, but probably due to size.

It's very shiny...........shiny good.

Maybe we should start a support group for guys who
have Masi bikes, but feel inadequate when riding them ?

I really like those derailleur cages! Oh and the Masi is nice too. Now just watch out for anyone with a Cinzano jersey and a Silca pump.

Nice! Why no brake hoods?

looks great, but try to take your pics near dusk or dawn, the lighting will help the colors turn out better and not be so bright

You did an outastanding job on the Masi! It looks beautiful, congratulations. Wold it be difficult to describe the ride quality?

Flash

I actually like the look of those gray lever mounts. Our tandem's Mafac levers don't have hoods and I've never been bothered by the feel. But the real answer is that I didn't have any when I rigged everything up. (And I was in a hurry to do so!)

Truth is, I've never ridden on high-end tires. I had several recommendations for these, at least three people encouraging me to try them. So I figured this was the ideal opportunity to expand my experiences, learn a little bit, go faster...

That's a thought. I don't feel inadequate when riding a bike like this, except when I come to a significant hill. Then I feel inadequate no matter what bike I'm on.

Thank you. To answer your question, yes, it would be difficult.

Umm, the most significant feature is that it turns very quickly and very, very precisely. It runs over bumps with less jarring than, say, my Bianchi (a late 80's Brava with 120psi 25mm Gatorskins, 32 spoke wheels, straight gauge 2.0 spokes). It has 32 spoke wheels (2.0-1.8-2.0mm spokes) and light rims so it feels light and seems to accelerate quickly. I found myself needing to upshift more frequently than I'm used to because it would spin out readily no matter what gear I started in. The brakes aren't quite as powerful as the DP Tektros on the Bianchi but they are quite powerful. A common element in all this is that it seems to take very little effort to be ridden. I am not used to it yet!

Love the restoration. Nice work. I'll keep an eye out for you on the road because I'd love to see that bike in person.

that looks great. love the downtube detail.

Beautiful bici Jim

Saw this Masi in your N+1 thread reply in the 50+ forum. Wanted to say you did an excellent job with this bicycle Jim. Kudos to you on the work and the finished product, and to all the members that helped you out with parts and advice.

Bill

Those guys chased me yesterday but I outran 'em.

Great looking bike! The skinny tires will provide even more response, but may impact ride smoothness. You could look for a black Silca pump. Doesn't have to be red.

I'll bet it is not the last, and that bike would be the best in just about everybody's stable. I know it would be in mine. Terrific job building it up!

Very lovely, simply superb...

Jim,

WOW! Once again stunning! Can't wait to see it in person and since it is now equipped with a HenryIII Long Cage Nuovo Record RD and that alpine custom freewheel, you need to bring it north and I'll lead you up some of our mountain climbs.

Think of me as your domestique on a lowly Schwinn Paramount. We'll entice ftwelder on his Moto and Blues Daddy on his Trek to come along. When we near the top, you can attack on your own and beat them to that mountain top finish. We will change your BF name to Jim "Legstrong" Muller.

It does look sharp. I was glad to contribute to the build. If you ever decide on hoods, Loose Screws and others carry generic black hoods which would disappear with the black bar tape.

Looks stunning Jim. My 2010 special rando has that attitude. I've owned 3 french bikes and were like a "non-offensive" ride quality. Did a sixty something ride this year, average speed was 12.9 MPH. The appeal of steel is real. Chris

In fact, it won't be the last I build up. There is an incomplete '72 Bertin waiting for some attention. But I didn't buy it, the frame was given to me, as was the Masi frame. If people keep giving me stuff I'll go broke.
Thank you for the compliment and all your help. I'd love to do another NH ride. Only trouble is, Sharon will want me to bring her and the tandem! And we don't climb too well.

I took the Masi out for about 35 miles today, home to Concord and back. Got caught in a spot of rain on the way home. The bike is quite awesome. It wants to go fast and goes equally well in either a straight or curvy line. The brakes a very effective. The gearing works nicely but the use pattern is quite different from my other bikes.

As a riding experiment today's run was a complete failure. Which is to say, from a scientific perspective a successful experiment is one where you learn everything there is to learn and so the experiment needn't be repeated. Today's ride? Well, I'm afraid I'll need to repeat it over and over. Definitely need to do it again.

Very nice. My first Masi GC (back in the 70s) was that lovely tomato red color.

I just bought my second Masi, an '82 GC, and have only taken it out for one, short, chilly ride the other day to shake things out a bit. It still has the original brake pads. They are like rocks at this point. Clearly in need of replacement. I'm not sure I like the curve of the handlebars, but I'll wait until I get new hoods for the brakes to pass final judgement on them. They are original to the bike, so I might need to cut them a little slack.

On the subject of pumps, I'm beginning to believe the best remedy to pumps, flats and associated nonsense are Gatorskins. I have them on my Trek commuter, and just put Gatorskin sew-ups on the Masi. Failing that, perhaps the little CO2 pumps you stash in your jersey pockets are a good alternative to unmatchable colors. Or, you could go completely overboard and have someone like CyclArt color match the pump body to your frame's color.

Skip Montanaro
Evanston, IL

Great looking Masi! Congrats on the build. Makes me miss mine. They ride so well too.