bcpriess

I picked up my Masi Giramondo 700c last night. I got to ride about 20 miles at lunch today with a couple big climbs and probably a 10-15 mph west wind. I set it up with a Brooks B17 and some Wellgo MG1 BMX platforms. It feels great, no harshness, floats over everything - big ripples in asphalt, cobblestone, dirt, gravel, stairs, etc, and I don't think the tires (40c Clement Xplor MSO's) suck up an inordinate amount of energy. It is a lot more compliant than an aluminum framed Crosstrail I've been riding lately that has 38c's. I averaged 14.3mph, including 5 very long stoplights in the STL CWE and about 600 ft of elevation gain. Top speed was 30mph on a 1/4mi descent. Climbing wasn't difficult in the large and middle rings, and the bar ends produce a nice tactile/audible click - what is nice about the bar ends is I basically never need to leave the drops, one of the downsides of brifters imo. I think it could be a decent road bike with a different wheel/tire combo, in addition to its intended gravel/touring function. The gearing is low enough that in the lowest gear almost no effort is required to go up a steep incline. I weighed it w/o pedals last night, and it came it at 26.5 on a physician's balance beam scale. It's prettier than the photos on the Masi website, though their photos do a good job representing the product. All in all, I am very happy so far.

bobwysiwyg

I've been riding a hybrid but have been considering moving to some sort of gravel, cross, etc. Not interested in a down and out road bike. Skinny 25mms tires are not my thing. I've been looking at this one, among others, thanks for posting.

bcpriess

Depending on your tire clearance, shifting, and weight requirements, salsa Vaya deore, and traitor wander could be worth considering. All would probably work as road, CX, gravel, or touring depending on tires and wheels and racks/bags. Hard to go wrong. Also fyi, it looks like you might be able to run up to 2.25" tires on the giramondo 700c rims.

wheelsmcgee

Good choice on the giramondo...Seems very comparable to the Salsa vaya, but a better value IMO. I'd also add the Kona sutra to that list.

bcpriess

Kona rove is probably a better comparison v sutra. The sutra is a tank and feels super heavy.

ColonelSanders

Where are the pics of your baby?

bcpriess

This is prior to pedals...it was night so low light and a grainy picture...

ColonelSanders

Masi really knows how to make a good looking bike.

mstateglfr 

Masi US still designs and specs some nice looking bikes for sure.
Based on the bikes you list having, im guessing you know this, but if not i just wanted to let you know that a lot of times the brooks b17 saddles are most comfortable when the nose is pointed slightly up. The nose up and tail up makes it hammock like and you dont slide forward.
Everyone is different and some have the nose up a lot while others have it level, but a lot have it slightly up.
Just wanted to make sure you knew so if it isnt comfortable as is, you didnt just swap it out.

The Masi adventure bikes right now rival most any other brand for cool.

bcpriess

Yep. I actually took the saddle off my lemond since it sucks as a winter ride and had to tighten the tensioner a few turns, but I am still dialing in the fit on this bike.

Tim_Iowa

That looks like a sweet bike, @bcpriess. I like that it has a triple crank and bar-ends; somewhat retro choices these days. But great for touring.

My biggest criticism is that they didn't spec a clutched rear derailleur. The Deore M615 is only about $10 more than the T610 (I think; that's what it looks like) that Masi specified.

kabt53

The spec says that it has 5 bottle cages[1]. Is this true? I can see two on the downtube and one on the seat tube - where are the other two?

Can't post link: here it is in plaintext:
[ www dot masibikes dot com/bikes/adventure/giramondo-700c-2017 ]

bcpriess

The others are on the fork.

bcpriess

If the rear derailleur were clutched, would that affect the feel of an indexed cassette barend shifter?

Tim_Iowa

I don't think you'd notice any difference in feel. That bar-end is designed to shift the MTB Dyna-Sys shift ratio already.

The Shadow+ clutch just helps keep the chain tension good so the chain doesn't jump around and slap the chainstay when you're riding on the bumpy stuff.

ksryder

Cool to see one out in the wild. That bike made my shortlist last year after I had to come up with a replacement frame in a hurry. Pretty great bang for the buck, IMO.

The only drawbacks, for me, were the triple crank and the non-replaceable RD hanger. I've had nothing but trouble with integrated RD hangers on gravel bikes. I guess the friction shifter would probably negate most of my complaints with the triple, but I still just hate triples.

However those are just matters of personal preference and don't actually have anything to do with the quality of the bike. Looks sweet, hope you update us after having it for a while to let us know your long term impressions.

bcpriess

My understanding is a steel frame doesn't need a replaceable derailleur hanger, since steel can be bent back in shape if it does happen to get bent.

Tim_Iowa

Correct

KonaRider125

Nice looking bikepacking bike for the money!

Once your current drivetrain wears out, a SRAM 1x drivetrain/hydro brakes would take the bike to the next level. Maybe some lighter wheels like Stans Grails too.

ksryder

Yeah, once or twice, until it gets too weak & shears off the next time there's slightly sloppy conditions. Or the threads get ovalized & you have to use a dropout saver and deal with some never quite right shifting. At least that's been my experience. Ymmv and all that.

bcpriess

The dropouts are 6mm/.24in thick, as is the derailleur hanger, and the "web" between the holes is beefy. I'd be surprised if it bending were ever an issue.

bcpriess

I'm about 200-250 miles into this bike now, and I like it a lot. As I said in an earlier post, I'm set up with Wellgo MG1's and a broken-in Brooks B17. The Wellgos are practically like taping my feet to the pedals, no grip issues at all. First things first: the riding position, including the slightly flared bars, is great. Fatigue is not a factor at 40 miles (the farthest I've ridden it so far), and the overall posture is very natural to me. The bars have a shallow drop and are flat/ergo in the drop, which encourages me to ride in the drops almost all the time, and which is probably equivalent, posture wise, to riding the hoods on my Lemond (owing to the upright geometry), but I prefer the bar touchpoint to the hood touchpoint as it feels a little "looser." It also keeps my hands conveniently near the barends. My only gripe is the rubber tape. I'm going to add a layer of synthetic cork to get the feel I am both more accustomed to and prefer. I really like the Microshift barends. I've seen some complaints about how they index, but I use the indexing clicks as a way to indicate where I am in the cassette and trim as needed just like with any other barends. The ride quality is excellent. I've ridden the stock MSO's at 40 PSI, and 55 PSI so far (the tires are rated 55 to 90) with tubes - haven't set up for tubeless. At 40 PSI the bike is absolutely unflappable. I could probably roll over a log and barely feel it, and it remains stable on rippled asphalt at 25mph. At 55 PSI I am starting to feel obstacles, but nothing like I'd feel on a 110PSI 25c. The bike's weight isn't noticeable - I can climb well in all 3 chainrings, and the chainrings shift really well for off-the-line acceleration (I think the GI range is 19.5 to 106), such that if I shift into the 32t ring before I stop, and I'm in about 17 or 19t, it takes off without hesitation and through shifting I am quickly at speed. Cruising at 18mph is not a challenge. It's easy to carry up 3 flights of stairs on my shoulder. (A note on the weight: Salsa Vaya Deore cuts a very similar silhouette weighs about 27# on average per REI's specs, and this seems to be exactly the same - as I said in an earlier post, 26.5# without pedals for XL). I can pedal into a 30mph descent without exhausting the gear range. What else? The bike feels responsive, it corners well, but I can tell the COG is a little higher than my other bikes, so taking hard turns takes slightly more care than if the BB was a little lower. Not a major issue unless you make a habit of high speed hairpin turns, and probably a necessary tradeoff for off-road use or gnarly gravel where a lower bracket could be a liability. I appreciate the sloping top tube as a result - I would not want a straight top tube with this setup since it's getting up in my crotch when I stand over it. Vibrations aren't an issue - much less so than aluminum, and on par with my Raleigh Reynolds. All in all, it's a nicely specced bike that rides well and will provide many years of enjoyment. This is my first review, let me know if you have any other questions.

bcpriess

I rode my Masi in the DK100 this year. It performed really well. My setup below included the aforementioned Brooks saddle and Wellgo MG-1 pedals. I trained with the expectation of needing all 5 bottle cages (heat, headwind, sun exposure) but only needed 3-4 each 50 mile leg. I ran my Clements with tubes at about 35psi, and had no flats. My average moving speed across the race was 14mph, and my moving speed the first half was about 15mph, with a couple 30+mph descents. I made sure to stand slightly out of the saddle on descents and limit the blunt forces acting on the rims that may otherwise have flatted me. The worst that happened was once I think my rd got gummed up and stuck pointing forward, but I quickly worked it out and had no further issues. My fd overshifted past the big ring once and I had a dropped chain but I caught it before anything bad happened. I've read reviews of the stock brakes that call them into question, and they may be weak on long mountain descents that I have yet to experience, but in the rolling hills I felt they were sufficient. The frame transmitted very little vibration. I was really glad to have had the bar end shifters a couple times. There is nothing like being able to dump 4 gears at a time when you come out of a descent and have to turn immediately, and lose all momentum for going uphill. There were many times where I was able to remain seated, pedaling uphill, while I passed people walking or mashing in higher gears. The mountain gearing really helped too. There were no situations I faced where I was lacking for top end. And the bars were sufficiently wide to keep my in control at all times. I've read that some people have cornering issues with this bike owing to its long wb, but again, because of the nature of gravel, my turns were either slow or long and there was no point at which I could even go fast enough to lose control cornering. I've been riding the bike for months loaded up to probably 40# including full water bottles, tools, spare tubes, etc, so I wasn't feeling the weight much. It did the job I asked it to do and I'm happy with how it performed. The only weakness as far as I could tell was the rider. I have some work to do to increase my speed.

Sullalto

If only it had thru-axles, I'd be all over this bike.

Well, the 650b version.

After my bike got stolen, a cheap-ish bike that fits 650b 2.1" tires, thru-axles and a relaxed geometry is my unicorn.

bikemig 

Good looking bike, nicely spec'd, and a good price; what's not to like?

It reminds me of the REI co--op cycle ADV 3.1; this used to be the mazama.