Originally Posted by Masiguy

Hey all, sorry for the delay in coming to the party here- it's been a nutty week and I had all kinds of trouble trying to log in here for some reason. The forums were too busy and other stuff... oh well.

So, yes, I have said all along that Masi of today is not the Masi of 20-30-40 years ago. Faliero's been dead for awhile, so that's one big issue; sorry, all my seances wouldn't bring him back from the dead. Though I still burn a candle at the shrine I built.

Though some will argue that Masi is the biggest defamation of a brand name (obviously I disagree), we are no different than Bianchi, Peugeot, Motobecane, Cinelli, Basso, Raleigh, etc. I know some of the listed brands here don't inspire much passion to some folks, but for others they are the world of cycling. It's like any other brand that changes hands either through family lineage or share holders.

Here's my longstanding point; if the brand does what it feasibly can to uphold the traditions that made the brand the icon it is, then it is doing good not evil. I firmly believe, as I have said before here and elsewhere, that the bikes ride very, very well and we do all that we can to produce bikes worthy of the name. No, I don't personally braze the frames together while sipping a nice Italian espresso. I don't hand file lugs and lay tubes into a mitering jig. However, we do spend an agonizing amount of time sweating the details. In a perfect world, where I can prove the benefit to the people who pay my salary, we would still be producing frames right here in this building. We did make that small run of frames with Russ Denny and Ted Kirkbride. I intend to keep doing things like that and some other cool things as I get the brand back on its feet. One day, who knows, maybe you'll be able to order a custom built Masi again. No, Faliero and Alberto won't be building it, but it'll be everything those great builders would approve of. Let us not forget that many Italian family brands are now built in the orient. Anybody ever heard of that brand Colnago?

As for the Italian made frames we did from 2002-2004; the frames were built in Italy and then sent to Taiwan for paint and building. The frames are great quality and I will personally confirm that they ride as nice as anything from any other recognized builder in Italy or elsewhere. As far as production bikes go, they are extremely sweet. 25 years of doing this, I promise you they ride great.

Parting comment and then I'm out of here before the fire bombs start flying at me; quality is 100% independent of geography. I remember building Italian built frames for customers in the 80's and 90's that were not straight, had bad paint, threads that were all gummed up, etc from well known makers. Geography is irrelevant, but... ride what makes you happy.

Originally Posted by rufvelo

This is a very fine dignified response from an owner/operator. Congrats!

It is very sad to sometimes see bike peddlers, owners of LBSs trash others, get defensive, get argumentative with forum members. Maybe I will take another look at the new Masi product line, although you know being an 'old steel' fan I won't hesistate to snap up an 'old steel' Masi in very good condition on eBay :)

Originally Posted by Matimeo

The guy on the movie "Breaking Away" rides one. What more do you want?

Originally Posted by Masiguy

That paint issue predates my employment here, so I can't say I know anything about that. Normally the Taiwanese paint is phenomenal. The people we work with have a facility that looks like a hospital operating room- you could eat off the floors.

Originally Posted by oilman_15106

Sorry to sound like both a supporter and spoiler of Masi. The paint on my 2002 Gran Crit. will chip if you look at it sideways. This is the only bike of the many I own that I have ever seen this type problem. It is a great ride and all but looks like it has gone through the war and has never been even laid down by me, second owner. Almost like a spray can job. Short of stripping the frame and redoing and according to Haro customer service, no decals are available, is there anything you can do?

Originally Posted by oilman_15106

Sorry to sound like both a supporter and spoiler of Masi. The paint on my 2002 Gran Crit. will chip if you look at it sideways. This is the only bike of the many I own that I have ever seen this type problem. It is a great ride and all but looks like it has gone through the war and has never been even laid down by me, second owner. Almost like a spray can job. Short of stripping the frame and redoing and according to Haro customer service, no decals are available, is there anything you can do?

Originally Posted by alanbikehouston

A lot of folks seem to be saying they can not see any real difference between a hand-made frame and fork, made with hours of careful work by a skilled craftsman, and the cheapo generic frames and forks pouring out of Asian factories by the thousand.

That "dumbing down" of American consumers may explain why there is a McDonalds on every street corner in America and a Wal-Mart just up the block..."honest, a McD burger tastes just like fresh ground sirloin"...."These pleather shoes from Wal-Mart are just as nice as a pair of hand-made calfskin loafers made in Milan"....sigh...

Originally Posted by alanbikehouston

A lot of folks seem to be saying they can not see any real difference between a hand-made frame and fork, made with hours of careful work by a skilled craftsman, and the cheapo generic frames and forks pouring out of Asian factories by the thousand. .

Originally Posted by rufvelo

That characteristic is very Italian! You got what you paid for :)

I expect to have to repaint a Cinelli, Colnago(replace all that crazy color with red) sometime in a few years.

IF you inspect very closely, every trail will have aound it's bigger bumps, chips of Colnago, Cinelli, celeste paint sprinkled around. Touch-ups are the only practical solution, this especially if you have a black bike. If you really value the frame though, a complete repaint is the only option. Hopefully you'll get Masiguy to take care of that for you.

To be really accurate, I should modify my avatar to show several specs of missing paint on my Cinelli :)

Originally Posted by oilman_15106

You need to go back. Tim says the paint job on the Gran Crits from 2002 to 2004 were done in Taiwan not Italy. Even thouhg the frames were built in Italy. The Italian paint jobs were famously known for their problems.

Originally Posted by Masiguy

I don't .

Originally Posted by Masiguy

Geography is irrelevant, but... ride what makes you happy

Originally Posted by dsb137

Anyone know the story on these?

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/rdf1249/...60762329525899

Originally Posted by Masiguy (Post 3668916)

...
As for the Italian made frames we did from 2002-2004; the frames were built in Italy and then sent to Taiwan for paint and building. The frames are great quality and I will personally confirm that they ride as nice as anything from any other recognized builder in Italy or elsewhere. As far as production bikes go, they are extremely sweet. 25 years of doing this, I promise you they ride great...

Originally Posted by zatopek (Post 8147049)

http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/o...kes2008012.jpg

Here's my 2004 Masi Gran Crit, Alu with carbon seat and chain stays. I bought the frame and fork and built it up from there. It's my first Alu bike. I expected the "dead" feeling that I hear Alu can produce. At least in this bike, it feels quite "lively" and I'd favorably compare the ride to my Ciocc COM 12.5 (steel)that I really love.