Crazy_Asian

I am a beginner road cyclist who has rode several older road bikes in the past...these older bikes were schwinn steel frames with mid-tube shifters. I am shopping for a new rode bike and have come across many bikes. I am interested in the Specialized Allez because its simple and i have rode Specialized mountain bikes for quite some time. I came across a LBS selling Masi. I have never heard of Masi but they have a Masi Alare for sell. Both bikes come with Shimano Tiagra in the back, Shimano Saro in the front and both have a carbon front fork. The Masi sells for 813.00 and the Specialized sells for 880. Anybody have any information on the Masi that would set these two apart? Any information would be helpful. Thanks.

Diegomayra

No info on the Masi, but I will tell you from personnal experience the Allez is working great for me.
Definately a fun bike to start with. Only complaint is the stock brake pads which you can easily swap for under 40$ both front and rears.

rodrigaj

Masi was once a great Italian bike. It was featured in the 1979 Academy Award movie, "Breaking Away". However, it is now just another bike made in Asia.

Here is some info on Masi: (from this excellent reference)

Masi - Faliero Masi was, in my opinion, the "grandfather" of all Italian frame builders, serving as inspiration to famous frame builders like Ernesto Colnago. Faliero sold his company to Americans in the early 70's. Since then, the brand has had several owners including Schwinn! At present, the Masi brand is owned by Haro (the California BMX company) and the bikes are made in Asia.

Alberto Masi, Faliero's son, still hand-makes the traditional Masi frames in the shadow of the Vigorelli Velodrome in Milan. Unfortunately, these frames - due the licensing of the Masi name to Haro - are not sold in the U.S. under the Masi name. Instead, these frames are sold in the U.S. under the "Milano" name.

stewardmike03

For a beginner the Masi makes sense...upright position, bulletproof drivetrain. The Allez is an excellent start as well. For the money and the "oooooo" factor, I'd go Masi.

late

Give a few bikes a test ride. One will feel a bit better than the others, get it.

AngryScientist 

i dont know if i would call a sora-tiagra mix a "bulletproof" drivetrain. that has to be one of the most overused words in this sport.

n00bL35

If anything, the Sora parts are the poorest part of the bike. Have you considered saving up for a 10-speed drivetrain like 105? After riding Sora for several months, I wish that I'd gone straight to 105.

Gambutrol

Agreed. The r-sys was "bulletproof" until it started exploding. I don't know if Masi has an "ooooo" factor. Maybe to some, not to me.

AngryScientist 

there is certainly nothing wrong with sora for most people. if you're racing its a downfall, but sora, when properly adjusted shifts just fine. if the OP is a beginner, Sora is a good choice.

everyone gives Sora a bad rap, i have a few thousand miles on my sora bike with no complaints. i just picked up a 105/ultegra bike, and while the shifting IS nice, it still doesnt make me discount how well done sora is for the price.

mustang1

I have an Allez which I was gonna swap after 1-2 years use. Now 3 years later, I still find it difficult to find an excuse to upgrade. But that could just be me being a poor git. Anyway, I'm real happy with mine. Just change out the brake pads like someone else mentioned.

I also upgrade wheels and seatpost. My Allez is of different geometry to the one you might be getting as my one is an older model, with shorter head tube.

JoesInBoston

I ride/race a 2006 Masi Alare and I really like it. It doesn't really have the "ooo" factor that someone mentioned, but I do get a lot of people who are interested in knowing about it because it's not a very common brand around these parts.

I can't exactly comment on how the stock parts perform in relation to this bike as I purchased my frame seperate and built the rest of it with ultegra/DA/105......

Crazy_Asian

I have looked into getting 105's but the price difference is a huge jump. I have been looking around and I do want to buy from a LBS but I recently found BikesDirect.com. They have Motobecane brand bikes with 105's for under $700. Does anyone have any experience with BikesDirect.com?

paste_me

You can't really go wrong with the Motobecane, they are cheaper frames with great group set for the price. I ride with my buddy with who has Motobecane with DA and he likes it a lot and 3K_ miles still no problem with the frame.

jeanHTX

i just bought a 2006 masi alare and i love it! i would've loved tiagra/ultegra but i had a budget, and this masi was $475, and it looked like it came right out of the box. what i'm thinking is that when i'm ready, and have saved up more money, i won't upgrade to tiagra/ultegra, but i'll just buy a new bike altogether. for the price of the components, i think a new bike is worth it.