Hi there, got a masi gran criterium out of the dumpster and would like any help on dating this cool bike. It seems to be all original except for the rear wheel and tire. The only #'s that I can find are M615 or possibly M61.5 on the bottom bracket. The #'s are stamped but the decimal pt. is not, but is definetely orig looking? Thanks for any help you can give. I tried to include pics but file size was too large.

Now this is funny... I like Masi finds from dumpsters..
Need pictures, especially of the BB shell with the numbers. If you'd like to send the pics to oldlugs @ yahoo.com I'd be happy to help you date it.

Here they come! Thanks.....

a Milano Masi GC in a dumpster...does it have super record on it?

Somebody's gotta resize those pictures so we can look at it.

here's some pic's

OK... Looks like a very late '60s Italian made Masi GC to me. Possibly as late as '72 or so... This was really found in a dumpster? I'd like to see more pics...!
Anyway, the M61.5 looks to be the frame size measured from crank center to the very top of the seat lug; you can check that. If no other #s on the BB shell, then you'll want to pull the fork out and look for #s on the steerer tube. Let me know what you find there. Looks like the bike has some interesting parts on it... Aluminum crank bolts? Weyless seat post? Do the Campagnolo brakes say Campagnolo on them? Is that pedal a modern "egg beater" type? Pretty cool dumpster find...

Brakes shoes say campagnolo front and back, I am not an expert on these bikes, just what I have read on the web recently. The pedals do look like egg beaters. Every thing else says campagnolo on it. This was truely a dumpster find and just cool to look at.

Signing off now, got to go check my neighbor's dumpster!

I did carefully remove the forks, and the only # I can find is 63 stamped on the steerer tube. Again, thanks for the help!
Cadd9.....

I'd like to file an official complaint. I only find mediocre bikes being discarded. I've never found one that will get me $500.00 offers in the first 2 hours after I put it up on e-bay.

Yeah!
Cool bike and even sweeter to ride, No ebay , just enjoying the score!

given the more than cult like following that
Masi has I'm surprized that the the entire
cali masi crowd hasn't chimed in to claim it.
chalk this one up to "an amazing find", I mean
who the hell would toss a pre cali masi?
good thing I don't ride a 61cm otherwise I'd
be crying in my beer (actually coffee at this hour).

Marty

The M with the size stamp sez Milano...the finish is even pretty good. I recently watched a GC go to $3700 on eBay - it was in a little better condition, of course. This is like finding that Rolex President at Salvation Army. Some web sites you'll like:

https://www.sheldonbrown.org/ebay/masi1000/

this one's particularly appropriate:

https://www.campyonly.com/retrobikes/sachs_masi.html

https://www.bates-lee.com/masi/

https://www.classicrendezvous.com/Ita...al_numbers.htm

https://www.bates-lee.com/masi/html/g.../nos_masi.html

and

https://www.rydjor.com/bikecollection/1976masi.htm

I undertook a Cali Masi restoration this winter, and these were the best sites for the restoration research. Man. I thought I stole mine at $250, completely beat and equipped with Shimano 600 stuff!

I was wondering about the brake caliper arms themselves. If they don't say Campagnolo on 'em, they're likely the first version of those brakes, and would help pinpoint the bike's date more closely. Also, on the back of the crank arms they'll say STRADA, and possibly have a single digit # in a diamond - that would also help with the date (though I think pre '73 may not have that diamond). If no diamond on the cranks with a #, then I'd want to see more pics of the cranks to determine if they were the earlier, more "square" profile, or that used from about '70-'71 on (later type arms had more of a chamfer, making them look thinner). Also, assuming the rear derailleur is Nuovo Record, does it say patent on top with a year date? Of course, through the years lots of parts could have been swapped, but those Campagnolo dates sometimes do help...

That still just blows me away. Those are long reach brake levers, dating to pre '72, I think.

Need a closeup of the fork crown, too. It doesn't look like a multiplate from what I can see.

Here's some more pics. I saved this bike from being crushed, it was in a steel recycle bin along with about 10 other bikes.
I've been riding this bike for the last two days and it's like a ferarri! Super light! and fast. Thanks for all the help with the dating! Does the 63 on the steerer tube mean that the forks were made in 63?........

Also the crank arms say STRATA 170 on the back of them and on top of the derailleur it says PATENT 70. So I assume these parts are made in 1970?

Keep rubbing it in! Maybe tomorrow you can tell us how the babes are chasing you and the bike down the street.

But seriously... I have to wonder how many great bikes DO get crushed by recyclers. Kinda like grinding up violins to make particle board.

Great find!

Hee hee! ;>}

Hey Suntreader, it's funny because about a year ago I dug a fixed gear pogliahgi out of the same dumpster and some how found the owner on the net. I bent over backwards to make sure she got her bike back (yes, it was hers!) and didn't even get a Thank you!
Think I'll hang on to this one.

cadd, sounds like you found the dumpster where the bike thieves dump their loot.

Finders keepers!

They are a sweet ride...LUCKY! Some day, I'll find a '70s Masi GC in the dumpster... (not likely)

Looks like it may be a year or so later than I first thought; this from Brian Baylis on dating Italiano Masi:

"The earliest date I've seen on a Gran Criterium is 8.69. If this bike appeared in 1969 as a completed bike it would have been at the very end of the year. For the most part, Italian CG's are considered to be 1970 to 1973-'74. In Italy I think the GC gave way to the Masi "Prestige" in about 1973 or early '74. The latest date I've seen on an Italian GC is 6.73. That would be only a few months befor the first CA Masis appeared in the US."

My guess is that the 63 on the steerer may be June of '73... BUT, I thought Masi Italy was also using the GF BB shell with the big M cutout by then... cadd9, I think you may want to ask about this Masi on the CR list... Oh, and the "patent 70" on the rear deraileur indicates a '70 mfg. date. From the pictures, the cranks are from '70-'72 or so (no date code in diamond, but later profile), and the brakes are post '69 (very early ones - '68-'69ish - didn't have CAMPAGNOLO stamped into the arms).

Thanks Old Lugs and everyone else! ........ oh yeah, whats the "cr list" ?