Masi's from Italy or Cali?
HwkeyeDr2B
Although Torelli Masi's are claimed to be made in Italy and just painted here
in the states, i've been informed (by 3 different reliable sources) that
they're actually made in California, and NOT made by MASI or any of his
cohorts at all... Is this true? Did Torelli simply buy the Masi name? I
understand the real Faliero (sp?) Masi still produces a small number of frames
w/ Excell tubing using "HIS" internal lugs, but that they have nothing to do
with Torelli's so-called Masi's... is this true?
David Rees
Faliero Masi moved himself and his business to the US in the early '70s. He
used to use Reynolds tubing, and felt that he could produce better bikes in
the US, for some reason. Maybe the Italians chased him out for daring to
use something other than Columbus. Since then, his Masis have been US-made.
Ted Kirkbride(?) runs/ran the operation, but I beleive that Faliero was/is
still involved. His brother, Alberto Masi, makes Masis in Italy, and this
is what causes the confusion. I'm not sure that Faliero was happy about the
arrangement, and I've heard that he tried to stop his brother from using
his name, due to Alberto's shoddier work, but I'm not sure about the truth
of this story. I have a friend who has a 1974 Italian team Masi Gran
Criterium (about 59cm) which was raced in the 1974 World Championships in
Montreal, and it, and all the team's bikes, were built by Masi in
California. There's even a 'made in the US' sticker on the seat tube. It's
an incredibly beautiful bike, light blue, heavily pantographed and a
really, really, sweet ride. Mario Confente was the head framebuilder then.
Another friend of mine was in Italy around 1975, and bought the Italian
Junior Champion's bike, a champagne-coloured Gran Criterium, which was
built by Alberto. It's a smaller frame, about 53cm, so I didn't like the
feel, but it's very similar to the US bike, with the same flat crown, lugs,
and clean construction, including the inside of the BB shell, which is
meticulously finished, not ragged like my '74 Colnago Super. How can you
tell which is which? -look at the signature near the seat cluster.
HwkeyeDr2B <hwkey...@aol.com> wrote in article
<19971001173...@ladder02.news.aol.com>...
David Rees
As far as I know, Torelli is an importer, and only puts their name on bikes
that they've had built in Italy expressly for themselves. They are, from
everything I've read, a reputable company with good products, making this
type of fraud extremely unlikely. Masi is a separate manufacturer.
IPMerkin
There's a lot of myths going around on this one. In the early 70's, Faliero
Masi helped set up a factory in California to produce Masi frames equal in
quality to those from the Milan shop. Mario Confenti and Brian Bayless were
among his early California builders. The Milan shop kept going, at some point
in time (maybe the later 1980s), the Milan Masi frames were signed by Alberto
Masi (Faliero's son). 1984 articles from Winning and Q magazines show the two
happily working together in the Milan shop. Now, Alberto's frames are sold
under the Milano name. I've heard it attributed to a falling out between
father and son, and problems with the Masi trademark.
A very reliable source (who used to personally import Italian Masi 3V's that he
picked out in Milan) told me that the "new" Masi's that Torelli sells are
actually made in the Mondonico factory in Italy. That would explain the
fastback seat stay joint on the Team 3V. I have heard that the Gran Criterium
is made in California, but who knows? The recent Masi 3Vs look pretty much
like early Milan 3V models I've seen, and they still use the internal lugs, so
they can't be THAT bad.
It seems that some folks with Milan Masi's (whether Masi or Milano) think that
they are the only real Masi's. Early California Masi's are probably just as
good as the Milan bikes. From the mid-80's on, it's anybody's guess, but I
think I'd rather have a California 3V from the early 90's (which is what I
ride) or an "Alberto" Masi 3V from Milan from the same time period, than any
recent "Italian" Masi, unless Torelli could prove that it was made in Masi's
Milan shop. I also don't think that any of the "budget" Masi frames are worth
having, since they don't have any real "Masi" heritage.
I'm sure that some folks will take exception to the above, and I defer to
anyone with better sources. While trying to find out the story, however, I've
heard some real BS, so take it all (maybe even my ramblings) with a grain of
salt.
Good Luck.
PS - The Italian 3V's were made from Excell tubing, even when the California
bikes were made from a 753/True Temper mix.