John wrote:
> Yes, in the trans-Atlantic care package that Steve Maasland
> and I
> recently imported, there was a mid fifties Masi frame. Steve
> thinks around
> 1957. Research may show a more exact date. No decals, Cinelli
> lugs, chrome
> box fork crown, headbadge of the generation after the Alex Clark
> 1954 Masi
> on his Vintage Velos website. Possible partial repaint (needs closer
> examination). The seat cluster is also of the 54 style with flat
> caps. This
> bike, however, has only a chainstay braze on. No others. The bike has
> magistroni cranks with a single chainring, Ambrosio Champion alloy
> stem with
> unmarked alloy bars, cork plugs, and a later nuovo record road
> headset.Some donor parts will be provided by a gaspipe Olmo to
> help her become
> period correct( like a Gran Sport rear der. w/ cable tensioner).
> Will the
> Gods frown? Appropriate sacrifices may have to be made to appease
> them. The question I hope to answer is, is this a "speciale
> corsa" or "special
> corsa" or "special" model?
The Masi is one of the many very intriguing bikes that John and I brought over. Some were seen at le cirque, others have already found new homes with CR list members and the last remaining ones are being more closely researched before eventually being offered to the list. John will be keeping the Masi and I will be keeping a Paris-Roubaix equipped bike to replace the Bianchi Folgorissima that I no longer have (it is happily in the hands of a CR member in Southern California.) John is also toying with the idea of keeping the 50's Cinelli seen in the foreground of the 'cirque' group photo. Numerous other collectible bike components also were brought over, such as a set of first generation front and rear Gran Sport derailleurs, some steel cottered Cinelli cranks, some Stronglight 49 (apparently they are not the 49D model) cranks...etc. The bikes and components brought over come from a number of different sources (I drove close to 2000 miles in 9 days to conclude the purchase of all of the things) but all had that little something extra to grab my attention. I already posted the Frejus Tour de France bike to the list and am happy to say that many of you responded to the posting and we will soon see it on its way West to a CR member. As soon as I have the time, I will begin posting a number of other bikes that were picked up, so be prepared.
Steven Maasland
Moorestown, NJ