Raymond Bailey wrote:
>
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> I own a couple of Masi Gran Crits, but never liked
> them. They are both equipped with your average
> everyday Campagnolo Nuovo Record components. These
> bikes are just too average for me. I am looking for
> exotic English and French machines.
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> I began working on bicycles in the early 60's while in
> high school. We used to do funny things like pack
> people's seat tubes with grease or put various shop
> tools (4 or 5 screwdrivers) down the seat tube and
> send these folks on their way. One time we poured
> about 100 ball bearings down a customer's seat tube.
> He came back with the bike complaining of loud pinging
> noises. We put the bike in the stand, removed the
> seatpost, and turned the the bike upside-down and
> watched all of the bearings fall onto the floor. The
> customer was shocked! We looked at him as if he was
> pulling a prank on us. Another time, we pulled the
> schrader valves out of some inner-tubes and filled
> them with water. The customer returned to the shop
> one day after having a tire go flat and said, "The
> strangest thing happened; I ran over a nail and a
> bunch of water came shooting out of my tire." I guess
> the moral of the story is: If bike shop managers paid
> mechanics what they are worth, these things would not
> happen. (cut)
Raymond,
What size and year are your two Masi Gran Criteriums? I have a few exotic English and French machines I could trade you if your bikes are my size. Even if they are not my size I'd be interested if they were old enough.
By the way, did any of your customers die or injure themselves as a result of the "funny things" you did to their bikes? And did the shop manager ever decide to pay you mechanics what you were worth as a result? Just curious...
Cheers,
Chuck Schmidt South Pasadena, CA
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