My first visit to Brian's this past week was just a bit overwhelming. Too
much to digest for the uninformed. Having said that, I don't think the seat
lug was one of Mario's. Brian pointed out the subtle differences, but I
certainly need more education! I yield to the master...
Dan Ulwelling
Austin, Mn
> Ann,
>
> Having looked at the pictures I can add a few things about this frame.
> Unquestionably repairable. It should be reassembled using silver braze
> as opposed to brass; it would be for all intents and purposes
> functionally as good as new if the repair is done by an expert repairer.
> If a fork is very slightly bent a realignment will probably not
> significantly effect its performance; but I personally would not call a
> bent fork that has been realigned "good as new" out of principal. The
> bike can be repaired (two tubes replaced with vintage Columbus SL,
> braze-ons replaced, and repainted as original) for $900. A few points of
> interest on this frame.
>
> Notice the crispness of the filing on the rear dropouts. Someone put
> special attention on these. Probably not Mario in this case but actally
> better would have been Ron Smith, the original painter. He understood
> the principals and art of filing and shaping lugs, etc. He is actually
> the person who set my style in motion and taught me painting as well.
> Take note of how sharp and how graceful and thin the seat stay caps are
> finished. Again, someones' advanced ability at work. If the caps are
> slanted ever so slightly "inwards" as opposed to sitting perfectly
> square on the seat lug then Mario did those himself, and the inward cant
> is due to his "personal" method of brazing the full length seatstay to
> the frame and cutting the miter for the caps and so on afterwards.
>
> The TT cable guides are just pieces if thinwall tubing cut and brazed to
> the tube. That indicates early tt braze-on era before guides were
> available from Cinelli. Also notice, no chrome on the fork crown.
> Probably trying to save the time of sending the fork off to the plater
> since it couldn't come off the rack of already built and plated forks.
> Mario called the shots for the tubeset, not Bobby Allen. Dan Ulwelling;
> do you remember my showing you a bunch of early Masi seat lug shapes?
> Whose style is THAT seat lug? Is it like any other Masi seat lug profile
> you've seen? I'll let Dan answer that question since we spent some time
> on how to identify these things while he was here. Then I'll give my
> opinion who shaped those lugs; and it wasn't me.
>
> Like the seller is stating, the bike got special attention and was a
> custom order built with Columbus SL tubing. It's not the "after hours"
> type of frame like the one numbered M6 that Pergolizzi has; but it was a
> crew built frame which was tagged for "the treatment".
>
> I hope this information is of some use or interest to you. Always
> remember though, once a bike is no longer "original", it is no longer
> original. A certain amount of its' provenance is lost. You need to
> consider the cost of the repair in your figurings. It may be possible to
> have the work done less expensively but caution must be exercised to
> avoid any compromise to the outcome and its' ultimate value. I know you
> could easily pay more for the repair also, so take care to find the
> right restorer for the job.
>
> Brian Baylis
> La Mesa,
> When adopting a puppy don't forget the vet bills and dog food for life.
> >
> > ok you all, I need your opinions.
> >
> > If this frame stays pretty low, is it repairable? I feel sorry for it.
> >
> > Ann Phillips
> > Atlanta GA - shorts on, air in tires, going for a pedal!
> >
> >
http://ebay.com/
> > &rd=1