Dirk wrote:
> On continental Europe it's even "worse". Even among the few who are interested
> in classic bicycles most doesn't know the Masi brand and those who do would
> probably not consider it as something more special than De Rosa for example. And
> nobody has ever heard of or cares about American made Masis and absolutely
> nobody has never ever heard the name Confente.
What Dirk writes is not only true about Germany, but also about Italy. Italians tend to be very local in their frame-builder allegiances. It was indeed quite rare before the 70's that anybody would buy a framebuilder bike, as opposed to a mass-market maker like Bianchi or Legnano, built more than perhaps 100 km away from their home. Masi bikes from the 50's, 60's and 70's are well-regarded in the Lombardy/Northern Italian area , but in no way do they earn any 'added' admiration over many other local brands. Perhaps, in part because of the not too stellar moral reputation of Faliero, Masi bikes are probably even considered to be lesser than other Milanese bikes such as Cinelli, Galmozzi and De Rosa. As far as Confente goes, I have asked quite a few cycling friends from Verona, his home town, and nobody seems to remember him. When told of the prices paid for his bikes here in the US, you can read their thoughts saying 'These Americans are crazy!' Only upon hearing these prices was anybody willing to spend any time in seeing if any locals 'in the know' were aware of any of his frames. After one year, this friend has finally reported that he has heard of one person who believes he remembers Mario...
On the other hand, have you ever heard of any American paying 2600 euros, more than $3000, for a regular production upright city roadster bike? I know of at least two such bikes in Italy.
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Steven Maasland
Moorestown, NJ