Jerome,
As I mentioned, Masi has to be considered the exception when talking sel ling only framesets. Faliero selected what was his opinion of the best t hings of the period and he used them. What's to upgrade on a 1973 Masi G C? Except for the appearance of the superlight pedals and super record g ear about 1973, which would take another year to show up in the states, a GC was top of the line and that's what Faliero insisted upon.
When I build up a period Colnago, I go for the componets that a factory assembled bike whould have used. Except for Nisi rims instead of Martano , it's exactly the same stuff. Boreing to some maybe, but easy to accomp lish.
Brian Baylis
La Mesa, CA
I have to agree. In most cases, I don't worry about "original", only "p eriod correct". As you say, most Masis, and in fact most Italian bikes, were sold as framesets, or ordered complete with the user's choice of c omponents. And even when a bike came complete with more or less "standa rd" parts, I think most of us "in the day" upgraded some components eith er at purchase or soon thereafter. So if one wants to build a bike as i t would have been ridden at the time, any components reasonably availabl e at the time are equally "correct".
There are a couple of exceptions, were a model was predominantly sold with stock equipment. One would be the Schwinn Paramount, where many bu yers didn't know the components that welll, but simply wanted "top of th e line" and had the money to pay for it. They also might be inclined to keep the original Campy gear because it was the most prestigeous. Of c ourse, in many cases the racing oriented gearing and maybe the choice of the racing model itself did not really suit the buyer, who soon hung th e bike in the garage to gather dust for the next 20 years. Another exce ption might be the PX-10. Although lots of people did upgrade the compo nents, I think the stock configuration is significant because it represe nted a good quality complete competitive racing bike for, in the early 7 0's, less than $200. Also, Peugeot was very consistent, for many years, in maintaining virtually entrirely French components on the PX-10, wher e other French manufacturers would often include some Campy parts, or Weinmann, or even a Japanese bit or two. Thus the PX-10 was much more likely to actually come with the parts shown in the catalog th an most other top French models.
Regards,
Jerry Moos Big Spring, TX
Brandon Ives <brandon@ivycycles.com> wrote: Dave I'm 100% with you and have wanted to say these same words for a
few years now. I do think I understand where the other side is coming
from. My guess is trying to spec bikes just like the catalog or show
photo from the time. Of course also many manufacturers had a preferred
spec too and sold bikes fully kited out and that needs to be taken into
account. I will probably never own a "correct" bike since the whole
idea just bothers me. If I had bought the discussed Masi new as a
frame you can bet dollars to doughnuts that I would have speced it way
different than the pics in the mags. I really like when I see a bike
that reflects the owner as much as the builder. For me bikes built as
pictured are boring and unimaginative. best, Brandon"monkeyman"Ives Vancouver, B.C.
On Sunday, Dec 11, 2005, at 08:48 US/Pacific, David Patrick wrote:
> During Bob Hovey's reply to Steven Maasland, Bob made the comment:
> "..the hardest part of doing a proper '74 twin plate restoration is
> finding those engraved Masi ttt bars..". Bob, I mean absolutely no
> disrespect, so please don't misunderstand me, but this comment bugs
> the %$&# out of me. Why does a properly restored twin-plate Masi GC
> need to have engraved Masi 3t bars to be "correct" or properly
> restored? Is your comment based on the fact that some twin-plate Masi
> frames were equipped with these bars when purchased as a complete
> bike? In putting forth these types of comments, some are loosing
> touch with the fact that these Masi GCs were bought as bare frames and
> built up with period components of the time. So it would be correct
> to see these period correct components on a "properly restored '74
> twin-plate Masi, wouldn't it? I'd say engraved Cinelli bars were the
> most commonly seen bar on any high-end Italian road bike from from the
> 1970s. Perhaps Bob's comment is based on
> the fact that engraved Masi 3t bars are very rare? I just don't
> think that in any stretch of the imagination should a '74 twin-plate
> Masi GC w/engraved Cinelli bars be viewed in a lesser light than the
> same bike w/engraved Masi 3t bars. I hate to see this mind-set where
> one type of component is viewed as "correct" for a bike, as rarely is
> this the case when we're dealing with a period when framesets were
> quite frequently sold as a stand-alone item and built up to the
> rider's wish. I've ranted before about how Martano rims are viewed by
> many as THE "correct" rim for 1970s Masi bikes. So, perhaps I'm
> stirring the pot this morning, which can be a good thing in my mind,
> so heap it on, my fellow CR members. What say you?
>
>
> Dave Patrick
> Chelsea, Michigan (no, I haven't had ANY caffeine this morning)