In a message dated 12/12/05 2:46:36 PM, raydobbins2003@yahoo.com writes:
>
> on a side note, charles nighbor's comments about pantographing ruining
the
> aesthetic quality of components (and colored pantographing being even mo
re
> ofensive to him), made me think about the different pantographing styl
e of
> various marques. i find the masi style to be very subtle as applied t
o the
> chainring, post and shifters - the stem is the only component where the
panto'ing
> resembles the more common style of big and bold letters and symbols. co
lnago
> is the brand that in my mind exemplifies this "big" style of panto'ing,
while
> cinelli represents the most subtle and discrete panto'ing i have ever se
en,
> at least in their application to chainrings, seatposts and calipers. i
think
> masi lies somewhere in the middle between the styles exemplified by ci
nelli
> and colnago, each being at opposite ends of the style spectrum.
>
>
>
> in that respect, i think the masi panto bits are made more desirable
> by having their own, fairly unique, style.
>
>
Yes, Charles is right on the money when he says that most pantographing goes
overboard and that the multiple colors one often sees are not always flattering to the bike. The other thing that bothers me that no one's ment ioned up until now is the harsh sharp-edged contour of the milling itself, which is usually at odds with the components (whose contours are almost always smooth and nicely radiused). The exception is chainring drilling where many practitio ners bevel the edges of the holes, softening them somewhat. Gives you a whole new respect for folks like Art Stump or Frank Spivey who did this stuff by hand... think of the time, with each hole requiring three separate passes un der the drill press...
I agree, Masi's use of pantographing and milling was restrained. Fill colo r was usually yellow which matched the fill of the lug windows. Their chainrings usually had the letter "M" (one for each arm) and a few milled sl ots (with beveled edges). The bars were stamped rather than engraved and looked like
the stampings on any other ttt or Cinelli bars, except that it was the Masi' s logo. The stems had a signature, either Alberto's or Faliero's, and two wi de slots milled in the top with perhaps the most garish touch, a separate color in each slot (blue and yellow or blue and white). The seatpost had vertical milled slots with or without yellow fill, and sometimes the Masi na me in small letters (or occasionally a larger "M"). The shift levers were nice.. . milled completely through, with a bit of yellow on the inside edges. Quite a package altogether, especially when it was topped off with a branded pump an d water bottle and a Masi hat.
Of course these goodies pale before the extras offered by our dear friend Richard Sachs... though he eschews the use of pantographed componentry, he c an hook you up with jerseys, t-shirts, socks, bottle openers, puzzles, bar wrap , saddles and just about anything else that can be dyed, printed, painted or molded in red ;-)
Bob (enjoying my Sachs fuzzy rabbit slippers) Hovey Columbus, GA