Hi Rod,
My new Masi is wonderful!
http://ebay.com/
Since buying it I've exchanged several emails with Jim. It turns out he is the original owner. He bought it in 1975 when he was working at Masi. Here's some of what he has said:
"I am the bike's original owner. It will be hard to find photos of it's original form, but I will look. It was yellow with blue panel decal. In 1977 it was repainted to a cinnamon color with yellow lugs and accents. I know I DO have photos of it then. I did an amateur (very) photo shoot with my girlfriend at the time in a matching cinnamon dress! I also have a set of photos, somewhere, with the current finish. The original seat post was a Nuovo Record. I don't recall it being black, but the photos will tell. The saddle was changed several times from the original Unicanitor. Again we'll have to look at the second set of photos. A customer of mine... bought the bike from me. I remember the bike being offered for sale at <his> favorite local bike shop. I was surprised to see it had moved so far from the area. My trail will likely go cold at the bike shop."
and a subsequent email:
"I did find hardcopy photos of the bike in it's current paint scheme. Will scan photos and send. Will have to dig much deeper for the Cinnamon version. The hubs were low flange Campy NR. With red covers on the QR as well as the shift levers. Pedals are Campy SL. Seat post is a silver NR with after market fluting. The flutes are painted black. Saddle is a Unicanitor. <The customer ww bought it from me> actually stopped by Thursday. He says the shop, Alpha Bikes in Vista, CA displayed the bike but sold it back to ME. I remember seeing it there, but forgot about buying it back and I have no idea who I sold it to. Had to be ~1990?? I DO remember that the wheel had been changed when I saw it at Alpha. <My original buyer> had the anodizing done on the hubs."
I haven't re-assembled the Masi yet. It needs to be completely stripped and re-built. The hubs are so stiff they feel like they haven't been re-built in a decade. It's on my bike stand, but I can't dedicate the necessary time quite yet. I'm still in my snowboarding season (I ride my snowboard during winters and my bikes the rest of the year!), and I'm deep in training for an exam next week for my Level II certification as a snowboard instructor (I teach part time at Smugglers Notch Resort). In the meantime, I visit it at least a couple times a day and drool.... I can hardly wait!
On another topic, I thought of you recently regarding this bike that closed today at a bargain price:
An absolute steal at $228.50 -- snatched up by fellow CR listmember Mark Agree! Look at all the cool parts! Someone who loved to tinker and was into special stuff owned this one. Had I not just bought the Masi I would have been all over it. But I think the Masi drained so much out of my wallet that it'll be some time before I'm back in the market!
Cheers!
David
David G. White
Burlington, VT
Ph: 802-865-9100
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rodk3d@comcast.net wrote:
> Hey David,
> How do you like your new toy? Have you rode it yet? I thought that was
> a real cool looking bike, I like different and unique!
>
>
>
> have a great Easter!
> Rod Kronenberg
> Fort Collins, CO