I think Bob has really put his finger on it. Around here (inland Northwest) in the early 80s if you were a "real" racer you rode Italian, period. Of course I was barely a teenager at the time so my observations may not have been very "adult." I think people's ideas of British bikes were of the wide range of 3-speed upright bikes that got imported to the U.S. in vast numbers over the years. It wasn't until I moved to Seattle did I learn about the wonderful Brit bikes made for years. Personally, something about the British bikes has resonated with me over the years. It took me years of owning Italian bikes to look past the mystique and see the understated wonder of the British builders. Before I spend another dime on an Italian bike I'm finding a Bill Philbrook, Ron Cooper, Thanet Silverlight, ETC. This is not it say I don't really, REALLY want a Gloria or Dei, but just that I find British bike more interesting in general. I'm also quite happy that British bikes are so undervalued these days. Maybe I'll actually be able to buy some some day when Mitzi and I are both well employed. best, Brandon"monkeyman"Ives currently Coeur d'Alene, Id
> Todd Teachout writes:
>
>>Given this characterization it difficult to understand why the demand for
>> a
>
> 70's era Masi appears to be significantly greater that that of 70's era
> Witcomb?
>
>
>
> Todd;
>
> The reasons are almost certainly more complicated than what I am about to
> describe, but all I can tell you is what I and my small circle of cycling
> bu
> ddies
> were thinking at the time. We were college kids and all of us were
> pretty
> broke... we took pride in the bikes we owned and rode the hell out of
> them
> ,
> but whenever we were hanging out and the discussion turned to bicycles,
> our
> eyes developed a distant stare and we spoke less of the bikes we owned
> than
> of
> the ones we'd like to own.
>
> There was a certain mystique in the Masi name because of the
> uncompromising
> standards Faliero held for many years... we heard he'd never built a
> second-tier bike, and the one model he did produce was a full-on race
> bike..
> . never
> built any tourers, city bikes, or wannabe "race-look" bikes with cheaper
> tub
> ing.
> When you went to see Faliero, you basically had one choice to make, Strada
> o
> r
> Pista (well, you got to pick the color of course). The Carlsbad factory
> seemed to continue this philospohy... they produced one model, the Gran
> Criterium, and it's design never wavered significantly from Faliero's
> vision
> of a race
> bike.
>
> When I began to take cycling seriously 35 years ago, Italian bikes in
> genera
> l
> were admired for their minimalist grace and utility. Among those of us
> who
>
> lusted after an expensive race bike, this perception carried some serious
> weight. "The French make touring bikes with strange threadings, the
> Englis
> h make
> elaborate bikes with fancy lugs and the Italians make uncompromising
> no-nonsense race bikes." Our generalizations may have been
> oversimplified
> or
> flat-out mistaken, but that is the way we felt at the time. Looking at a
> H
> etchins
> or Condor in a magazine, we would marvel at it's beauty but when it came
> tim
> e
> to name a bike we would actually want to own and ride, the words were
> Cinell
> i,
> Masi, Colnago...
>
>
>>Is it that Masi can be linked to Faliero and Eddy Merckx?
>
> That was part of it too. Of course Eddy only rode Masi for a year or so
> an
> d
> then moved on to Colnago, Kessels and DeRosa. But still, the idea was
> that
>
> when you bought a Masi you got not just a race bike, but a very exclusive
> almost "secret" bike with magical properties... Masi was a small boutique
> bu
> ilder
> whom racers contacted to purchase bikes (with their own money!) that they
> th
> en
> had painted and decaled in their team colors... how then, could they not
> be
> the best?
>
>
>
> Bob Hovey
> Columbus, GA