Chuck wrote:
"What bike?"
To Matteo's post asking for more information about the Masi bike he presently has up on ebay. The actual auction can be seen here:
The bike is indeed a very rare bike. I guessed that the bike was from 1954 because of the cobination of the Milan headbadge and 4 mm rear drop-out screws. In theory, the rear dropouts that used the 4 mm screws were not made after 1953, so this bike would need to have been built about that time. If Alex Clark's Masi with the Florence headbadge is correctly identified as a 1953, this would need to be subsequent to it. The front derailleur is the first generation version with the rare cage logo design. The rear derailleur has the thin flange at the lower pivot so it has to date from around 1953 or 54. The shift levers are also early 50's. The crank spider is also super cool and is something that I have never seen in person.
Steven Maasland
Moorestown, NJ