In a message dated 4/24/06 8:25:16 PM, classicrendezvous-request@bikelist.or g writes:
IP Merkin quotes Tom N:
> "When I bought my Gran Crit on eBay a few years back (MC54 s/n
> B7819)......To summarize, the seller alleged that Brian said the frame was
> originally
> brazed in in the mid-1970s by Eisentraut (evidently this was apparent d
ue
> to
> distinctive filing of some sort), but never finished. It languished
until
> the
> last days of Carlsbad.......... The only odd thing (and possibly len
ding
> some
> credibility to the story) is seeing MC54 on a bike with a San Marco ser
ial
> number. I'm no expert, though, so maybe this kind of thing was commo
n and
> means nothing at all.
>
Nothing odd about the size stamp and serial number stamp... San Marcos probably did not really get rolling in a big way until about the fall of 198 0, and that's when the SMC stamps appeared. The MC bikes with the later (dated) serial number style were either old unfinished Carlsbad production, (probabl y finished up by Kirkbride and Jim Allen, perhaps Keith Lippy had a hand), or it was Rob Roberson's production from "The Ranch" (a barn on Roland Sahm's property
where frames were built 1979-1981).
See "Masi USA Serial Number Guide" here:
http://hometown.aol.com/
Details are still missing, anyone who has further input for this article, please contact me.
Lou writes:
>
>
> Hmmm, let's see. I'm just spewing here, but I thought Eisentraut wor
ked
> contract for Masi in the late 70s, early 80s timeframe. I suppose it
could
> have
> been possible under those circumstances for Masi to have sent NOS frame
> parts, such as a BB with MC54 stamped on it, to Eisentraut and that is
how
> the
> combination came to be. I don't see how it could have been brazed in
the
> mid-70s, unless 78 is mid-70s. On the other hand, perhaps this IS th
e
> missing
> link. Perhaps those early disinformation (I was fooled too) that the
MC
> stood
> for Mario Confente or Masi California were really more than just bull.
I'm
> running for the door. Lou Deeter, Orlando FL
>
I doubt Albert worked for Masi in the early 80's at all, I've had pretty lon g discussions with Dave Moulton about this period and his name never came up.
It was my understanding that Al was hired as a subcontractor around 1976-78 as the Carlbad shop was winding down and continued after the shutdown for a time. I suspect most of his production was in his own shop because the bik es I've seen that have been attributed to him had an unusual fork bend and this woul d make sense if he did not have access to the Carlbad bending jig. If I remember right, Brian has mentioned that his Eisentraut Masi is numbered in the high 0300's which would suggest that he was contributing to the output while
Carlsbad was still quite active (Carlsbad shut down around 0800). This wou ld probably coincide with Jim Cunninham's recollection that Al stopped by the shop (supposedly to submit a proposal to subcontract) in 1976.
By the way, I do not mean to suggest that ALL of Al's Masi production had a different fork bend... it is likely that just the first ones do. He probab ly built a new jig or Masi's jig was made available. By most accounts, Al produced more Masis than many folks suspect, and probably only a few of them had a different fork contour.
Bob Hovey
Columbus, GA