>I saw this on eBay:
>( item number 7238993239,
>http://ebay.com/<blah>
>4
>&photoDisplayType=2#ebayphotohosting ) and am puzzled as to why this
>frame (#13 of 100, 52 cm) has exterior brazed on 'cable stops' for the
>rear brake cable, while mine (#21 of 100, 58cm) has a much cleaner,
>aesthetically pleasing internal top tube routing. Why two different
>versions if only 100 frames were produced? (The zero bids also is a
>puzzle, but that is something different)
I don't believe any of these special edition bikes were built as a batch, but were taken out of stock and painted as ordered. The "Russian" and "Barcelona" Masis have serial numbers in addition to the edition number and the serials are not consecutive, I assume the "Jubilee" is the same. If you're only going to produce 100 of them, it makes sense to do them this way instead of trying to guess how many of each size to build.
As for the detail differences in the frames, there are a couple of reasons this could be. A lot of 3V frames were built in the US but by 1996 most if not all were being built by a subcontractor (Mondonico probably), imported unpainted, and hung up until an order came in at which time the proper size frame was picked out, painted and sent off.
In the 1996 Torelli catalog, the 3V was described as having a routed brake cable and engraved fluted stays. The Team 3V had fastback stays and an interrupted brake cable. My guess is that an order for a 52cm Jubilee came in and they were out of 52cm 3V's, So they asked the customer if he wanted to wait for one to come in or take a Team 3V instead, and the customer opted for the latter (it does look like he got the 3V fork with the crested Henry James crown instead of the sloping crown that was on the catalog Team 3V in '96).
This is all guesswork on my part of course. Jim Allen, who painted this bike would be the guy to ask.
>Here is a picture of another person's Diamond Jubilee (#40 of 100) that
>has the cable routing like mine
>http://www.bates-lee.com/masi/html/gallery/3V/Jose/MASI%20seat%20joint.h
>tml
I have more photos of #31 and #39 as well... they also have fluted stays and routed brake cables.
> I have a 57cm 1984 G.C. and
>the ride of these two bikes is way different. Duh, you say, but I always
>thought the 3V had similar angles/geometry to the GC, just a different
>style of putting them together.
No, they're totally different bikes, the difference is in more than just the style of lugs. The 3V and Team 3V were built with thinner-walled oversize tubing. The idea was to get a stiffer bike that weighed the same (actually, the Gran Crit was still a few ounces lighter than the 3V, but they were close).
Bob Hovey
Columbus, GA