Fred,
An SP seat tube will take a 27.0 seat post, and it's not uncommon for
Italian builders to reem those seat tubes to 27.2 for convenience,
since the seat tubes were often reemed on a machine along with all
the other tapping and slotting required on a frame. I suspect most
were too lazy to change the reemer, if they even had the other size
handy.
Other brands of tubing will be generally the same as Columbus or
Reynolds. For a seat tube to be 1 1/8 in OD and take a 26.8 seat
post, one has to use a tube with a .049 wall all the way up to the
top. A Cro-Mo tube of that sort, like one would use for a tandem seat
tube for example, will not appear on a Masi as far as I know.
Something is odd here. Metric tubes will have those smaller seat post
sizes, but the lugs and everything else would also have to be metric.
Brian Baylis
La Mesa, CA
Can it be something as simple as this particular frame using a
Columbus SP seat tube - or a tube from an alternate supplier
such as Falck? In that case, a 26.8mm seat post diameter would
not be at all surprising.
Fred Rednor - Arlington, Virginia (USA)
> Bob,
>
> An upsidedown seat tube is a plausable explaination; but a
> mistake
>
> that drastic would probably never make it out of the shop; at
> least
>
> one would hope. Since either Faliero or Alberto would
> assemble the
>
> bike (generally very few just frames were sold) I would
> expect them
>
> to not let that go. Just my opinion, having known Faliero
> personally.
>
> Brian Baylis
> La Mesa, CA
>
>
>
> -- BobHoveyGa@aol.com wrote:
>
> Jeffrey writes:
>
> Attention Masi Mafia. I recently purchased a 1971 Masi Gran
>
> Criterium,
> stamped M56A on the bottom bracket with 11 71 stamped on the
> fort
>
> tube. I
> t
> is came as a very original bike with all correct dated Nuovo
> Record,
>
> etc.
> and what appears to be original paint. The seat post is a
> 26.8 and
>
> appear
> s
> to be a proper fit. Is this correct? Also, does anyone know
> the
> significance, if any, of the "A" suffix on the bb stamp?
>
> Jeffery Pyzyk
> Milwaukee, WI
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Jeffrey;
>
> I've got photos of a few early Masi stamps with suffixes but
> I have
>
> no clue
>
> what they mean. I do know that at least one suffix thought
> to be a
>
> letter
>
> turned out on close examination to be a ".5" (Masi
> occasionally did
>
> half siz
> es on
>
> special order).
>
> The 26.8 seatpost is a mystery. Assuming that the opening
> is not
>
> severely
>
> ovalized, one might suspect that the seat tube was
> accidentally
>
> installed
>
> upside down (thick end at the top).
>
>
> Bob Hovey
> Columbus, GA
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
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