Hi Crew, I remember in the mid '90s an Italian Maasi being on display at John Abeni's shop in Kensington Sydney. What really took my eye was an unridden 1972 Cinelli Pista that I could have bagged for $1000....regrets!!! Anyway, the Maasi was fully pantographed and red in colour but not for sale. It epitomosed all things good from the previous decade as at that time Campag wasnt doing anything to inspire me to spend Italian. John told me that an ex Italian champion who had moved to Australia to marry an Aussie girl had left it in his care for a while. Shortly after this, a massive fire went through John's business and an enormous amount of unobtainium gear was destroyed. A stack of lightweight Italian bikes including the Cinelli were destroyed together with a warehouse full of top end gear including 20 X Campy 50th groups, tons of panto-ed Colnago gear, Cinelli and anything else you hold dear. John was the Colnago distributor over here for many years but since the fire has lost the spark that was once present. He still makes custom bikes and I will be seeing him in a week or so when I travel down to the city and see if I can pick up the trail and maybe get some pics of that Maasi. Greg Softley Coffs Harbour Australia
Matteo posted the Italian newspaper clipping:
http://www.wooljersey.com/
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First part of article:
Title: New Florentine production of racing bike frames.
Sesto Fiorentino (a city in the province of Florence) - Faliberto Esposito (names are often reversed in Italian, especially among craftsmen, so notwithstanding that the article lists the name Esposito Faliberto, you would generally expect the real name to Faliberto Esposito) (it should also be pointed out that the name Esposito used to be given to children born out of wedlock, also known as bastards, to this day every person who has a surname Esposito will find a bastard in their family tree) confirms himself in the production of racing bike frames. "Figlio d'arte" (an Italian expression that means a chip off the
old block, but strictly in the sense of a son following in his father's artistic or artisanal footsteps.), Esposito follows in the shadows of his father and half-brother, both top notch mechanics and framebuilders of the Milanese area.
Esposito, who already produces frames for a number of promising Florentine amateurs, is launching the sale of bikes that will carry the Maasi brand. He is not "only" a vendor, nor "only" a mechanic. You won't
only find a bike at his place. But YOUR bike. The one made to measure.
With a data sheet ready to be filled out, but only after the measurements have been taken by the directly involved individual. And between the gruppo's, handlebars, saddles, rims, tubulars and freewheels, above all reign the frames. Each one made exclusively to measure, made under the watchful eye of the 44 year-old craftsman, formerly a metal-worker (Italian society often categorizes people by the
labor sector they work in) with a long-standing experience as a welder. Prior to setting out on his own, Esposito undertook a 'stage' (something
akin to an apprenticeship) in the workshop of Sante Pogliaghi in Milan.
But, please tell us, who would you like to build a bike to measure for, with your own hands?
"If I had to choose a champion of today, I do not have any doubts and say Roberto Visentini." (so the article must be from the early 80's when
Visentini was one of the darling children of Italian racing)
Second part of the article:
>From page 4.
Some of the construction details of Faliberto Esposito's bikes. Esposito
has taken inspiration from his double Florentine-Milanese culture, including both the lily from our region as well as the serpent from Milan. (so the article must be from a Florentine newspaper)
Esposito favors the use of components produced in Italy, and furthermore
has a certain fascination for milled and pantographed componentry. These, in fact, represent one of the strong hands of the Esposito production.
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Matteo can you tell from what period this article is from? Was the article supplied by the guys at the shop who told you about an illegitimate son of Faliero's? I suppose that reading between the lines one can deduce that there might be some ties to the Masi family but it isn't explicitly spelled out. Has anybody ever seen one of these bikes? I have seen and heard of many Massi bikes but this is the first time I hear of Maasi.
Steven Maasland
Moorestown, NJ
USA