Nice story and photos, and to see Sig. Magni looking so well. I was so disappointed that I missed meeting him at the Ghisallo Museum by only 10 minutes (due to a road closuree that required a detour). He is often there apparently.....if you visit be sure to ask if he is around.
Angel Garcia Long Valley, NJ
Luca De Ponti, bike collector (and extreme Masi fan)
from Italy, sent me this email that I thought might
be of interest:
>> See on YouTube "L'officina di Alberto Masi" with
my Fuchs by Faliero Masi restored by Alberto. Very
interesting bike for Masi collectors.
>>Regards, Luca
http://www.youtube.com/
Matteo Biandi kindly sends this translation:
"So, Mr. Masi, what historical bike do we have here?"
"This is the bike that belonged to Firoenzo Magni on which he won the 1955 Giro, as we have verified all the codes and details on it."
"Has been found all messed up, but we brought it back to life ready to win another Giro!"
"Yes, the bike has the bar end shifters, as Magni loved those. Yep, in the back we have an old freewheel, and back then nothing bigger than a 25 was available. We also put new cotton bar tape on, and if you see the bulge, Fiorenzo used to put some sort of foamy rubber underneath for extra comfort.. He probably was the first one to do that."
Then the interviewer asks Masi, if it is true that Magni almost went to tears when he saw the bike.
"Oh yes it's true! He almost went to tears, because that bike brought him back to his days when he won the Giro, as you can see him in the photo that portrays him on the Trento-San Pellegrino stage."
"How did you bring it back to life?"
"Man, we went through hell, mostly the guy that now owns it. He had to look for Mafac levers, that are no longer available, even in France. The other parts were scored here and there or simply removed cleaned, polished, etc, like the hubs."
I requested some stills of the bike, this morning Luca sent these:
http://bhovey.com/
>>Hi Bob, I send to you the picture of the moment
when Fiorenzo Magni saw his restored bike after 54 year.
It's Alberto Masi who restored the bike that show the
bike made by his father Faliero to Fiorenzo and Fiorenzo
(90 years old) is ready for another Giro d'Italia...
>>Note: Fiorenzo used Mafac brake levels also if he had
to use Universal and Mr. Pietra (Universal) was not
happy about this.
>>Regards. Luca
Bob Hovey
Columbus, GA USA
http://bhovey.com/
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http://www.italiancyclingjournal.blogspot.com