Mario was a super talented craftsman. He would come to work in wool slacks and one of those almost girlie t-shirts that Italian guys wear so successfully. By the end of the day, I'd look like I'd been dragged through the dirt and he could wash his hands and be ready to go out for dinner!
He taught me about brake lever positioning on the bars, that is, putting them a little lower than most people did to make them a good place to hold onto while climbing out of the saddle. He also would show me to ride out of the saddle while climbing in a more relaxed way. His way of showing that was to splay out his ring finger and pinky while loosely holding on to the brake lever. I hope that comes accross OK. It left an impression on me.
It seems people want to know more about Mario. He had us over for dinner a few times and he would cook up a pot of that spaghetti that comes in the blue paper wrapper and pour on Ragu sauce. For real, that's what the Italion Stallion ate for dinner. Ragu, folks, it's the real thing (evidently).
Each employee got to have his own frame made at the factory and we got to buy the frame for the cost of a set of tubing or we could add on the parts to make it a complete bike at cost. I won't tell you what those prices were because they were so low it would sound funny in terms of what that stuff is worth today.
Mario designed the frames for each employee. Mine is a 56.5cm. The frames could be painted colors that were not available on a stock Masi. Also, most of them had some sort of custom part or configuration. Mine has verticle dropouts and a special fork crown and recessed brake bolts which were a new thing at that time (1974). I think at least one employee got his bike with stock dimensions instead of having Mario design his bike custom. My friend Morgan still has the figures that Mario wrote down on a paper in the process of desigining his bike. Morgan's is a beautiful bike and hasn't been ridden since it was made. In other words, it is like new. The figures are very interesting as Mario didn't measure the top tube center to center.
In 1977 or 1978 Mario came to my shop and told me he was striking out on his own. I think he felt betrayed by Bill Recht and felt that his friend, a Mr. Ferrari was a true friend and a "sympatico" guy. I bought one frame from Mario, I think it was one of the first he made when he decided to go out on his own. I don't know if it was made on spec or a custom order that someone backed out on. It was a 58 or 59 and I sold it to my customer and riding buddy Bruce Colby. I ordered a frame for myself with a $350.00 deposit and a final price of $750.00 upon recieving the frame. I was excited at the prospect of representing Mario's frames at my shop and Mario seemed excited as well. He seemed to me to be a stand up guy and though, few, our business dealings were done on a handshake. He died before my frame was made.
It was a shock to learn of Mario's death. He was so young and seemed so healthy. To this day I remember the irony of Lisa having finally gotten the love of her life and having him taken away so soon and so suddenly. Some things are so hard to reconcile in one's mind.
The frame I sold to my friend Bruce had a problem within a very short time. The seat stays both came loose from the seat lug. I had been representing Jim Merz frames and had him fix the frame so that there was a recognizable name attached to the repair. I gave Bruce full credit toward a Jim Merz frame which was a super nice and beautifully built frame. Bruce rode that Merz frame for many years until he drifted away from bicycle riding. I have no recollection of who finally bought the repaired Confente frame. It is one of the first and last of that last era of Mario's frames. If you know who has it, it would be cool to know how it is.
I guess this has been a rambling story(s). I hope someone finds some of it interesting.
Chuck Hoefer
Vista, California USA