Generally speaking, Mario did not build frames for Masi California. He acted as sort of a shop foreman and mostly brazed certain parts of the frames. Of course, there is a lot more to building frames than the actual brazing of lugs and BBs. There was a whole crew making the bikes and it was done in an assembly line type of fashion.
There were some frames that Mario did do all the work on up to the painting process. Peter Gilbert has two of those, I think. Also, the employees' bikes had much more Mario influence than most. That is, if we wanted him to do that for us. Some of those were custom designed for the rider by Mario. Sizes of those bikes may not follow typical production templates.
I'm not going to be able to say the actual date that Mario (and most of the rest of the employees) was "let go" from the factory. I can say that the letters "MC" in a serial number do not denote "Mario Confente". Masi California is the genesis of those letters.
After Mario left and for several years, various builders made Masis. Some of the finest builders to practice the craft made them and they are fine bicycles.
Chuck Hoefer
Vista, California USA
> Greetings to Masi USA Owners- could anyone tell me when Mario Confente
> actually stopped building frames for Masi USA and then went on his own.
> Did he
> stop in 1975 or 1976? Were there any special features or colors of a
> Confente built Masi?Did he stop after a specific serial number? Thanks
> to all
> and keep spinning!Norm Hellman (owner of a champagne Masi GC bought from
> the Great One himself on Via Arona 19,Milano Italia!) Bronx, New York.
> _______________________________________________
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