Since asking for help IDing this frame that I picked up I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s a Masi, produced in Switzerland by Masi himself, in the late 1940’s early 1950’s. I can’t confirm that, but it’s the best guess anyone can come to given a whole host of minor details. Pretty exciting. Yesterday I did a bunch of work on it and also on my main ride, the Swobo.
On the Swobo I basically replaced the entire drive train. It initially came with 48×16 and quickly I downgraded that to 48×17 simply because I wanted to learn how to skid, and the single skid patch on 48×16 freaked me out. With this change I moved entirely to 1/8 width chain and rings, and am now running 44×15. This is a much higher gear and so far I’m digging it. I also dumped the TruVativ parts that came on it and replaced them with Sugino and Dura Ace stuff. Loving that so far too.
On the Masi I’m taking it much slower. I took it into Orange 20 the other day and asked what the first build up steps should be. Kyle immediately said wheels and we tried to fit some on it. Unfortunately the forks could not hold a wheel with a modern axle (older ones were much narrower) so I needed to take it back and grind the axle slots to make them a bit wider. Mr. Rollerz helped me with this and yesterday I went back in and Jack helped me pick out some nice silver wheels that look swanky on it. Of course I ripped one of the tubes while installing them later, but oh well. For the time being I’m throwing a 17t EAI cog on the back and I’m keeping an eye out for an Italian crankset with maybe a 46t or 48t chainring. A chain, stem, handlebars and lever for the break will complete the package. This build isn’t going to be done super fast, but it’s going to rock when it is.
Also, 6 flats later I found the super tiny piece of glass that was stuck in my fucking tire. Damnit.
Ryan Cousineau June 27, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Any thoughts of building up the Masi in a more vintage fashion? The other thing to contemplate is preserving the old fork (makes a nice wall treatment) and buying a similar modern fork as a replacement.
Since you’re not going uber-retro with the Masi, I would love to see something outrageously anachronistic, crank-wise, like maybe a Stronglight X-Wing or Vulcan, or possibly the over-the-top Stronglight Ultim, which is available in a Track version and looks like it came from the 22nd century.
mikey wally June 27, 2008 at 1:04 pm
the masi build is gonna be tight! im excited to see how it comes out.
Sean Bonner June 27, 2008 at 1:08 pm
I think eventually the Masi will end up with more vintage stuff but I’m really too impatient to wait for all the right parts to show up so I’ll be adding things that work now and replacing them down the line. The forks are already ground and it was really barely a mm that needed to change so it’s a subtle change. With the cranks I think I just want something chrome and logo-free for the most part. same with the bars, though I think I’m going to opt for drops to keep the look.
eddie welker June 27, 2008 at 4:06 pm
You’re doing exactly what I’m doing… ‘cept I’ve had my bikes for a while, and my work is more related to keeping things up to date.
I’ve even got the same problem with a wheel flatting… I suspect it may be something to do with the rim or tire.
Best of luck and definitely post photos when you get a first working version of the masi.