JSCAVU

I am a new member so please be gentle. I recently purchased a 1975 Masi Frame set, it was been refinished by CyclArt and is labeled by them as Category 1; some time in its history.(Beautiful job but obviously no longer stock) I plan on riding it, to much of a shame in my eyes to hang it on a wall. I would like some fresh opinions on fitting it out. My first thought is to respect the heritage of the bike and use period correct components. I rode for decades without indexed shifting and paddle shifters.


Having said that I do have a modern bike (Steel Frame) and I do like the new technologies.


Please share your thoughts on Strictly Period Correct----The Latest and greatest------or somewhere in between

Bianchigirll 

Welcome to the forums.


My recommendation would be build it with whatever you have on hand or buy a cheapish (105 or maybe Sprint/Cyclone level) to build it and testy ride it and see how you like it. Unless you've had a mid '70s Italian bike it would be IMHO foolish to spend a lot of money collecting a lot of period correct parts only to discover you don't like the ride. You could always rebuild the donor and resell it and pass the Masi along.

styggno1

On a 1975 I would go for period correct.

Here is my 1977 Prestige with period (used but not abused) parts. Early SR is quite expensive and can be substituted for NR without loss of...anything.



More pics here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/453061...57632206049231

Wulf

Spend the time on collecting the NR parts that it originally had. If you are patient you can get everything you need without spending a fortune. For example, my last project (2 years ago):
NR rear der 45
front 20
seat post 15
Crankset 35
Wheels (low flange, w/rims) 60
Brakes 45
Pedals 40

Salamandrine 

Campagnolo Nuovo Record. It is relatively inexpensive to buy used because of the great volume produced. Nothing else is right for the bike, other than Campy SR.

I'd probably run clipless pedals on it, if I was really going to ride it. Slot cleat shoes and quill pedals would be period correct.

JSCAVU

Thank You for your input. I will try some of my old Dura Ace stuff and other bits and bobs hanging around. enough to take it for a spin. Nothing that I would leave on though....Ill be posting Pics of whatever I end up with

JSCAVU

Hard to beat those looks. Thanks for the inspiration. I'm trending towards period correct

DiabloScott

Downtube shifters and sew ups for period correctness.

Aero brake levers will be acceptable.

qcpmsame 

Another period correct vote from here. That is an iconic marque and one I instantly relate to a period correct Campagnolo Nuovo Record group, as said, including the sew-ups. Saddle should be either a Cinelli Unicanitor in black. The controls/cockpit with Cinelli 1A stem and either Cinelli or 3TTT bars, cloth tape of course.

I've now done two near-period correct builds with Campagnolo components and it didn't break the bank. Just don't get in a big hurry gathering the parts up, unless you happen on a complete NR group at a really good price (don't laugh too long or loud, it does happen once a decade or so.) The "For Sale" sub section of this forum is a good place to watch, I have gotten some extremely attractive prices on some nice components from members here.

Good luck, no matter how you decide to pursue your build, but be sure to do a build thread here, with lots of pics and your own narrative.

Bill

repechage

I would go practical correct.

Forget the TA waterbottle cage, Martanos rims, Cinelli Suede #2 saddle, Everest freewheel and chain.

Go: 32 spoke wheels, ( an option way back, so we're 28's) bright aluminum rims, black saddle of your choice, pedals of your choice, Campagnolo "Nuovo Record" as it was commonly known.
Most had yellow cloth tape, silver Campagnolo cable housing, raw stainless at the rear dérailleur, and Hunte-Wilde press in white plastic bar plugs. Yellow spot painted cable ends, yellow painted top tube clip fasteners.
Show you know, but don't go lunatic.

Bianchigirll 

It may seem like a dumb idea to some but I've built several bikes that after I started riding it I discovered the ride didn't suit me or the size just wasn't right. So if I don't know for a bike is going to ride well, like another Bianchi, I don't lavish a lot of love on it until I know.

bikingshearer 

I'll be the contrarian here.

That beauty deserves to see the road, and as often as possible. Don't get me wrong: I love seeing frames like that with all the period-correct goodies hanging on them. But first and foremost, it's a bike and bikes should be ridden.

Therefore, I suggest you go with whatever is most likely to make you want to ride it and ride it and ride it some more. If modern 10- or 11-speed stuff is more likely to get you out on the road, do that. If the period-correct Campy stuff is more likely to make you want to rack up the miles, do that. If a mish-mash of stuff from different periods and different manufacturers that you have on hand is what will get it out the door, go with that. Make it easy to say "I love riding the Masi, I think I'll take it out today."

Just remember my opinion is worth exactly what you are paying for it.

Kactus

I'm in the "keep it original" camp. I've restored my '76, also repainted, as close to original as practical. Other than using Mavic rims rather than the hard to find Martanos, Shimano pedals and a period correct Brooks Pro saddle, I used all parts correct for the bike.



BTW, I'm sure I'm not the only one wanting to see photos!

3alarmer

.
...in all honesty, 99% of the world's population will look at it as a bicycle. Your bicycle, but still, a bicycle.

Road Fan

The rear wheel spacing for the stock frame should be 120 mm, the Dura Ace or 105 is most likely 130 mm. To accommodate this it would be best to have the frame cold-set at a shop. Seeing what the bike is, some may balk at the job - collectibility, thin frame tubes, unusually large degree of cold-setting needed.

CycleArt paint jobs are usually attempts at like-new restorations, not just repaints. Some of their painters were the same ones who originally painted those Masi frames in California. I say "were" because the frame was made over 40 years ago. If the painters were 25 then, they are at retirement age now.

Road Fan

I'm with Repechage, here. I started with a complete bike in original condition, and made it rideable. Now that I'm done with it, I've changed it back.

I have a 1980 Masi which I bought in '85, because I grew up dreaming of such bikes from about 1968 onward. I rode the bike significantly in Colorado, and found the tall 13-23 gearing to be quite a challenge. I had it aligned (bike did not go straight) and the rear end cold-set to 26 mm, with a new Campy rear axle and skewer to fit. I raised the ratio to 13-26 and found the derailleur could barely handle it, with 52/42 in the front. I was a lot happier, but as time went on I went to 13-32 with a vintage long-cage rear mech, a Huret DuoPar. Heavier, but still a good shifter for vintage. All on the original tubular wheels, with Wolber Alpin rims, Campy Record hubs, and 32 spokes each. Bars, stem, and saddles were changed a few times as well.

Now that I don't ride that Masi anymore, the original Unicanitor is again on the bike, as are all the other original parts. It's still a great bike, but not good for me as a rider. Someday to be sold ... as it was.

If I was starting with a bare vintage Masi frameset I'm not sure what I would do. I would not want a friction-shifted NR build from scratch, at present I don't need another vintage frame/Ergopower bike (got my original Mondonico waiting to come back from tube replacement surgery), and I would not fender and bag a classic Italian that was not made for it. I have my just-as-good Woodrup frame waiting for the shop to be clear.

Now, my Masi is an M53 (51cm c-c) and that's too small for me. If I found a nice M55, that might be a solid temptation to make into a wider-geared weekend rider. On mine at least the ride is extremely supple and responsive. If any bike I have planes, it's this one. Getting that ride experience in a frame that fits is very attractive.

smontanaro 

While Campy NR would certainly be the groupset of choice for most people, many, if not most, Masi's were sold as framesets, so you would certainly be well within your rights to hang whatever parts on it you wanted. I bought a Masi GC frameset from a shop in Santa Monica in (I think) the 1974 timeframe. At the time, I owned a full-Campy Italvega (probably a Super Speciale, but I can't say for certain). I just moved the parts over and sold the Italvega frame to a classmate.

A counterexample. I nearly bought a 70s Colnago from a guy in Florida a couple years ago which (though completely disassembled at the time) had been built up with Dura-Ace components. Apparently, the seller - the stepson of the original owner - took a bunch of flak from people who derided him for trying to pull the wool over their eyes, saying, "a Colnago would never have been sold with anything besides Campagnolo components." In reality, I found his story compelling. His stepfather had been an airline pilot (PanAm?) with Munich as his home base. He bought the Colnago from Sigi Renz, who apparently told him that the Shimano gear worked better than Campy, and cost half as much.

So, the correct answer is, "use whatever you want."

3alarmer

.
...here's a (later than yours) Masi that got indexing Dura Ace as the original build. Still looks like a bicycle.

JSCAVU

Looking now. Ebay seams high but I have found deals from time to time also working with my LBS. This is currently my only vice so I'm going with SR Campy. I quit smoking about a year ago. here in N. Calif. Id pay for a nice group set in no time @ the prevailing price of tobacco.


1964 Peugeot PX-10 / 2017 Masi Speciale Randonneur / Now a 1975 Masi Gran Crit

JSCAVU

Lots of really cool pictures of your own rides, with fair and balanced advice on where I could go with mine. Fair and Balanced, that's something we don't here much of these days. I will try to post pictures as my project progresses. Thanks to all who have responded


Oh BTW I have a notice of a private message but the site moderator states a must have I think 10 posts to view these. So to whoever left it I'm not being rude.

rccardr 

These guys: Cicli Corsa Classico Classic Italian Road Bicycles Restorations are a great go-to source for a complete Nuovo Record groupset. I've visited their shop and purchased components from them both in person and by e-mail, always satisfied with both the quality and the price.


Might be easier & less expensive for shipping to buy the hubs from them and build the wheels here in the US.


Ask for Andrea, tell 'em Doc sent you.

kroozer 

It should have a Campagnolo Nuovo Record group if you want to be PC. Those are very specific parts but all pretty easy to find. As Repechage said, you'll have more leeway on the other parts. Italian bar/stem such as Cinelli or 3ttt. Any Italian saddle such as Cinelli, 3ttt, Selle Italia, Selle Royal, etc. Any polished aluminum rims, clincher or tubular, any tires but try to get tan sidewalls. Any freewheel, chain, and small parts.

Chombi

Keeping it on the road does not necessarily mean you have to go with modern components, there are still many C&Vers out there still love to shift their bikes from the down tube without any clicks and clacks coming from the drivetrain and don't mind at all, pulling on pedal straps before pushing off the next stoplight....

Chombi

Every time I see a 7400 series DA RD, I realize how well it has aged, aesthetically.... such a clean, timeless, modern design. Other RDS from the same era, line the Simplex SLJ6600, might have shifted almost as well as the Shimano DAs, but their designs did not age as well as the Shimano

jimmuller 

This thread is a good excuse for me to re-post my Masi.



I acquired it as a frame in need of TLC and a box of parts some of which may have have been original and some of which obviously weren't because they didn't fit. The rebuild goal was to make it as aesthetically correct as possible subject to being rideable. Campy derailleurs, shift levers, brakes, hubs, pedals, and crank, Cinelli bar and stem, Italian sew-up rims (but FIR, not Martano). To use that crank while having gears I could actually ride I went to a large FW, which meant a long cage on the RD. The saddle is a personalized item IMHO. Bar tape and chain are consumables.

In this pic a few items are different from the final configuration.