IcySmooth52

Do your research! Masi's Gran Corsa, going for $1,675, has a decent aluminum frame with carbon stays (that I think are a little pointless) and a full Shimano 105 drivetrain. But the fork has an aluminum steerer and it doesn't have BB30. You can the Gran Corsa and far more from the: Jamis Ventura Race (full carbon fork), Specialized Allez Comp Compact (SRAM Apex, no CF stays but a far better aluminum), Felt F75 (BB30, full carbon fork), and the Cannondale CAAD 10 5 (CAAD10 is a better frame I think we can agree, BB30, full carbon fork). *Clears throat* Might I mention that all of these examples are cheaper as well. This value disagreement doesn't apply to only the Gran Corsa but almost every bike offered by Masi. Are there any who would disagree?

Sourpuss Magee

Color me perplexed. What's the issue?

VT Biker

Regardless of price, you are getting nothing more than a re-badged stock bike from one of the Taiwan manufacturers. Masi is nothing more than a tradename play. In fact, you could argue it was the first of its kind, even before it current incarnation, when it moved from Italy in the 70's to California and started manufacturing their bikes in Mexico. However, at least then, there was some sense that Masi still was designing the bikes themselves. Masi's input seems to be focused more on price point (i.e. - component selection) and paint scheme. Other than that, I have a feeling a bunch of stock models are sent over from Taiwan (hell - the owner blogs baout his trips there) where he selects the models/combinations which fit into his business plan.



Not my cup of tea, but their paint schemes are typically more retro than their competitors. They are in essense, kind of an expensive, nostalgic Sora.

datlas 

BB30 is way overrated.

If you think it's not a good buy, don't buy it.

Sourpuss Magee

Every bike that's not a Giant is a tradename play. Ok, I exaggerate. But not worth getting upset over.

IcySmooth52

The MSRP of Masi's offerings are over comparable models from other makers. And the other makers aren't just cheaper but have more. Here's another example: Masi's 3VC with a lugged carbon frame, Ultegra drivetrain, and the Ultegra wheelset. The Jamis Xenith Pro goes for the same pricetag with SRAM Force, Mavic Ksyrium Equipe wheels, and an amazingly better frame. By amazing I mean it has BB30, tapered headset, asymmetrical stays and more. Which would you choose?

longbeachgary

Bingo.

calamarichris

Not entirely accurate. I know for a fact mine was made in Carlsbad (where I live now) back in 1984; an LBS owner in Oceanside who used to build frames for Masi back then, even suspects he might have built mine.

Admittedly, their recent bikes don't do much for me, but I've cherished my Rosebud since '88.

Essex

I remember seeing some Masi and DeRosa frames during the early 80's at UC Berkley....your photos take me back to that time. What a beautiful, beautiful bike. Drool favorite great!

Essex

ultraman6970

Calamarishis, probably yours is a real masi built maybe by tesch or masi himself but all the new stuff as like everybody;s stuff, made in asia, the other thing is that sombody bought the masi brand like zillions of years ago, so probably nobody but "wet b@cks" (using the word as expresion not as a derogative way, I'm a beaner also) work in their factory painting nowadays. I believe the price the op is talking about is not that bad, probably the bike in factory is not more than 250 bucks but after painting and badging the price goes up big time, do the math and probably masi is selling only the components, thats it and the frame goes almost for free.

kayakdiver

Guess that's why I purchased a Giant... May as well go straight to the source. I still don't see the OP's point. If they are overpriced and nobody purchases them they will go out of business. They seem to still be around. Suggest not buying one.

IcySmooth52

Of course I'm not going to buy one. This is a forum about bikes, so the OP was creating a topic to chat about!

kudude

Too specific for starting a conversation. Makes it look like you want a Masi, but don't want to pay what they ask. You'd be better off talking about Italian bikes being overpriced then giving examples from different brands.

$0.02

datlas 

Also, not to give the OP a hard time, but when you comparison shop you may not want to go by MSRP. Some shops/dealers will routinely give a discount for some brands but others may charge full MSRP.

And if you really want to get a laugh about MSRP look at Motobecane! That is a total joke. But probably a discussion for another thread.

IcySmooth52

Actually I can see the numbers of how low a shop can advertise their bikes at, and Masi doesn't let it go much less than the MSRP. Are they getting desperate?

And Kudude is simply giving me a hard time.

kudude

yup.

Lots of brands have control on how low prices can be advertised. Some don't even allow shops to ship their bikes. Do I read your post to say that you know what price controls shops are under? Is this across lots of brands or just Masi at your local shop?

patentcad

That's a nice friggin old school race bike.

umd

OP discovered that not all bikes have the same "value" and got his panties in a bunch.

Accordion

Way to refer to yourself in the third person. You're going to give BF's Gift To Narcism (pcad) a run for his money!

ptle

I've always thought Masis were overpriced along with Treks... However, Trek has some decent deals for entry level bikes now.

roccobike

I thought MASI was now owned by HARO and is the badge they use to market road bikes. From what I've seen of HARO MTBs, they use standard frames and price their bikes so that you get a nicer set of components for the money spent. I looked at a few MASI road bikes last time I was at my LBS. They are nice looking bikes.

IcySmooth52

Trek's entry bike frames suck. They use straight gauge aluminum.

celticfrost

You really care that much about BB30 and a FULL carbon fork? Yet, in your opinion, the carbon stays on the AL frame are pointless?

Anyway, I could only find one place supposedly having the Gran Corsa in stock and it's not going for MSRP (surprise, surprise).

https://bicyclespleasanton.com/produc...sa-52739-1.htm

Go to your nearest Masi dealer and tell them you want them to meet or beat that deal. Those are pretty sweet looking bikes.

john423

I didn't take it like a goof, but a Masi dealer near me offered me this model bike (the Gran Criterium) for slightly over $1,000. Apparently Masi was getting rid of 2010 models and had ONE of these left. By the time I did some Internet research on it, it was gone. I liked the weight and the Rival components, but alas. I wound up slightly overpaying for a 2010 Specialized Allez Elite, according to another thread here.

learnmedia

Masi's overpriced? Maybe. You being proof that marketing is effective? Certainly.