FINAL JERSEY DESIGNS!

Go to the Masiguy.com blog site to place your vote on the poll there, but take a look at the final three designs;

A3

C2

D

Remember- we are still going to have a matching jersey/ bib short later... but first we're doing one of the above jerseys... SOON!

Tim

Lunchtime fixie ride at Masi Global Domination headquarters

Our sister company here at Masi Bicycles is Haro Bicycles. Haro is world famous for BMX and BMX freestyle and has sponsored the biggest names in the sport for decades now. One of the current stars of the BMX sport is Dennis Enarson, who just happens to be a local San Diego area resident- and a damned good guy as well.


Lunchtime fixie ride with Haro BMX star Dennis Enarson and the folks at Masi Bicycles from Tim Jackson on Vimeo.
(Video by Rick Ortiz)

Dennis is recovering from shoulder surgery and is having fun doing a bit of "rehab" on a fixie. He stopped by the office yesterday for a visit and we popped out for a little fun lunch cruise. It was another ugly day in southern California... sorry.

Tim

What's your frame of mind?

There is something so gratifying and personally fulfilling, as a bike nut, about getting a nice frameset and then selecting each and every component yourself. Whether you build it yourself in your garage (or kitchen, like me) or walk into your favorite local bike shop with your arms full of parts and a frame around your neck, there is just something about knowing that the bike you ride is of your own creation.

We're exceedingly proud of each and every complete bike we make and sell, but we're also very proud of the frames we sell- either as the chassis of one of our complete bikes or as a special, stand alone frameset.The Coltello is the ultimate in track racing performance. The geometry is designed specifically for racing on the steep banking of the world's fastest tracks... or sprinting through the hectic traffic of any city street in the world. Trust us when we say it's fast; it was ridden last year by track Omnium World Champion Hayden Godfrey of New Zealand and was ridden to a US Collegiate National Championship in the Kilo and Omnium by Bennet van der Genugten.
Here's the Speciale Sprint- carefully crafted with Reynolds 631 tubing in the exact same geometry as the Coltello. If steel is your thing, then this is your ride! Retro cool with total performance in mind.
Maybe you love our CXR bike, but have always wondered what it would look like draped in a SRAM or Campagnolo group, rather than Shimano. Or maybe you want to race at the highest level of the sport and want to bolt it up with new Dura Ace or Ultegra parts and a nice set of carbon wheels and cross sew-ups... then look no further. The CXR is race ready and designed to pick its way through the muck or dust and deliver you to the finish line in fine style.

The guys on the Kenda Pro Cycling p/b Spinergy cycling team have been putting the 3VC Team Issue frame to the test for 3 years now and they have racked up an impressive list of wins along the way. With some of the best sprinters in the business, the frame clearly has the stiffness to produce speed with your power. Maybe you like going up climbs too? If so, the 3VC Team Issue has the weight- or lack of- to help you get to the top quickly. Best of all, the 3VC frame delivers on the promise of carbon- light, stiff and buttery smooth. It's the perfect balance of all the things you want in a carbon frame. Grab your favorite parts and create your own masterpiece!

Here's the thing; frame demand continues to grow and we've finally got all 4 models in stock! If you've been hankering to create something uniquely yours, now is the perfect time to put on your Product Manager hat and create your own perfect build. You will not be disappointed if you do!

Tim

Preliminary Masi jersey designs!

Here are some very early concepts for one of the two Masi jersey designs we are working on. Feel free to vote for your favorite here in the comments or over on my Masiguy blog on the poll that I have set up there.

A

B

C

D

E

We're pretty excited to be so close to having a final design ready. Remember- this is only one of two designs we will have and one of the two will have a matching bib short as well... so stay tuned (and VOTE)!

Tim

Design update; check the Masiguy blog for an update on the designs- didn't want to put them here and make a mess of this space, so check out the mess over at my space...

Masi on CSI: New York

And the hits keep coming!

Last night, episode 20 of CSI: New York- Prey- aired. One of the cases in the episode revolves around the bike polo team, the Brooklyn Bruisers. Two Masi bikes are used in the scene at the actual bike polo match- a Metallic Yellow Speciale Fixed and a Root Beer Speciale CX. It's pretty darned cool.
Howard at Athena Cycles was the man who provided the bikes to the show and we're mighty happy he did!

If you check out the League of Bike Polo blog, you can read some of the details of the filming of the episode and see the camera mounted to the Metallic Yellow Speciale Fixed. Some pretty cool stuff there.

The thing that makes us most proud is that the shows that have been using Masi bikes are doing so on their own- nobody from the shows has contacted us, they've made the smart choices all on their own! (Who says TV rots your brain?)

Tim

Masi riders continuing to fly the colors high!

Here at Masi Bicycles, we're exceptionally proud of our riders and their accomplishments. Our involvement with the Kenda Pro Cycling p/b Spingery team is something that we have been very excited about for the past four years.

Over the past few weeks, a few great results have come in that are just too good not to share for various reasons...

Team co-Captain Remi McManus, 2001 Elite Road Champion, had a rough year last season with nagging injuries keeping him off his best form. Earlier this year, Remi's season was starting off a little frustrating with illness... but nothing sets things straight like getting a race win;

On a day that would be dominated by the sun, the cold and the winds of the high desert, Kenda Pro Cycling p/b Spinergy pro Remi McManus finds his legs and prevails on his MASI 3VC against a peloton of his friends and enemies alike.

The Birds Of Prey Road Race started with the peloton shivering and huddled together to find warmth as the temp was in the 40's and the winds seemed to be about the same. Although the temp was cold the pace heated up from the start. With a whistling cross/tail wind some of the larger, stronger teams saw the opportunity to put it in the gutter and see what damage could be done early in the race. This was not the start to the race I was hoping for, as I was caught in the back in a conversation, thinking we would start at a gentelmen's pace- I was in a bad spot right away. When I realized what was happening I had to put a serious effort in to make my way to the front- this was the hardest effort of the year for me. After the first 20 to 30 min the pace seemed to slow as groups would go away and come back into the fold. This continued for the next few hours...

In the closing 20 miles the attacks started flyin' one after another. Not knowing who was riding well I made the decision to go with any and all attacks, although I was unsure how my legs would respond as this was the first race of the year. As we drew closer to the finish it became clear to me that there were only a few riders that could challenge me for the win and one of those riders put in an attack about 7 miles out. I thought of going but 7 miles in this wind seeemed to be too far out. The group gave him about a 15 second rope to hang himself with. Then 5 miles out it was time to make the move with the help of 1 other very strong rider and a tag along we made the bridge and atttacked straight away. With only 3 of us left rolling to the finish. Although 1 rider would not work with us I was not all that concerned- I knew if I could see the line with theese 2 no one would get the better of me in a sprint. As we came on the 1 K marker, I finished my pull and slotted in 2nd wheel looking back waiting for the attack. At 200 meters I decided that it was time, and jumped...

After a year of sickness and injury it was nice to cross the line with the hands up again. I look forward to more days like this.

Nice job Remi! We're all proud of you my friend!

Next up on the podium is the Flying Duthman, Bennet van der Genugten- BVDG for short.

Bennet made the trip down to Trinidad for an invitation-only international event with riders from around the world paired into teams for a few days of grass track racing in front of excited fans.

Racing the grass track…

Its sort of hard to describe racing a track bike in the grass, it looks basically like a soccer field but it rolls quite fast from being pressed down by a steam roller of some kind. There is some extra resistance to where it feels like you’re in a head wind the whole race, which works to the favor of the roadies thankfully!

The field was comprised of some really top track racers, the US national sprint champ, some German national team members who rode in Beijing, some British guys, Jamaicans and the Trinidad national team in full force. I was a little out of my element in such short races, but as Jeff Hopkins always reminds me, “run whatcha brung.” I was very consistent through the races, faking my way through the shorter races and sprints to some 3rds and 4ths against the big fellas, and putting the hammer down in the longer events for some more thirds and 2nds (it was a long and grueling omnium with some 20 races for those of us crazy enough to enter all of them!) I wasn’t able to win anything other than a few rounds in the sprint tourney, and the 500 meter qualifier for the sprints. My form is great but the top end is still a little sluggish to get rolling – its quite ok with me though, I was having an absolute blast, and my team director was very pleased with me, as were the race promoters who have already invited me back for a couple different races!

My equipment selection ended up being just right. I was running the Masi Coltello track frame with 85mm carbon rims on tubular tires, with the only specialty being 80-lbs of pressure instead of 150 for more grip. It looked really sharp, and the green I thought was especially cool as I was racing in the grass!

AWESOME! Way to go BVDG- it's great to see a "skinny" roadie do so well by releasing his inner track sprinter. For even more of the story and more recent racing news, you can also take a peek at BVDG's blog.

Again, we love each and every race win or podium appearance- whether from our guys on Kenda Pro Cycling or all other riders everywhere else. If you have a race report you want to share with us, send it along with a few pics and we'll add you to the pantheon of champions!

Tim

Show the world your Masi love!

Say hello to one of the first pieces of the developing and unfolding series of Masi "ego items" coming out this year!

After years of getting requests for a Masi fan sticker kit, we now have one and it rocks! There are seven stickers in the pack- because seven is a lucky number and "seven" rhymes with "heaven". You get a 3" and a 5" tall head badge, 2/ 4" wide "Masi" in red and World Champion stripe, 2/ 6" wide "Masi" in red and World Champion stripe and one 4" tall World Champion Heritage sticker. All of this comes at a price of about $10.00 plus freight, tax, dealer prep, etc, your results may vary, objects in mirror are larger than they appear.

All kidding aside for around $10 you get a nice little sampling of stickers that you can plaster your car with, your computer, your helmet or anything else you want to use to express your Masi love!

This is just the beginning of our development of new and exciting accessories for the Masi fans of the world. Visit our Dealer Locator to find the dealer nearest you- these are so new that they aren't even in stores yet, so don't be surprised if you have to wait a little while to receive your delivery of sweet Masi goodness!

Tim

Masi everywhere!

So much has been happening here and everywhere with Masi lately. Frankly, it's hard to keep track of it all. If it's hard for us, I'm sure it's hard for you too. So, in order to make it a little easier for you all, here are a few highlights worth knowing about;

David L'Heureux of Bicycling.com wrote an excellent review of the Masi Speciale CX after an extended product test this winter.

Note; one small correction- the saddle is a standard vinyl saddle and not actual leather... but it's a testament to the finish of the saddle that David was tricked into thinking it was real leather!

Thanks again to both Bicycling.com and David for the review and the opportunity for us to showcase this wonderful bike. It's a winner for all the reasons he points out. It has a very stable geometry and rides like a dream. It serves as a very suitable cross bike for those who itch for the feel of steel and also pulls double duty as a nimble little light-duty touring bike or commuting bike. It's a great multi-tool in a busy world.

Masi is also developing some cool celebrity credibility too... sorta...

The Masi Vincere makes a semi-cameo appearance on the hit show House, on the upcoming episode called Locked In, set to air on April 6th here in the US. Actor/ musician/ rapper Mos Def rides the Vincere... but very sadly, it looks as though he suffers an accident. I am not sure of the cause, but there is speculation here that is was caused by wearing his cycling gloves upside down. I'm no doctor (and I don't play one on TV), but I'm fairly sure that the discomfort of having his gloves on upside down lead to him being so distracted that he had an untimely accident.


All kidding aside, it's mighty cool to be on such a successful television show- even if only for a few seconds. Now, if we could just get on the Grammys or Oscars... or underneath President Obama and his family! Set your VCR, DVR, Tivo or whatever to record episode 19 on April 6th!

A nod to Cap and Candace over at Palms Cycle in Los Angeles for working with the studio to get Masi on the show and not some other brand- kudos to you!

We're lucky to be in other places and in more news and we'll keep sharing that information with you... so stay tuned to this channel for more!

Tim