Bike Love- Jake Rytlewski

Jake Rytlewski is one of the main riders for the Kenda Pro Cycling p/b Spinergy team that we proudly sponsor. Jake's a monster on the bike and is FAR stronger than his size would make you believe. Anyway, Jake is one helluva rider and has been around a few bikes during his racing career, so he's reasonably qualified to offer opinions on bikes- especially at the level he rides for a living.


Jake was recently on vacation and had his bike with him and sent the following email and picture;

Hey Tim,

I was on vacation this past weekend in Northern Michigan and I took this pretty cool photo of my bike with the Mackinac Bridge. Thought you might like to see it. I really like the ride of the bike, and look isn't that bad either.

Jake Rytlewski

How cool is that?

Thanks Jake- here's to hoping that the healed collar bone stays healed and that the rest of the season is filled with more wins!

Tim

Who says being single is a bad thing?

There are people "out there" who would have you believe that being single is a bad thing. Have you heard that song with the lyric "one is the loneliest number that you'll ever do"?

How misguided those poor souls are. Obviously they've never experienced the singular joy of riding a Masi fixed gear or single speed bike! For those who know, there really is nothing quite like the sweet joy of spinning along on a perfectly adjusted fixed gear/ single speed bike- the chain quietly rolling over the teeth of the cog and chainring, barely whispering a sound, and your pedal stroke in harmony with your Zen-like state of mind. Zipping through city streets with the quiet calm inside that only comes from the uncluttered mind of riding a single... it's more than just a little poetic in its beauty.

Speciale Fixed LTD

We don't just "make some fixed gears", we very much live and breathe the gammut of fixed gear/ single speed cycling. It's this level of connection to the bikes that allows us to create so many great bikes that are so enjoyable to ride.

Speciale Fixed- Shamrock Green

Whether you are bombing through the urban jungle humming "derailleurs are for failures" to yourself, or rolling the hills outside of town collecting winter training miles on a fixed gear to create the ultimate in suppleness and smoothness in your pedal stroke, we are on the same page with you.

Speciale Fixed- Metallic Yellow

If you just like the idea of getting out on a long country road- maybe even unpaved dirt or gravel- and need to remove ALL distractions from your ride, then the Speciale Commuter may be more your (single) speed.

Speciale Commuter- Metallic Blue

Speciale Commuter- Orange Creme

Sometimes, the ride to the corner market or the favorite java spigot requires a little more style than just a rusty old clunker (not that we don't love rusty old clunkers). If that's the case, then maybe you need to swing a leg over a SoulVille/ SS and let the graceful elegance of the curved steel tubing transport you to a new level of cool.

SoulVille/SS

Then there are those of you (like most of us here) who like to let their own inner Product Geek shine through and prefer to design and build your own wunder bike creation. For those of that inclination, we provide two amazing cool framesets to suit that desire. If you're creating the ultimate sprint beast for the banked boards of the velodrome, then the Coltello is the platform you have been seeking. With its high BB and aggressive geometry, the super stiff frame will launch you into the lead with such ease you'll swear you're on a bigger gear than you normally ride.

Coltello

There are some who prefer the unbridled sharpness of a race frameset even for their street/ city fixed gear bikes and for those we have the Speciale Sprint frameset. The smooth ride of the Reynolds 631 tubing makes the choppy streets seem a little more like the smooth surface of a polished pearl! And if you've been storing an old Campagnolo or Suntour Superbe Pro track group in a dusty box in your garage or under your bed, simply waiting for "that perfect steel track frame"... then wipe off the dust and get out your tub of white lithium grease!

Needless to say, we're kinda sweet on the whole fixed/ single thing. We love it and we live it. Hopefully you'll see the fruits of that love when you put your hands on one of the several bikes/ frames we have created for you.

Tim

A little Masi love from across the blogoshpere

Over the past few years, as we've grown the Masi brand back up, the blogosphere has been exceptionally good to us. Yes, sure, I have personally spent a gazillion hours in the blogoshpere trying to cultivate and grow relationships and promote the brand, but I get a huge thrill when I see spontaneous Masi related posts around the world.

This one is from a great little shop in Ft Worth Texas- Panther City Bicycles. These guys have been great supporters of the brand and have a wonderful blog as well. I've met and spoken with Jason and his former partner in the business Bernie a number of times over the years. The community they have built around their little shop is pretty amazing.

And this one is from a blog in Hong Kong called Fixie Pixie. Sincerely, I just love the photos here. The Speciale Fixed and Coltello are both blank canvases for you to create your own masterpiece with. We're pretty happy with these bikes, but I get a much bigger thrill when I see one of our bikes rolling along fully customized by the rider. Just today, while on a ride with my daughter (aboard my SoulVille SS), we saw two different Masi bikes along the way; a Speciale Fixed (orange from a year ago) and a Speciale Commuter (in the Orange Creme). Both were far from stock and showed signs of adequate love. That's the stuff that really gets me!

So to Jason at Panther City Bicycles and the Fixie Pixie, we say thank you for your support!

Tim