A visit to Masi in Taiwan

Over the past few weeks things have been very quiet on this blog, but it's for good reason, as we paid a visit to Taiwan for the Taipei Cycle Show and to see our valued partners who help to make Masi possible.

At Masi, we really love steel bikes. Steel is where the heart of the brand was born and it is where that heart remains. I won't bother to string together all of the usual buzzwords that are normally used to describe the ride of steel because it just gets tedious after awhile. The fact of the matter is that steel provides an unmatched ride quality for the money. Sure, carbon and aluminum are almost always lighter, but the ride of steel is something that the esoteric Zen masters and the modern performance freaks can both agree upon- it simply outrides any other material pound for pound and dollar for dollar.

All that said, it should come as no surprise that the highlight of our Taiwan expedition was seeing the production of our steel frames.

Gorgeous cast bottom bracket shells; it's something very simple, but it adds an element of dignity and character to the frames.

The "BREV MASI" custom track dropouts modeled after the iconic Campagnolo track dropouts of the 70's/ 80's era. Long enough for multiple gear choices, but stiff enough that you do not lose any of your power output.

The lusciously curved stays of the Speciale road frame- the stays provide stiffness and comfort for a wonderful all day ride.

Super clean welds meet harmoniously with the custom bottom bracket shell; a work of art.


The unmistakably elegant curved frame of the SoulVille. A true thing of beauty and an astonishingly good riding frame as well.


Here we have a rack full of steel forks for multiple models of bikes- some in colors you aren't even supposed to know anything about yet... but I digress.

A row of the very popular Nekkid finished frames used on the Speciale Fixed LTD. Here they are waiting to be assembled and turned into the bike of your dreams. If you've had trouble getting one in the past, help is on the way.

And, here... here we have the Speciale Sprint frames. Made of Reynolds 631 tubing and using the exact same geometry of our Coltello racing frameset, the Sprint is the steel lover's dream track race platform. If racing isn't your gig, it makes for an equally awesome track-inspired fixie. If you've got a box of NJS goodies looking for a home, the Sprint is ready!


The Taipei show wasn't just all warm and fuzzy factory/ vendor time, we did actually have jobs to do in Taiwan during the show. The show serves largely as a way for us to work closely with our various International Distributors- old, new and potential ones. It's the first time we present what we have in store for the coming season's bikes as well. As you can see in the above picture, the Mini-Velo bikes we began developing for the Asian markets- primarily Japan- are really growing into quite a collection. Again, the original development was driven by the Asian markets where these bikes have been popular for several years, but we're getting more and more domestic and non-Asian interest in the bikes... so you just never know where you might find one.

The show and our time in Taiwan visiting with our fantastic vendor partners was a success. We're confident that many more good things lie on the horizon for Masi and it makes the future pretty exciting.

Tim

Masi at the races in Taiwan

I was recently in Taiwan for the mini trade events of RideOn and Taichung Bike Week and while there, as part of the Masi launch into Taiwan, I participated in the 2008 NeverStop YangJin P Highway Challenge. The event is a 75km fun ride/ race that crosses three major climbs around the city of Taipei and since Taiwan was created by a volcano, the climbs are plenty steep! Out of the 75km, approximately 50km was uphill. In light of my recent travels around the world and a total lack of training (meaning having ridden about 3 times in 2.5 months), I rode the event in less than ideal shape.

Our distributor for Taiwan has some great connections, so I didn't end up having to do the entire event all by myself. Well, not until I got dropped on the long, steep climbs.


Here's the Team Masi group prior to the start of the event. Second from the right is Fong-ming Chen, the catcher for the Taipei professional baseball team (and Taiwan's Olympic team) La New Bears. He was also part of the brand launch in November. Also somewhere in there is Chien-hong Kuo who is a pitcher with the Bears.


And, since I forgot my camera, here we are AT the finish! A couple folks to point out; on the far left is Simon who works for the distributor and races for a small team in Taiwan- he blew me away by riding the entire event on a Speciale Commuter single speed! Two spaces to the left of me is Mu-yen Ju- 2004 Olympic gold medalist and 2008 Olympic bronze medalist in Taekwondo for Taiwan. On my right is Ray-chai Chang, he's an actor in Taiwan who recently won the Taiwanese equivalent of an Oscar as best young actor. He's also a budding director...


Here I am with Mu-yen Ju again... this is obviously after I'd had a chance to rest a few minutes because I am actually smiling again.

There were over 4000 riders in the event and they were riding every conceivable type of bike you can imagine; road bikes, mountain bikes, folding bikes, mini-velo bikes, etc. I was completely floored by the sheer will-power of some of the riders to push their bikes and themselves up each of the major climbs. It was such a wonderful experience to ride with such a large group of people- nobody bothering to size up the other rider's bike to look for the latest and greatest components, etc. There was a sense of camaraderie that is not often found in many other events.

The ride itself was really spectacular in many ways. Taipei is the largest city in Taiwan, but like many cities in Taiwan it is ringed by hills and mountains full of lush green forests and jungle-like vegetation. It was so wonderful to see this naturally beautiful side of Taipei. The rolling hills that went on for kilometer after kilometer. My only complaint is that there were not more kilometers of descending... I was making up pretty good ground, considering my size and the fact that I was riding a standard 53/39 crankset with an 11x26 cassette. I was terribly over geared on the climbs, but I was smoking the downhills!

And the best part of the event...


... I got this cool medal for finishing in less than 7 hours (somewhere around 6 hours).

I can tell you that I am not too proud to admit that in the last 5km, I had to get off the bike and walk a few sections of the final climb, which was 10km long. In fact, even if I had been in shape for the event, it would likely still qualify as the hardest single day I've had on a bike... it was just that grueling!

Here are a few extra pics that I took with my iPhone, so they are not quite as high quality...


A view of the finish line- I was elated to see it!


Simon- he earned more than just a little respect from me for doing this very hard route on a single speed. He was the only single speed I saw in the event... and he was flying up the climbs!


Just before we started the event... before the crying began!


Fong-ming Chen just before we rolled out.


The thousands of riders assembling in the early morning semi-light of Taipei.


The top of the first climb and the first feedzone.


The view of the feedzone on the crest of the second climb.

All in all, though a very long and painful-for-me day, the ride was otherwise spectacular and I would even consider doing it again one day. Given enough time, I might forget just how much it hurt!

To all those along the route who encouraged me and shared in the pain- xiexie ni.

Tim

Spreading the Masi love around the world

I just returned on Monday from a whirlwind tour of Asia in Taiwan and Japan. This goodwill tour was all about bringing the Masi word to the masses in Taiwan and Japan- Taiwan being a new market for us, ironically, and Japan being an existing one.

The trip to Taiwan was to assist our distributor there with the introduction of Masi to the local market. The launch was a blend of bikes and fashion, with a "cat walk" feel to it all. To add to the fashion show, the main model was a young woman named Mitsue Nagaya- who models around the world for such brands as Gucci, Fendi and others... and she is now the spokes model for Masi Taiwan.
Here, Mitsue is introducing the Mini-Velo (currently only available in Taiwan and Japan) to the Taiwanese television audience.

The television crew spent some quality time with the bikes just a short while before the catwalk began.

Here, with the nice warm lighting, the Speciale Fixed LTD looks even sexier than usual... if that's possible.


Setting up the lighting and prepping the bikes- their television debut just ahead of them!


Here, the SoulVille 10 is being introduced by Taipei professional baseball player and Olympic team member, Feng-Min Chen. He signed numerous autographs before and after the launch... even more than I did...

Here I am presenting the bikes to the television cameras. Lemme tell you- it's hot under those lights... really hot!

Having a little laugh at the end of the show with Mitsue. She's a very nice young woman and defies the typical stereotypes of super models... AND she knows a good bike when she sees one!

Once done planting the seeds of total domination in Taiwan, I was on a plane to Tokyo for the Cycle-Mode consumer and retailer tradeshow. I attended the same show last year to support our distributor there, Azuma Trading. Since that time a year ago, the Japanese market has become the second largest for Masi USA outside of North America!

Once again, my gracious hosts did a fantastic job of representing the Masi line along with the other brands they distribute into Japan. Masi is in great company with these other brands.

One of the more unique aspects of the Cycle-Mode shows is that it blends retailers and consumers in an expo that also allows test rides of many bikes.


The fleet of demo bikes just waiting for riders...


... and the riders did show up!


This is my "keirin racing brother" and the Coltello he built up to display at the show- it got lots of attention too because he did a pretty cool job of it.


There were Masi bikes all over the place!


A very nicely done display of SoulVille bikes too.

The show felt like a great success and the consumers who rode the demo bikes all seemed to be pretty happy with the experience. Obviously, since I do not speak Japanese I am not totally sure what was being said, but smiles do say a lot.

All in all, I'd have to say it was another great trip for Masi and I am very happy to see more international growth of the Masi brand.

Tim