Here is your chance to prove a point. Here is your chance to have a direct impact on a bike brand. Trust me on this; you won't get an opportunity like this from another brand...
I need your help. If you like track bikes or fixed gear bikes, then drop me line and say so. I need your help to support adding a fixed gear bike and/ or a racing frame set. This is your chance...
If you would consider buying a Masi fixed gear or Masi track racing frame set, then post a comment here or simply send an email directly to me at tjackson@masibikes.com. There is no obligation to buy one, though I would certainly appreciate it if you did. I just need you to say you'd consider it if we offered the product. (Please no anonymous posts- I want to be able to reply to you and to prove that the posts are not all coming from me. Remember, this is going to my bosses so I can get my way- which is really your way.)
Tim
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32 comments:
I just bought a new track bike last summer. Never-the-less, I consider myself always in the market for a new bike. Would I consider Masi? Sure, why not?
For me it would only be used on the track so, unlike some other brands that try and split the difference between a road fixie and a track bike, it would have to be a pure track racing bike.
If it was an aluminum frame it would be cool if it had steel inserts on the rear dropouts to keep them from getting all munched. It would be cool if it came either as a complete bike or just a frame. It would be cool if it had a picture of a roaring lion or a spaceship on it too…maybe that’s my taste though…
I would buy an affordable steel fixed gear bike for myself. I'd also keep a couple in stock in my store if they were available.
I definitely would be interested in a Masi track bike. I'll second what Smithers said, though, about it needing to be a pure track bike. I'm not sure about the picture of the spaceship. Maybe if the whole bike looked like a spaceship....
I totally would be down to get a Masi track bike. I suppose if I the track was more acessible to me I would race it, but even so I would be perfectly happy to use it as a daily commuter ride.
After riding fixie for a year and a half it is obvious to me that fixies are cheaper to buy, cheaper and easier to maintain, more fun to ride and just all around better for the rider who needs a simple, solid ride without the constant hassle of a geared bike.
Even if it was a pure track bike, I would probably still ride it on the street, but that's just me.
There's always room for another fixie . . .
I personally think a split-the-difference fixie with geometry that's not quite road & not quite track is a waste, because you can't ride it on a track with any significant banking. So either produce a street fixie with road geometry & braze-ons (so you could perhaps run a rear brake or install a rack for single-speed touring); or make it a straight-up track bike with track geometry.
I would prefer a simple steel frame with track geometry and no braze-ons. Make it available with nice components--track-ready--that don't need to be upgraded right away. That's something I don't see with the currently available entry-level track bikes.
Hell yes I'd consider buying a Masi. However please keep it traditional. Old school Masi simple lugged steel pure track bikes are beautiful pieces of moving art and highly lusted after by many. Don't over do it on the paint. Just a classic bike, no more, no less. That said, modern tubing never killed anyone did it?
As owner of several fixed gear bikes, I'll tell you that my next bike (a custom-made ANT) is a cross between track and fixed road bike. It's a lightweight steel all-rounder with reasonably steep angles but bottle bosses and brake holes because sometimes I might want those things. It even has 130mm spacing in the back so I can build an internally geared hub and use that, though there are purists who might scoff at the idea of axle spacers.
It has a nice tall bottom bracket because I like to run cranks that actually fit me without having to worry about pedal strike through the corners. 170mm is a man's crank.
I love a proper track geometry and my current daily rider is such, but I suspect that the market for a decent practical commuter/work/cafe bike is much larger. I like to see fender and rack braze-ons as that says "useful" to me. Instead I've got a bottle cage banded to my downtube and a whole other bike with fenders for rainy days.
In short, I want something that's not so relaxed as to be anemic but not so steep as to be painful in the real world. I want to be able to outfit it with fenders and all that garbage but still have decent crank clearance. Most frames out there seem to be either track-oriented, road geometry with track ends (a la the Steamroller) or--worst of all--roadish but lacking in useful braze-ons--equally awkward on the street or the track.
Oh yeah, wicked long fork ends would be sweet. That would allow a person to run a reasonable street gear to the track and then flip their wheel for the racing gear.
I would love to see a true TRACK bike from a Masi.
I'd love a Masi track bike.
Something simple and classy.
I could use it at the track.
I'd ride it on the road too.
I would really be into a fixed gear frame from Masi, and I think that there are a few different ways that you could go about it successfully.
A modern, high performance track racing frame would definitely complement your existing product line. It would be a great alternative to some of the other "off the peg" frames that are currently available.
The other, more interesting option, would be to attempt to cater to the current younger generation of fixed gear "cafe racers" that are rapidly growing in MANY cities. If Masi provides the right type of bike, they would have an advantage over most of the other competitors providing bikes for this segment. The key advantages you hold are history, and dedication to performance. If you build, and properly market, a lugged, steel frame, that has very traditional graphics, for the right price, it will sell. If only because the other options for a new off the peg frame (with any class) are so limited. The only other companies that I can think of that do this would be Lyonsport in the US, and Mercian and Bob Jackson out of the UK. There is a definite opportunity for you to become the custom frame alternative for this young segment of dedicated fixed gear riders.
LUGGED , STEEL, CLASSIC TRACK GEOMETERY HEAD AND SEAT ANGLES, 27.2 SEAT POST, 1" THREADED STEERING COLUMN, TUBING CAN BE COLUMBUS,REYNOLDS, OR KAISEI. LOOK AT THE OLD CLASSICS FOR MOTOVATION. NO DRILLED BRAKE HOLES.
MAKE TWO TYPES OF FRAMES FOR THE RACER AND STREET.
LUGGED STEEL FRAMES ARE THE MARKET..SEE WHY KEIRIN FRAMES ARE SELLING RAPIDLY.
Yes a track frame would be awesome!
i'm always looking for the next frame and/or bike. some of the things i like in a track frame are a lugged frame and nice tight geometry.
I'd like to see a road geometry model. Definitely lugged steel - including the fork. Maybe a few cutouts, but nothing to frilly, chromed or polished stainless steel (preferred) lugs. Cutout in the bottom bracket. Stainless steel plated track ends where the bolts go so the paint doesn't get all chewed up. Straight blade steel fork, again w/ the stainless steel dropouts.
I would highly consider one. Steel is good, and colors other than black would be nice also.
hey, i would love to see someone else making a track frame. what i would really like to look for is a nice color. most other track frames out there come in black or grey, those colors are soo boring. a nice white lugged frame would be nice. track geometry would be cool, but most of us ride to work on these, not on the track. No one likes toe overlap, no one! it would be nice if it wasn't drilled for a back brake, just so it can look a bit more slick, no one runs back brakes on fixies. as for parts and a complete frame, not many people like ergo bends on drop bars (i know i don't). i don't like most black parts, i like shiny objects! it should defenatly have shiny highflange hubs.
regards
If you want a road-going, slack-angled, pockmarked with brazeons and brakeholes bike, there's plenty of them out there that have trackends just so they can say they're a cool 'track-bike'.
What's missing is a 'true-track' entry level frame. With the fixed gear craze going on, the velodromes are seeing a rise in newcomers, my local velo is reporting 15-20 new riders showing up for induction lessons each week! These people need a good quality frame that can come as a complete bike as an option...
A classic lugged steel frame is a thing of beauty.
Please build it so that I can make love to it. I mean ride it.
steel, lugged, flat-crown, round fork blades, steep geometry etc.
we want a pure, unadulterated track frame-set.
too, note bikeforums.com thread here.
Want one, need one, gotta have one. Make mine metallic peanut butter or at least pearl like the Vincere Premio. Thanks Tim for pushing this brand the way you have!
I voted earlier, so don't try to count my vote twice in front of the boss; I just wanted to expound upon what I'd be looking for in a fixed gear:
There are a lot of good points here about the currently available affordable steel track bikes. I think the most mentioned point is that those out there try to compromise between being an entry-level racer and a road-riding fixie.
So, you'll probably want to do a no-compromise bike. The hard question is going to be which side you want to be on.
It's true, there aren't really any competitive entry-level bikes out there. So the affordable, braze-on-less, steel racing bike would find a niche for sure. This version also would probably be the more popular choice for the young, hip, cafe-racer crowd somebody mentioned earlier.
On the other hand, I personally will probably never ride on the track. If I buy a fixed gear, it will be to add variety to my road bike training. I think it would be cool to have a pretty steel fixed gear with the exact same geometry as my Masi road bike. That way I could make it fit just like my road bike, so the handling is second-nature. I'd like brake drilling front and rear. I'd also want a little extra tire clearance (up to 28s maybe) and braze-ons for fenders for the off-season training. And a pump peg, please. (Actually, can you add that to the Speciale, too?)
Lugged steel would be beautiful, but I'm sure would make the bike not-so-affordable anymore. I'd still buy it if it were tig-welded steel with a lugged steel fork. Go the extra mile on the fork, and people will forgive that the frame isn't lugged. Tig works better on lots of modern steel tubing anyway. Get some Masi fork crowns cast! Fill in the "masi" with a contrasting color, just like the old days!
Oh yea, make it available in the UK.
how about a *good* stock wheelset? particularly the rear hub, with a quality cog, so people who ride it hard don't find themselves stripping their threads right when they realize they like riding fixed.
see IRO's wheelset for inspiration.
-tight clearances please!
-'track' geometry
-Steel
-lugged would be nice
-no bottle bosses
-no brake holes (this is a friggin track bike...)
-no unicrown forks...ugh
if people want a street-type fixed gear bike, there are already enough in existance - why try and do the same? If you bring back a bit of class via a nice steel lugged track bike...ohlala! Think outside the fillet-brazing, Tim. Go trad. The right template for a track bike.
and lastly
-a nice light blue!!!!!
ps - I would be more interested in a frame versus a complete bike. I know what I like in the ways for componentry - and it never matches the OEM line-ups. Like I said, why re-make the Bianchi Piss-ta?
Like others said, "don't split the difference." Make it pure, whatever it is.
My vote: fixed gear.
Hell, do two bikes.
build it and they will come.
Hey... I think I met you at the San Diego bike swap meet. I'm the girl who you prolly couldn't stand because my bf rode me around the velodrome on his handlebars. Sorry! It was so much fun though. ;) Anyway, I dunno if it would be possible, but could you come out with two models, a really high end bike and one that's a bit more affordable for the little guys and gals? I think a completely "pure" track bike with super tight geometry--modeled after something like a Nagasawa or a Gan Well Pro--that's incredibly clean, steel, but light, with exceptional parts, would be amazing. For this bike, maybe just sell it as frame, fork, bottom bracket, and headset. For anyone who's willing to throw down some major cash for a "real" track bike, I think they'd prolly want to add flavor to their bike with different wheels, handlebars, tape, etc. Then for the lesser model, make it a complete bike with a little bit better quality parts than what's out there (i.e. Raleigh Rush Hour, Bianchi Pista), and a bit more relaxed geometry. Trust me, I love riding fixed, but riding a "real" track bike on the street, with a huge stem and gigantic Nitto drops is NOT comfortable (at least for me). I know many peeps will kill me for saying this, but a bike that is set up as a "full NJS" blah blah blah track bike should be taken to the track, not subjected to nasty traffic where you can't sit up straight to look around for obstacles because you're in your Nitto drops with the handlebar tape wrapped only around the very tips. Moving on... I would say that simplicity is key. UGH!! How much do I HATE HATE HATE the stupid decals on the Motobecane Messenger? So freaking much. The Pista is getting closer to what I think is beautiful in a bike: two or three complimentary colors used very sparingly to create a hot, clean, simple beauty. All the Masis I have seen have a bunch of logo stuff on the down tube, but it actually looks ok. The traditional Masi red is hot hot hot, but I've also seen this incredible iridescent green color that is amazing too. One last thing: options are great! Like if you buy an IRO you can choose different handlebars or have Tony order you a Brooks for a reduced price. It would rule if you could just buy the frame for either model. Some peeps get a rush out of building up their own frame. You're probably too big of a company to offer stuff like that, but it would be really awesome if you could. Thanks for reading! I look forward to buying one of your lovely bikes. :) Oh--and didn't you say that you'd get me a copy of Breaking Away 'cause I've never seen the whole thing?
Pure track geometry.
Lugged steel frame.
'nuff said.
I Googled "Masi track bike" and found this 4 year old thread. Masi has since produced the entry-level Speciale which is of no interest to me. Does the company have any plans to build a traditional lugged steel made-in-Italy track bike with no brake drillings and a threaded fork? What I'm looking for is a frame with some respect for history. That I would line up to buy in a heartbeat.
BikesDirect can produce a nearly identical bike for about half the price. (I have a speciale Ltd) I have seen that they are now working on a fully lugged frame set, fully chromed and half painted. And it'll still be about $320 for the frameset.
If they can manage to get a Taiwanese factory to affordably produce a fully lugged frame. I hope you can do it too. (obviously i know they have a cheap business model, but they said it would cost $100 more to have a fully lugged frame). But I am sure you know this as you go to the factories in Taiwan often.
Simon- all tru... however, the frames you mention are all made with seamed tubing- not drawn, and welded in China- rather than Taiwan- at least all of the ones I am familiar with. That definitely brings the price way down. WAY down. We're exploring less expensive options, but we're staying with our boutique frame maker in Taiwan... we're happy with that quality and won't settle for less. (We're picky, I admit it.)
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