Monday, June 04, 2007

Random is me...

Warning; Whine about to begin...

So, yes, I've been "hella" busy for as long as I can remember. I was trying to do more posting with substance and whatnot, but it's been damned hard. Things in the office are so busy that posting from work has become totally impossible. For about a year now, it seems, I've been saying "things are really busy"... well, I guess "busy" now has a new definition.

The good news to all of this, is that there are a lot of really cool things happening. The future of Masi and the product is really exciting. I won't give everything away right now, but there are cool products coming that I am more than a little confident you will dig... a lot... and some stuff that you wouldn't exactly expect from Masi (in a good way). Suffice it to say, I'm damned weary, but also damned excited.

Here are a couple things I can share with you right now... the Speciale Fixed;

Now there will be two colors of the bike that has been a runaway hit this year- Orange (like the current model, but with the decal colors reversed) and the all-new Shamrock green (a gorgeous green that has a gold metal flake base coat). Both bikes will now come with a new steel fork that uses a lugged flat crown and lugged dropouts. It's a really beautiful fork. Please keep in mind that images are just for color and decal approval, so this isn't the exact bike you'll see on the floor... but it's darned close. For example, the Shamrock Green has a beige/ creme colored fill in the large panels and the bar tape is a really cool marbled brown that looks like a cross between wood grain and cork... it's really nice looking. The actual bikes, like the current version, will not have a sloping top tube like these images. Other than that... man are they gonna be pretty...

Since I'm in a giving mood, I'll share one more with you, to keep you salivating...

Here's the next version of the Coltello track racing frameset. This sideview does NO justice to the actual paint- trust me, I got the tube sample today... this is going to be another truly beautiful frame (yes, Squirrel, I know you want one when they come in). On the framset front... the CXR cross bike will actually be available as a frameset and the 3VC carbon frame will be available in a super cool Team Issue version with special graphics... so sexy it'll make you cry. I promise.

Speaking of the team... I've been a terrible cheerleader. On May 25th, Rich Harper of the A&F team rode a stellar race at the Raleigh Downtown Crit.

Stolen from CyclingNews.com- photo by Robert Harvey (the team bought the rights to this... I hope...)

This was another NRC event packed with all-star US pro riders. Rich worked his ass off and got into the winning break that lapped the field and held on for third place (his first podium appearance in an NRC event) in front of his friends and family in his hometown. "Harpoon" is a certifiable nut... I mean, he's got papers to prove it, I'm sure. That said, he's one of my favorite riders on the team, even if he is a time trialist trying to pass himself off as a real sprinter (HA!).

Much to my disappointment, he got rid of the hair...

Not only did Rich rock the team kit, but at the podium interview, he even gave a big thanks to Masi. He also managed to lay down the law; the interviewer made a comment roughly to the effect that the team was the dominant amateur team of the year and he quickly corrected him with, "who you callin' amateur?" I love this wacko.

On top of that, Mark Hekman, winner of Athens Twilight and the Southeast Crit Series overall, has continued to ride strongly and still occupies the #1 bib number in the NRC series. Mark is riding strong with the excellent support of the team and they are truly proving their worth in the races along with all of the "pro" teams. These guys are riding with such amazing heart, it makes me proud to be associated with racing again. With all the dope in the peloton, it's great to see these guys racing clean and winning with heart, passion and straight up determination. Keep an eye on these guys as they keep racking up the wins and continue to be dominant.

Nice work guys!

Ok, now I have to get back to staring at spreadsheets and writing a new catalog. Joy of joys...

Tim

5 comments:

blue squirrel said...

duh, i was just thinking about giving the track a try. you know the size and it is about time you went back to traditional masi colors. [blue was his favorite color]

James T said...

"The future of Masi and the product is really exciting. I won't give everything away right now, but there are cool products coming that .... you wouldn't exactly expect from Masi (in a good way)."

Cool, cool, cool. That is exactly what I like to hear. Can't wait to see the new stuff Tim.

Unknown said...

I'm the new owner of a fresh out of the box Speciale Fixed as of Friday, June 1. Both to my delight and dismay, I just saw the new models you posted on your blog including the lugged fork and dropouts and the gorgeous green paint job. I love this bike so far but now wish I had held out just a little longer... when are these hitting the shops? Damn LBS' and their no return policies

Tim Jackson said...

Aaron, buddy, unless you wanna wait until the end of summer, you made the right choice. That straight fork might not be quite as sexy looking (I'll admit), but it does ride quite well.

Unknown said...

Ah, end of summer is a while to wait. I feel much better already. I'll still be a little jealous tho when I pass somebody on the new model this fall ;)