Masi news...

In case you didn't happen to see the really cool news yet, go here for the details!

Needless to say, I'm pretty stoked about it.

Tim

Be good to your body...

In my role as Masi Global Domination Uberlord, I have made many friends (and even more enemies) and connections. It's safe to say that I have many high friends in low places... or something along those lines.

That stated, I have friends at Swobo... friends with privileges- but not the kind of privileges that might make you all tingly. My friend Stevil Knevil shared a tidbit of newsdom with me today that I am sharing because I love you all so much and because the folks at Swobo are rad... trust me on this...

The Bay Area clothing/ bicycle manufacturer known only as Swobo (the meaning of which is whatever you want it to be) has pulled the keystone out of a proverbial landslide of goods and have cut prices up to five hundred trillion percent.

Jerseys, Merino wool casual wear, technical riding shorts, scarf and hat combos that would make Harry Potter go M.C. Hammer with envy and much more all can be found in our Yard Sale;

http://www.swobo.com/search.php?k=YardSale

Hells yeah, and we'll see you there.

So I recommend you check this here deal out, most rickety-tick, before all the goodies are gone away.

You can thank me later.

Tim
(No... I get nothing from Swobo for this little news bulletin. I just happen to dig them and there duds. So there.)

I guess you like it...

Wow, I guess it is fair to say that new the Speciale SoulVille and Speciale Commuter are proving to be "hits". I mean, the SoulVille has been getting press all over the place- all over the world actually. I found blogs in Turkey and Hong Kong talking about the SoulVille and the Commute by Bike blog has seen some good discussion about the Commuter (as has Cycle-licious). Sure makes a Brand Manager happy... believe me. This is the stuff I live for!

There has been a lot of good dialog going on about these bikes and so I thought I'd pose a few questions and see what you all (y'all) think;

1) Is there enough interest in bringing that Masi leather saddle in as an aftermarket item? It'd sell for somewhere between $75-100 probably, unless I bought insane numbers of them. Would you buy one for that kind of money?

2) Should the Masi fenders be brought in too? They will have a laser etched Masi headbadge on the front and rear ends. Not sure yet of the price, but would they be worth bringing in for sale?

3) I'm already planning more versions of the SoulVille. Wayne (my product manager) and I are already working up different ideas, but what do YOU think the next version should be? 3 or 4 speed? 10 speed? Drop bar or flat/ curved bar? Frameset? Racing frameset- I admit I really want to do this personally- Reynolds 631 or 853 tubing and race geometry. But what fork? The same steel fork or a lightweight carbon fork? A fixie version?

4) Bringing back the Speciale steel road bike with carbon fork and 105/ Ultegra drivetrain. Do we keep it as it was in 2006, with 105/ Ultegra or do we go higher market? Do we even bring back the Speciale Carbon frameset or bike? That Speciale Carbon was the best riding bike I've ridden in 25 years of racing... but that Dedacciai tubing is darned expensive stuff... are you going to buy it? If so, is it a complete bike or just a frameset?

I know I had more... but I'm tired and my brain is turning to mush. So I'll be posting more questions in the near future. Maybe it's time for more Polls to be created for your enjoyment.

(Germany/ Eurobike just two days away.)

Tim

Snippets...

Eye candy to get you slobbering...No details- you get to stew in your own juices for awhile.

Tim

My team is better than your team!

I love my guys...

Scroll down to the leader boards. That's what I'm talkin' about!

Tim

More awesome than anything... ever!

THIS might just be the single greatest example of journalistic excellence ever known to mankind.

I laughed, I cried... it was more moving than a Tolstoi novel.

Tim

Bike Doosh?

Are you a Bike Doosh?

So let us see if you qualify for the specific category of bike doosh. (Masiguy answers in bold red.)

1) Do you race:
a – road (yes)
b – cross (I'm gonna)
c – mtb
d – track (yes)

15pts

2) Do you have an “A” bike and a “B” bike?
a – no, just one bike
b – yes (yes)
c – both “A” bike and “B” bikes are carbon (yes)
d – with Campy Record (one of'em)

16pts

3) Do you use a cycling computer?
a – no (no)
b – yes
c – Power Tap
d – Power Tap on your track bike

0pts

4) Do you carry a mobile phone with you when you ride?
a – no
b – yes (yes)
c – Smartphone
d – iPhone

5pts

5) Do you:
a – match cycling socks to shoes (yes)
b – match shoes to jersey (yes)
c – match jersey to helmet (yes)
d – have multiple matching outfits, shoes and helmets (yes)

16pts

6) Is your handlebar tape:
a – black (yes)
b – white (yes)
c – some other color (yes)
d – installed fresh each month

6pts

7) Do you: (no to all)
a – follow a training plan
b – keep a training log
c – an online training log
d – and pay someone to review it

0pts

8) VO2 Max Test
a – never had one
b – once
c – more than once (yes... it was bad news)
d – every year

5pts

9) Campy versus Shimano
a – who cares (who cares if it works)
b – Shimano
c – Campy
d – SRAM

0pts

10) Helmet and sunglasses
a – you buy whatever from the team sponsor (yes... well, I get'em free)

b – Lazer and Tifosi
c – Bell and Rudy Project (yes)
d – Giro and Oakley (yes)

15pts

11) Do you:
a – ride your bike to the race (sometimes)
b – carpool with pals (yes)
c – drive alone in your Audi A6 sedan with the bike in the trunk
d – refuse to let Smithers use your lug nut tool at Sogn Valley last year (score 5 bonus dick head points!)

1pt

12) Triathlon
a – no thanks (no thanks)
b – once, never again
c – sometimes
d – live for them

0pts

13) On the training ride you:
a – are in there for a while but eventually get dropped
b – are in the group the whole ride feeling good
c – sit in and wait for the end of the hard stuff and then go to the front and ride hard (yep... but I suffer through the hills and wait for all the sprint points)
d – skip it because it is not hard enough for you

5pts

14) On the training ride you talk about:
a – art, music, politics (yes)
b – girls/boys (yes)
c – the latest pro bike race on Vs. (yes)
d – last weeks training ride (yes)

16pts

15) The purpose of the training ride is to:
a – work on your weakness (yes)
b – develop fitness (yes)
c – put the hurt on everyone else (yes)
d – show off your new bike (yes)

16pts

16) The racing season is:
a – too long
b – too short
c – not enough of the races you like to do (why can't the entire season just be Keirin races?)
d – full of stupid races that you think suck even though you have never promoted a race

5pts

17) Relationship
a – In one, it’s great (I hope... I'm SO in trouble... prolly)
b – looking and hoping
c – just broke up, they didn’t understand your desire to train and race
d – no time, you have to train and race

0pts (maybe)

18) When on a date you talk about: (add 5 points for being total nerd)
a – your date
b – yourself
c – the latest pro bike race on Vs.
d – Campy versus Shimano

5pts

19) Your significant other comes to a race:
a – you drop out early to spend more time with them
b – try to make yourself look totally pro by being at the front (yes... until I blow apart and blame it on cramping)
c – ignore them
d – castigate them for not handing up the correct bottle on the correct lap (score 5 more bonus dick head points!)

1pt

20) Following the race you:
a – leave the bike in the garage and spend time with the family (yes... sometimes)
b – help make dinner and talk about the race (yes... usually)
c – sort out all your bike crap until past midnight
d – go for a recovery ride

5pts

Bonus Question
21) Are you:
Smithers? If so subtract all points and score yourself an automatic total of zero. The ability to recognize bike dooshery eliminates any possibility of personal dooshness.

For every “a” score o points, for every “b” score 1 points, for every “c” score 5 points, for every “d’ score 10 points.

0 points: You are so totally not a bike doosh, you are the coolest MF that ever walked the surface of the planet
1 – 20 points: You are not a bike doosh.
21 – 100 points: You mean well, there is hope, resist the temptation to join the dooshocracy
101 – 150 points: You are kind of a bike doosh, try harder el-doosh.
151 – 200 points: You are a total bike doosh, get a life bike doosh.

Masiguy scores... 130 points! Woo-hoo!

And you?

Tim

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

Brand Camp- The final chapter...

Here's the last of my witty banter on Brand Camp- it was three days, so three posts should be enough... I think.

A little more raditude; one for the ladies.

This is Wayne- he's my product manager. He's the guy who takes my zany BS ideas and tries to turn them into actual product... or says, "um, Tim, you can't do that without charging about $100,000.00 for each of the three bikes you're going to sell." Ying to my Yang... Stimpy to my Ren... Butthead to my Beavis... Ethel to my Lucy... you get the idea.

Pat Crosby... the other half of the Adult Product Management group. He's into knobby tires, suspension and walks on the beach at sunset, pina coladas, holding hands and walks in the rain.


This is Jill Hamilton- the other half of the Adult Brand Manager team. She's the Queen Bee of Haro MTB and is also the Bike Biz Babe (go check her out). Did I also mention she was once the top ranked female amateur downhhill racer in the US and then also raced professional downhill? Yeah, I never did that.

MEAT! Flame plus meat equals yum! (Unless you don't like meat and you're a vegetarian...)


The guy in brown is Rick Ortiz. Rick is the fella who does the graphics for Masi- which as we all know are the greatest graphics ever. (Notice how I'm getting the Double Bird from Rick and Jim... wise asses.)

I like hats. I even worked in a hat shop for about 3 years, many, many, many years ago. I coulda been a haberdasher.

The presentations were many faceted and deeply enthralling. No... really.

The head in the upper left is Tony D- our BMX brand manager. Notice that he, too, is giving me the one finger salute. Can you feel the love in the room? Also notice the vegetable platter. We are a healthy group (also, also notice the Corona next to the platter).

We ate...

... and then we bowled... well, sorta.

And there you have Brand Camp 2007... or at least all that I can tell you about. It was a great time and also very productive. Good things came from the meetings and good things will be happening with the products. Trust me on that one...

Tim

This one time, at Brand Camp...

Brand Camp wrapped up on Thursday, after 3 days of talking all things related to the branding, marketing and "stategery" of the Haro family of brands. Like last year's inaugural meeting, it was good to get out of the office and the usual confines of the Global Headquarters (of Total World Domination) and away from the phones, email and typical distractions of a normal day. It's a worn cliche, but getting outside of your normal confines can really free up your thoughts and get the creative powers into full gear. In other words... it was cool.


It was kinda warm on the way out... that is, if you consider 102 to be warm (versus really freakin' hot).A little Daily Drive action... a black shirt on a really hot day- true sign of genius.

These "ICY" signs are all over the mountain and just crack me up- considering it was over 100 in the valley and in the upper 70's on the mountain. Looks icy, doesn't it?

I did my usual ride around the lake when I got there...


Dig the new team kit- Team Becher+. Representin', yo!

I've been working on my raditutde too. It shows. I have a lot of raditude. Almost too much, really.
Ok, that's all for now... installment number two later... it just keeps getting better, too.

Tim (Master of Raditude)