Studio Time...

Today was studio day. "Gee, Tim, what's Studio Day?" Well, that's a great question; studio day is when we set up all the bikes in our little mini photo studio and shoot the pictures of the bikes for the catalog. It tends to be a rather tedious project, for the most part.

It's a (never ending) series of little tasks; wiping off finger prints and dust, getting seat in right position, seatposts at right height, bars at right angle, brake levers in right position, no gaps in bar tape, no kinks in chains, chain in right gear, pedals in right position, tires in right position, valve stems in right position, crank arms in the right position, all components are correct (or can at least be Photoshop'd if they aren't)... and then repeating countless times for all the bikes. And then when you get the catalog done, you always find mistakes. Bikes fall over, you notice issues after you've already shot a few pics and then have to start over, you find a footprint on the paper background, etc... it's just a bit tedious and tiring.

For me though, this year is fun, even if terribly stressful; catalog copy still isn't done and I have to finish it this weekend because I have to work on my fiscal year-end report/ presentation next week. On top of it, my desk is UPstairs and the studio is DOWNstairs... and I made the trip about 10 times today, on crutches with bruised underarms/ torso... so that part wasn't fun. BUT... I really love what I get to do for a living and getting to see the bikes that we have worked SO hard to create is just an immense thrill for me. This is as pretty as they'll ever look- good lighting, great positioning, great photography... so it's a kinda special time for this bike nerd.


Getting ready to stage a bike- the white paper is used for the catalog sideviews- makes for easier clipping.



Getting all the details handled... and yes, that IS one sexy freakin' bike!

I tried to see if our photographer extraordinaire, Pete Demos, could even make me look good... but I think I broke the lens.


On the right is Photo-Gawd, Pete Demos, and his new intern Billy.

This is my Product Manager, Wayne- Waynbow, Bearded Lady, Taiwayne- Doran. When it is really busy during catalog season, we sometimes let him out of his cage and give him little snacks; he's partial to Monster and Doritos.


Searching for inspiration. Sometimes Pete needs direction and he loves it when you try to tell him how to take pictures- really, he does.


In the end though, it's worth each second! Check out the great family portrait! You KNOW you want a sexy new steel bike- especially after seeing this!

It's enough to make a broken Brand Manager happy... the Bionic Thumb is happy too.

Yes, there will be more to come...

Tim

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

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

I'm a ramblin, ramblin, ramblin, ramblin, ramblin man...

It's been a while since I've cut loose with a full-on ramblin' post. So go grab a beer, or other bevvy of choice, and hang on...

Ivan Basso- You have got to be kidding me! No... really! "I know it's hard to believe, but trust me- all my previous wins were done clean... I was going to cheat with all that blood... but I got caught before I actually cheated. I know it was wrong, but..." (Not an actual quote, so please don't come suing my broke bike nerd ass.) Seriously? Really? On top of it, Bruyneel says that he's really disappointed that Basso lied to him. Umm... really? No sh@t Sherlock! I am trying to believe that he/ Discovery didn't know what the outcome would be if the investigation in the Puerto case continued... but I'm having a really hard time. No... really, I am.

Floyd Landis- Floyd's arbitration hearing has gone from pretty good, to ok, to not so good, to downright freakin bizarre. Now-former manager Will Geoghegan makes incredibly stupid phone call to Greg LeMond to try and intimidate him the night before he is to take the stand as a witness for the other side. Ok... that alone is one of the stupidest things I think I have ever heard. Really, this puts him in a league of nearly his own on the jackass/ idiot lists. What a dumbass! But... poor Floyd... I love you brother and want to believe the very best about you... but how do you not fire the asshole the second you know he did something so stupid? You find out what he did, just minutes/ few hours after the fact and then you don't do anything about it and try to hope it just goes away? Really? Man, that was a bad, bad move. Prior to this bombshell, I was totally in the "I am waiting for the evidence" camp. Now, I am terribly frightened for Floyd. Even if he is innocent of the doping charges, it is safe to say that his days of racing are likely over. With this ugly circus, which many believed would highlight a shitty anti- doping system, what team would want to sign him? This really does screw Floyd's chances pretty badly. Unless the anti-doping folks do something even dumber (dumberest), there's pretty much nothing to do but wish Floyd a great post-cycling career. Like I said, I love ya' buddy... but, man, that was a pretty stupid thing. That said, I'll still happily buy you a beer if I ever get the chance.

Thursday was the bike industry bike to work Industry Cup Challenge- sponsored by Specialized. Haro had it's best turn out yet, with 17-18 of 26 employees riding in to the office. Me, I rode in and back myself. First time since I've been with the company too... since I live 40 miles from work. So my commute was a whopping 80 miles. Heck, I used to ride 80 miles a day nearly every day when I was seriously racing, but those days are long since gone. I was riding super strong, for me, on the way in to work- making it in less than 2 hours (and that's with all the lights and stops). However, the ride home was a totally different story... taking me more like 2 hours and just shy of 45 minutes. I bonked, blew up, cramped, fell apart at the seams and generally stunk to high hell. It was almost laughable, except that I could find the energy to make any noise. There is one good climb on the way home (Torrey Pines, for you locals) and I was nearly swerving up the hill in the bike lane. I love the climb too- it's one of my favorites- but my legs were simply ca-flooey. I saw the Care Bears, Smokey the Bear and that duck from the Aflac commercials. One of them, I'm not sure which because I was totally hallucinating at the time, encouraged me to keep pushing on the pedals so I wouldn't fall over and have the little old lady on the old touring bike run over me. Thanks for the words of inspiration, who ever you were/ are. All that whining aside, I'd love to find a way to do that more often than every 2+ years. It's actually a really great ride and I have always had a soft spot for early morning rides. All those years of hard training early in the morning made a mark on me.

As much as it freaks me out to admit, it is time to create the next Masi catalog. I've already begun putting some ideas down. I'm sketching out what and how I want to say all the things that will hopefully entice all of you who have not already purchased a Masi to realize that you simply must have one. (You know you want one... or a new one.) If you've got great ideas, suggestions, requests, or whatnot... lemme know. Let me just say that you are going to like what you see... I promise. Really.

A&F Pro Development team- I love my team! These guys just keep rocking! Not only did Mark Hekman win Athens Twilight, but he held on to win the overall for the Southeast Crits race series. Sweet! I mean... super sweet! These guys then went on to roll strong at the Joe Martin stage race. Mark finished a very respectable 18th overall- not bad for a guy who is a crit specialist. The team rode strong in support of Mark, since he is clearly on a roll. It isn't a win, but it is another strong performance from a team that keeps on fighting it out with the biggest domestic teams in the US. Way to go guys!

Saturday afternoon I got out for a little ride. Just an hour to spin the legs loose after a hard Thursday. I didn't ride on Friday because I had a very super top secret meeting with Shimano. I could tell you, but... you know the drill. Special warm and fuzzy thanks to our man Daniel and his Shimano credit card... sushi is so yummy. I guess this makes me something of a whore, since our very good friend from SRAM, Brian Billington, visited just the week before and went for a ride with us and then went to lunch with us. Jeesh... I guess I am a slut. Anyway, to my point... on my ride, I stopped by Adams Avenue Bicycles to visit with my good friend Andrew Lee. Andrew and all the guys at Adams are just amazing guys. I love'em... in a totally normal, bike nerd way.


Andrew and his crew are some of the finest mechanics around this town, which is part of why I stopped by to see them. I had a technical issue to ask them about my drivetrain- for some reason, no matter what I do, the chain skips on the 11t cog. It never skips anywhere else. The shifting is totally perfect on every other gear. No skips, no nothing. The lockring for the cassette is the proper one for an 11t cassette, so the chain isn't hitting that. If you shift up the cogset slightly, you can see grease marks on the integrated spacer for the cog, indicating that the chain side plates are hitting the spacer. It is a general theory that this is why the chain is skipping- if I apply hard pedaling force, the chain slips over the 11t cog, as if the chain isn't grabbing the teeth. It's weird... excluding Daniel and Brian, anybody got any ideas? The cogset, though a few years old, has only seen a few rides and the 11t is nearly virgin since I haven't been able to ride in it. You guys at Campy got any ideas?

Ok... I think I'm done for now. Maybe...

I'm "that guy"...

About two years ago, I was still the guy who used to be really fast, but due to work and lack of training was now just fast without doing too much work to be that way. Still competitive at the races and capable of the periodic "upset" win.

Now I am the guy who is no longer fast and who simply talks about how he used to be fast and was even once really fast. I am now "that guy"... the one who really should just admit that he's not fast anymore and just needs to take a step back and be honest and just race with the B group now and not the A group.

It's a sad reality...

So, as you might've guessed, my first night of track racing in two years did not go all that well. I didn't race any of the weekly evening races at the track last year because my work schedule was just too heavy and I couldn't justify leaving work an hour early to go race my bike. And all the travel ate into my training (can you feel the Excuse Wall being built). I only did one race at the track last year... one... and that was time trials, for crying out loud! Needless to say, my legs went into shock last night.I went to the track specifically to race Keirin. I thought we were doing Sprints too, but it was just the Keirin, which is probably a good thing- I didn't have to embarrass myself in two events that way. My first round Keirin ride was a 5 man ride... one of those riders being Angelo Martorell who rides for the Mexican National team and has competed at both World Cup and /world Championship events and raced in Europe... he's good... really good. Angelo and I have raced against each other for about 10 years now, or close to it. The thing I like most about racing with Angelo, who is actually a very nice guy for a sprinter, is that he and I are almost always trying to be in the same spot on the track and almost always end up making pretty good contact. It seems like every time I'm in a Keirin with Angelo, we end up playing the gladiator game and bang off of each other like Keirin should be raced. Elbows, knees, headbutts... good physical Keirin. Last night was no exception... I was sitting second wheel behind the rider directly behind the motor, when the motor pulled off and we had two laps to race. As soon as the motor was gone and we were into turn 2, I moved slightly ahead to try and box in the lead rider a little and as soon as I did, Angelo moved up into my spot. As soon as I settled back a little bit, he was under my armpit with his helmet and elbow. I reciprocated and our delicate dance began! He elbowed me, I elbowed him, we both kind of kneed and butted the other for a little while and then I simply said, "nice to see you again Angelo!" He looked up at me and just shot me a grin.

When we came out of turn 2 on the bell lap, I jumped hard from my #2 spot and... blew a hamstring. I cramped pretty badly, but truth be told, even without the cramp, I doubt I could've done anything when they accelerated. I thought I'd try to go for the win and see if I could hold them off, but the cramp shut me down completely and then the grim reality that I simply wasn't as fast as them set in.So I spent the next part of the evening trying to stay warmed up and tried to stretch the hamstring back out. Since I didn't advance out of the first round of the Keirin, I had to wait for our consolation bracket finale ("losers bracket"), which was a 10 lap Snowball. One of the young guns took off immediately from the gun and got a nice little gap and took the first three lap points. Since he had a nice gap, I figured I'd chase him down and either just bring him back with the group or work with him and stay out front... but I only succeeded in closing the gap and then blowing apart in fantastic fashion and pulling out after 6 of the 10 laps.

Realizing my night was essentially done... I put on my jacket and shorts and headed into the stands to sit with friends and have a few beers and watch the Keirin final and the 30 lap Scratch finale. It was pretty cool to hang out in the fairly full stands (for us) and hang out. I got to see good friends and have a nice tasty beverage.When I got up into the stands, I found my buddy Dan- "Nut Punch"- Large with his lovely girlfriend Alicia (not sure if I spelled that right). It was Dan's birthday, so he was surrounded by friends and the beer was flowing. Best of all, Alicia has a fantastic sense of style! It should also be mentioned that Dan is a great mechanic at Adams Avenue Bike Shop and recently served as a wrench/ moto driver for Mavic at the Tour de Georgia... Also in the stands was my very good friend PP (today is his birthday). PP is a good guy... and I managed to not crack any of his ribs last night. His current project is converting diesel engine cars to vegetable oil cars. It's pretty cool... his smells like Thai food!Once the races were over, it was time for pizza at Lefty's! We had yummy pizza and beer and made Dan feel a little better about being so damned old (except he's younger than me).And this is Richie (again, not sure of spelling). Richie is a new transplant to San Diego from the fine little village known as New York City. Yes, he sounds like a New Yorker and heckles race announcers like one too. BUT... he can ride a bike... very well.
The picture doesn't do justice to the fact he was doing no-handed wheelies on his fixed gear- with just his sneaks on- no clips, no nothing. It was impressive.

So all in all, even with realizing how slow I am (currently), I had a great time at the track and can't wait to get back and try to improve on my performance of last night. I still race and still will race simply because I love to do it. I love racing. Even if I am "that guy".

It was also great to see all the other friends who I didn't get pictures of; Gordon, Tony, Scott, John, Schanda, etc, etc, etc... (I'll get pictures next time).

I look forward to the next race I get to, though next week I'll be out of town again. Hopefully it won't be more than two weeks before I am back on the track again... even if I have to race the B group (and hope for better luck).

Tim

Bike Porn Monday- Masi Coltello Track Bike

It isn't Friday, but it's never a bad time for bike porn...

Man, I love this bike. I mean... dang! Coltello is Italian for knife... as in cutting up the competition, or slicing through the pack. Dig the Superbe Pro track cranks (with recently installed NOS Superbe Pro BB) and matching rear hub... NJS baby!
And you can not argue with the sheer awesomeness of the Deda all steel sprint bars and G-Strong rubber keirin grips.

These bars weigh a ton, but they are so amazingly stiff that they are worth it.

In a sprint or keirin, it isn't about lightweight, it's about stiff.

The stem is really cool too- it's a beefed up version of the stem we use on several bikes in our line. It's by NVO and we license it for a bunch of models in the line. What's cool, is that the stem slides along an aluminum shim that fits over the steerer tube, eliminating the washers you would normally use. The plus to this is that you set the headset preload just once and then you can change the height of the stem with a single 5mm Allen bolt without messing with the headset preload. What's even cooler still, is that you can slide the stem past the headset cap and remove the bars without messing with the headset- perfect for traveling. In this particular configuration with the steel sprint bars, the front end of the bike is mega stiff! I can't wait to put it to the test tomorrow night.

Yep, that's right... I'm gonna try to get to the track for racing tomorrow night. It's Sprint/ Keirin night, so I'm gonna try and hold my own and see where my legs are. I know they are below my ass, but I don't really know what kind of condition they are in... so we'll see. Hopefully I'll have a good race report and a few pictures to post afterwards...

Ok, back to attempting to take over the world (bike world, that is).

Tim

Friday Bike Porn

I'm working on the Sea Otter photo essay and story, but since it is Friday and raining like all heck here, I felt like just showing off a sexy bike. I mean, Bike Porn Fridays might become a new feature around here... you never know...

Meet one of my current rides. Yes, I know I'm a spoiled brat, but when you are running a bike company, you can be one too...

Built up with SRAM Rival parts, it's a fun rig.


Full monocoque with a good length top tube; this 61cm size has a 59.8-ish top tube. I like to be stretched out.
The bike really has become more of a platform for the SRAM parts on it. The frame is a prototype and the program got shelved.


With the relative success of the 3VC carbon bikes, we opted not to run a monocoque frame- the 3VC is lugged and rides like a dream.

With this bike, I am lucky enough to have one of everything; Shimano Dura Ace, Campagnolo Record and SRAM Rival (I've been begging for a Force group... but so far I'm still at the back of the bus).

(Editor's Note; I forgot to mention that the darn thing weighs just a hair less than 17 pounds- like 16.8 lbs.)

I'm a lucky idiot... I know.

Happy Friday,
Tim

More stuff

Finally getting more accustomed to being home and the time difference- slightly less jetlagged at this point. Lots has been going on, all over the world and at home, so there is just so much to try and catch up on.

Taiwan was great, again. Going to Taipei and seeing cool stuff and cool people was awesome. As a bike nerd, I live for that stuff.

Keirin beer... how could I possibly pass that up?

The happy Haro family, heading off to dinner at the Velo/ Wellgo party the night before the opening of the tradeshow. (They're flipping me off because I wouldn't stop taking pictures all day...)

Jill Hamilton and I with the incomparable and really wonderful Stella Yu of Velo. She's an icon in the Taiwan bike industry and a true force to be reckoned with- as well as a damned nice person.

You can't go to Taipei without seeing the Taipei 101- world's largest building at 504M high with the world's fastest elevator (600M a minute). It's an amazing building... truly.

I saw this frame and fell in love with it. It's all aluminum, but I might have to find a way to work something like this into the line. I mean, the tube shapes and curves were amazing- and the thing was very, very light. With Masi geometry and sizing, it would be mighty cool.

I know I've been skimpy on development news. So I thought I'd let one of the many cats out of the bag, just to get you all salivating and begging for more...

So meet the new Speciale CX!


It's steel and it's real! Flat crown lugged fork with lugged dropouts. Full chromoly frame. It will be a complete bike, aimed at crossers, commuters, light-touring riders and anybody looking for a sweet steel bike with gears and the ability to mount fenders, fat tires and looking for a great ride. Pricing is TBD, as is final spec, but the target is to keep it at $1,000 or less- if at all possible. It might go a little over that, but not by much... I hope. This will be a late summer intro, or maybe even sooner. As I've said before, we are trying to get away from model years for bikes and simply produce bikes and deliver them to the market when they are ready, rather than waiting for a big product release at one or two points during the year. I mean, why wait to unleash a bad ass bike on the world? (Oh, the lighting in the office does not do the metallic burgundy color justice at all.) I know... I'm a genius.

The seat tube decal was placed a little high on this first run sample, but it is otherwise what we will be planning to ship to shops. A few things may get tweaked, but what you see here is mighty close to what will be sitting on shop floors in the near future. Yes, I love me too.

Ok, I'm going to bed.

Tim
(PS- A special "get better" wish for the Masibestfriend, Blue Squirrel. The Squirrel crashed during a race over the weekend and broke his collar bone... again. Good news is that the Masi was unhurt- I knew you would be concerned. Get well brother!)