Masi World Wide Brochure — The Tradition, the Gran Criterium, the 3/V Volumetrica and the Nuova Strada (Pen Drawings, High Country Imports)

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To Finish. It’s Your Choice.

Speaking of a finish. . .there is a notion that the heavier the paint, the less likely a surface will rust. We have found that the thinner the paint, the less likely it is to crack and peel (then comes the rust) under the uses you find for your MASI WORLD WIDE Gran Criterium. However, we take careful steps to prepare the metal surface even before the primer goes on.

For example, we use ruby garnet to etch the surface before platings or paintings because it does not imbed itself into the tubing. Once sand from sand-blasted treatments gets imbedded it will create a pinhole later in the life of the component—and then here comes the rust! After the surfaces are treated, a thin coat of primer is applied several times. Then the paint. Just a few coats are applied but, specially handled between each coat to remove imperfections. Then we decal and apply our unique clear coat process. . .a method that still has our competition confused when they attempt to use it.

Of course, the color makes no functional difference in cycle performance—you may order the color of your choice. The difference is in the hands of a very few craftsmen at MASI WORLD WIDE and, how they adhere to the original construction disciplines.

However, you will receive Campagnolo components from our factory. Anything less would be like painting flames out of the wheel wells of a Ferrari. We carefully install cables, brakes and all components with the same attention given to our frame construction.

All aspects of the frame and its finish; the decal work to the components, wheels and tires are inspected with vigor to please any drill sergent. You trust us to produce a real champion. What makes this possible is our undaunted effort to keep the MASI WORLD WIDE tradition alive.

CICLI MASI MILANO

[A brown pen drawing over a graph-paper grid shows the front of a road bicycle in close view: taped drop handlebars with brake levers and looping cables, the stem, head tube and lugs, the fork crown with a sidepull brake and the front wheel and a shift lever on the down tube. Below it are a green italic heading and two columns of green text, with the round green Cicli Masi seal at the lower right.]

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The Choice Is Yours.

Now that you are aware of the MASI WORLD WIDE bicycle of Grand Champions, the Gran Criterium, and the MASI WORLD WIDE Tradition, we are sure you will want to inspect one. Remember, there are only about four hundred lucky people a year able to obtain the real Gran Criterium. Ask your local dealer about it or, drop us a line for our free brochure further describing the MASI WORLD WIDE Tradition.

And What’s Next? The Italian Volometrica. Coming Soon!

CICLI MASI MILANO

[A brown pen drawing over a graph-paper grid shows a complete road racing bicycle in side view, with a leather saddle, drop handlebars, sidepull brakes, a double chainset, a rear derailleur and a bottle in a cage on the down tube; the down tube carries a sketched decal. Below it are a green italic heading and a single column of green text, with the round green Cicli Masi seal to the right and the rest of the page left blank.]

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Just A Word About Components.

Most bicycle manufacturers allow the assembly of materials to be done in a much-hurried fashion. This makes sense when a company must sell in volume. It is a shame to handle components of superior quality in such a way because that reduces the value of both the product and the sport itself. We produce approximately 350 to 400 cycles per year! This is not volume of course and, there is a good reason (or two).

For one thing, we would never put Campagnolo parts on a cycle not matched in the quality of all its components. Our tubes, made of a very special alloy, provide the rigidity necessary to transfer energy to forward movement. Energy typically lost in frames made by the others. These tubes are seamless—made from a solid block of alloy molysteel. From top to bottom the components used to construct a MASI Gran Criterium are, without question, exactly what you would expect to find on (and in) a bicycle of its calibre. And when you invest in this type of racing cycle, you should trust that your purchase is based upon quality and not a manufacturers ability to “exact what the market will bear” in terms of volume and pricing.

There are no little gimmicks in the construction of the MASI WORLD WIDE Gran Criterium—take a real close look! But, if you wish that we engrave or file pretty ornate filligre designs into your forks, stays and lugs we will but, you are obviously not looking for a racing cycle. Your trust is what we have enjoyed for decades. This statement of confidence proves to us time-after-time that we are right in maintaining a sophisticated simplicity of design. It is easy for an artist to work a perfect painting just a little bit too far. . . the same fact holds true for the Gran Criterium.

CICLI MASI MILANO

[A brown pen drawing over a graph-paper grid shows the lugs of a frame with short stubs of tubing, set out in an exploded arrangement: a lug with an embossed oval crest, a head tube with its two lugs, a cluster with a binder eye and a bottom bracket shell with cutouts and a raised letter M. Below it are a green italic heading and two columns of green text, with the round green Cicli Masi seal at the lower right.]

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The Truth About Building Bicycles.

It is the thought of many who produce bicycles that it is a must to advertise their model as the “best,” or that they lead the industry with the true “state-of-the-art” product. We at MASI WORLD WIDE and High Country Imports, Ltd., have never forced anything like this on the buying public. To make such boasts would be, in our opinion, the very thing that should alert the consumer to a substantial presentation of a mediocre bicycle.

It is true that many copy MASI WORLD WIDE—yet it is also true that no one has matched our methods and, consequently no one has produced the bicycle of Grand Champions but MASI WORLD WIDE. We do not make idle boasts! To start with, our materials are superior. Lugs and crankbox are of our own proprietary investment-cast design that no one has been able to duplicate; our double-butted tubing is the strongest and lightest that technology can supply; handlebars and stems are of engraved light alloy and, of course, we use only Campagnolo components.

So, everyone begins with a pile of parts. But our parts, unlike those of others are more than slightly different. An excellent example of this is our investment-cast lug design. You may not know this , but we invented the whole idea of strength through investment-cast lugs and crankbox. Others are only just beginning to use this process—we are in a second generation design now! You see, we use a special alloy steel especially blended by MASI for MASI. And, our castings are absolutely true. Since we build a bike from the crankbox out, it is supremely important to work with parts that are straight and true. This also reduces assembly time.

CICLI MASI MILANO

[A brown pen drawing over a graph-paper grid shows a left hand holding a bundle of six frame tubes of different diameters while a right hand measures the wall of the largest tube with a dial caliper. Below it are a green italic heading and two columns of green text, with the round green Cicli Masi seal at the lower right.]

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MASI WORLD WIDE
. . . The Tradition—Then and Now.

The MASI WORLD WIDE reputation goes back to post World War I when the young Faliero Masi was learning the craft of bicycle repair and design. A man to whom bicycle racing meant everything, Faliero Masi realized that to achieve greatness, one had to use the very best of not only his talents but, his tools. At that time the racing bicycle was a cumbersome and heavy machine subject to frequent breakdown. Faliero needed to improve his lot in life and, in doing so, would improve the lives of countless others.

After many long years of design experience and great fame as a racing cyclist, Faliero Masi won even greater fame as the maker of The Gran Criterium — the bicycle of The Grand Champions.

Today, Faliero Masi, still belongs to the group of elite Grand Champions of the bicycle racing world. A group dedicated to the preservation of the sport in its best form. And, Faliero is still very attentive to the exacting hand-work and precise skill used to build each and every product MASI WORLD WIDE offers. Each bicycle, component group, accessory and every article of MASI WORLD WIDE clothing enjoys this special type of attention by our craftsmen. This is why the world class champions come to MASI WORLD WIDE seeking out the ultimate bicycles. Remember, you could be one of a select few destined to own a MASI WORLD WIDE Gran Criterium, 3/V Volumetrica or Nouvo Strada, this year!

What’s In A Name?

Years of blind dedication to the art of making the only true world-class hand-made racing bicycles. To make them identically superior for each and every customer. MASI WORLD WIDE—That’s what’s in a name!

CICLI MASI MILANO

[A brown pen and wash drawing over a graph-paper grid shows an older man in profile, wearing a cardigan over a checked shirt, holding a taped drop handlebar with a brake lever and cable in front of part of a frame. Below it are a two-line green italic heading, two columns of justified green text and a second green italic subheading, with the round green Cicli Masi seal at the lower right.]

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Assembly is Not So Easy Even by the Experts.

Our Certified Master Framebuilders (and we employ more than just one) are not allowed to deviate in any way from the original design of Faliero Masi. And for good reason. The methodology necessary to assemble such a superior cycle is exceedingly exact—to thousandths of an inch! We begin with the crankbox and work outward. Our progress is checked from a jigged master frame at all times to ensure that each bicycle frame is just like the one before it. Yes, tolerances are to the thousandths of an inch!

It takes our finest craftsmen at least twenty minutes to just face and thread the crankbox. When this handwork is accomplished, we must achieve a perfect 90° face or the crankbox is discarded.

Our tubing is carefully assembled at each lug point with jigs specifically designed at MASI WORLD WIDE. Then they are lightly brazed and re-aligned before final brazing. All frames receive this check-and-double-checking of alignments at each brazing point. We make absolutely sure that there is no energy loss from a chain that is not driven exactly true around the chain ring.

Our investment-cast lugs are carefully inspected for imperfections. Typically, each one needs only a minute degree of fine filing before use because our casting methods have been exacted over the years. This also cuts down the time necessary for our craftsmen to build your bicycle—thus saving you money. And, our brazing process is specific in nature to ensure total filling of the lug with a special low-temperature brass. There are no open voids inside the lug because investment-cast lugs have no internal radii present.

The result is that your frame is truly one piece upon completion. There is no energy loss due to excess flexibility. The frame will not change with ordinary use and time.

CICLI MASI MILANO

[A brown pen and wash drawing over a graph-paper grid shows a young framebuilder in goggles brazing a joint on a frame held in a jig, with sparks at the torch, and an inset panel at the upper right in which two hands check alignment with a dial indicator on a stand. Below it are a green italic heading and two columns of green text, with the round green Cicli Masi seal at the lower right.]

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MASI WORLD WIDE means Technology and Innovation. . .
The 3/V Volumetrica

As time passes in the bicycling industry, there are various technological advances in other industries that affect us in very positive ways. Metallurgy, machining, assembly techniques and philosophies and, of course, mechanical engineering advances have affected us in a very positive way. In terms of what is new in the technology of bicycle design and construction, the MASI WORLD WIDE 3/V Volumetrica stands out as one of the most influential and “ready-to-be-copied designs” since the turn of the Century. Faliero Masi, utilizing advances in overall technologies and further improving some of them has, in our opinion, fulfilled his life-long dream of building the perfect bicycle. The 3/V Volumetrica is now here for the enthusiast and the serious racer alike.

First of all, each bicycle is hand-made at a secret factory in Italy by craftsmen who use no automation and who build no other product but the 3/V Volumetrica. This, in itself, is a guarantee of continuity and quality. But, unique to this bicycle are the how’s and why’s of its design and construction.

To date, all contemporary bicycle tubing has been a typical aluminum or steel alloy commonly found anywhere in other bicycles—even in our Gran Criterium racer. And the process of using double-butted tubing for strength has always been employed. This is all well and good but, we have gone far beyond this typical approach to bicycle building. Why? Because we wish to provide you with a lighter, stronger and thusly faster bicycle. Weight reduction and increased strength have been an elusive match game for years—until the 3/V Volumetrica came along! We are using a straight-gauged tubing very similar to the theory of a shotgun barrel in nature. The walls of the tubing are very thin and the outside and inside diameters are very large. This tubing is made of a very special alloy and is not heat-treated—therefore, it remains in its original very-rigid molecular state. Add to this a new method of joining the tubes without the heating associated with conventional brazing and you start to picture some of the real uniqueness of the 3/V Volumetrica.

CICLI MASI MILANO

[A brown pen and wash drawing over a graph-paper grid shows a smooth cast lug with a collar ring on its sleeve, drawn apart from a junction of two large-diameter tubes seen end on, with a small marking on the lug. Below it are a two-line green italic heading and two columns of green text, with the round green Cicli Masi seal at the lower right.]

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edco® competition

The Nuova Strada —
Absolutely the Most For Your Money in A Racing Bicycle!

And We Dare You To Compare.
MASI WORLD WIDE has studied the bicycling market with a special eye toward the great majority of cyclists who wish to ride competitively but, who do not wish to spend at the level of the more expensive type of racing bicycle. We have designed the Nuova Strada (New Road) to fill this tall order. And, it does more than just “fill a tall order!”

The many unique features listed below are standard on the Nuova Strada. . .the kind of features that are options on our competitors’ bicycles in the same class! And when you top all of these great features off with the fact that you get EDCO’s Competition Group as standard equipment, you can easily tell where to invest your hard-earned cash!

The Frame is made of Columbus tubing specially formulated to MASI WORLD WIDE specifications. The Cinelli Semi-Slooped Crown fork is all chrome. Campagnolo front and rear drop-outs.

There are two (2) water bottle braze-ons (downtube and seat tube) plus, pump peg including a chromed Silca pump! Cinelli handle bar and stem (1/R black) with the Cinelli Volare saddle. There are Fiamme hard silver rims and a CX freewheel and chain. Vittoria, Nuova Pro tires! And, perhaps the best aspect of the entire bicycle is the group. It’s EDCO’s Competition Group! By far, the World’s most superior component group ever designed and manufactured. This new component group from EDCO features: Hubs; Bottom Bracket; Head Set; Crank Set; Rear and Front Derailleur; Brakes; Seat Post and, Pedals (NOTE: Hubs and Bottom Bracket are sealed.)

Sizes range from: 47cm; 53cm; 54cm; 61cm and 64cm. Decaling is exciting and appears on the head tube, downtube, seat tube and chain stays.

We simply say, this is the bicycle that will give you the greatest return for the dollar you spend. The Nuova Strada—it’s exciting, fun to ride and very fast!

CICLI MASI MILANO

[A brown pen drawing over a graph-paper grid shows components of the Edco Competition group: a pair of brake levers with hoods, a front and a rear hub with quick-release levers and a double chainset whose crank arm is marked “EDCO COMPETITION”, with a large brown edco competition wordmark at the lower right of the drawing. Below it are a two-line green italic heading, a green italic subheading and two columns of green text, with the round green Cicli Masi seal at the lower right and a gray blotch, perhaps a stain or show-through, below the seal.]