Re: [CR]Masi Tire labels

(Example: Component Manufacturers:Campagnolo)

Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2003 15:11:25 -0700
From: "Brian Baylis" <rocklube@adnc.com>
To: chuckschmidt@earthlink.net
Subject: Re: [CR]Masi Tire labels
References: <3F00767A.A9292EB@velostuf.com> <3F00A408.72A5@adnc.com> <3F00A7FE.D39560C6@earthlink.net>
cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org

Chuck,

I can't tell you which of the technical trems relates to the way they were built. I will explain the steps exactly and you can decide. I'm not a wheelbuilder per se, although I've probably built around 500 wheels in my day. I never learned any other way or any technical reasons for the method I used. I came from Faliero; I didn't question it. Only recently did I learn from a bike shop friend that the way I did it only works for older wheels. I don't care why really; if I need modern wheels I have friends or do like everyone else does nowdays. Buy them premade. Back in the day, we built our own wheels. Initially I learned from the Jobst Bradnt(sp?) book, but all was forgotten when Masi took over.

I don't have time to outline the steps right now, but later tonight, after I finish burning stuff, scratching things with all kinds of abrasives, and coating metal with various substances, I will do it. It got to the point that I could lace a 36 hole wheel in about 12 minutes, once the washers and nipples were mated. That's no speed record by Schwinn method standards, but it was effecient enough for Masi. I sat there and did it all day long for quite a while (relatively speaking) so I was ready to move on once all of the wheel hooks were filled. Lucky for me new jobs needed to be done all the time. The frames were being built in batches of 25 frames per size. There were probably 2 to 3 batches going at once in a way because there were things that had to be done as sub-assemblies before the frames could actually be put into the fixture for tack brazing and then alignment and final brazing. There were frames in the paint department. Someone had to be keeping up with what was going to be needed as the frames progressed trhough the sequence. I was bounced around doing all kinds of stuff to keep the lines of supply going in the sub-assemblies, like fork blades that were finish filed to use for building forks, and rear triangles that were filed and had stay caps done as well. Needless to say, there also had to be a supply of lugs and BB shells for the frames. I did a lot of that stuff. That's how I learned a lot of the preliminary operations that are neccessary before the frame gets to the fixture for brazing. More later.

Brian Baylis La Mesa, CA Will be having nightmares about swimming in a sea of wheels that all need to be trued using only your thumbnail as a guide! Holy Crap, get me outta here!
>
> Brian Baylis wrote:
> >
> > John,
> >
> > A little something about rims and labels. What matters when building a
> > wheel is where the first spoke is placed, and how the sequence proceeds
> > from there. The last thing one should be looking at is which way the
> > label is facing. Be mindful of an imperfect seem or something that
> > matters, but never mind the label. If all of the rim decals are put on
> > the same way, then the wheels I built at Masi all had labels facing one
> > direction anyway, since the reference point of the first spoke hole was
> > consistant. It doesn't even matter with the front wheel; if it needs to
> > go the other way, just turn the skewer around and you're set. For those
> > who assmeble their bikes for show, there is no harm in conforming to
> > these little fetishes if one wants to. I suppose that's part of the the
> > fun for some of us. At Masi it was a non-issue. Tire glue on a sidewall,
> > now THAT!! is an issue. There was a zero tolerence policy in that
> > respect.
> >
> > Brian Baylis
> > La Mesa, CA
>
> What exactly was Faliero's procedure for lacing up the rims (step by
> step)? And were they laced symmetrically or asymmetrically? (Pulling
> spokes laced with spoke heads all to the inside or all to the outside
> would be symmetrical.)

>

> Chuck Schmidt

> L.A., CA

>

> .