[CR]Masi fluted style and other non sequiturs

(Example: Framebuilding:Tubing:Falck)

From: "brucerobbins" <brucerobbins@supanet.com>
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
References: <CATFOODyCKDkb9pPFR600000291@catfood.nt.phred.org>
Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2003 00:14:16 -0000
Subject: [CR]Masi fluted style and other non sequiturs

From: Richard M Sachs <richardsachs@juno.com>

"i say it's like anything else... no matter where else it appeared beforehand, or even since, it's "Masi" style as long as it's fluted, indented, or concave, because the masi frames were the first widely known brand to exploit this detail."

Sorry Richie, that's complete bollocks. My mid-1950s lugless Claud Butler has fluted seat stay ends and I wouldn't dare claim that it was the first to have this finish. I'll bet there were plenty of earlier models that used this style. Where is Ken Denny when you need him!

Many bike collectors in the UK have hardly even heard of Masi let alone seen one. Just because it was the first marque that you knew with those seat stay ends doesn't give you the automatic right to claim them as "Masi-style". I'd guess a quick poll of worldwide bike collectors would reveal that many more people know about CB than Masi. Should we perhaps call them CB fluted ends instead?

Since Masi was obviously just a follower here rather than a leader-unless they were used on the original Italian Masis pre 1950s-and since we don't know right now who "invented" fluted seat stay ends, why not just describe them as "fluted seat stay ends"?

To do otherwise could give the wrong impression that Masi was the first marque to use these seat stay ends when it would seem that is apparently not the case. Since one of the aims of the list is to further knowledge about old lightweight bikes, why the need for historial revision?

Bruce About to build the CB up for commuting in Dundee Scotland

P.S. Apologies if someone has already pointed out the earlier use of fluted seatstay ends: I switch off when I see the four letter "M" word and didn't read all the posts as I should have..