>Okay, I don't own any kind of MASI. I may some day but not now. I have
>read most of these threads with interest and began thinking. What factors
>go into choosing a bike for collectibility and in what order of priority.
>Here are things that were discussed and I am sure each of us has their own
>preferance and passion to share. I just saw such a diverse response to
>this string that it caused me to review myself. Do you want a collectible
>bike because....
>
>It is beautiful
>The Color
>The brand
>The size
>Unusual feature
>The components
>The lugs
>The historic time line
>The builder
>Because someone else has one
>The value
>The scarcity
>The ride
>
>I am just curious. I will look to see if there are any responses to this
>and build a small spreadsheet with just the results, no names. It would be
>interesting to see what you all think. Do you favor one or more of these
>factors and how important is that factor in your decision.
>
>Ray Homiski
>Elizabeth, NJ
Lets, see, how do we evaluate my two most recent purchases? One is an early 70's Wizard, built by Messrs. Baylis and Howard, and the other is a Torpado Special(?), built by who knows? I paid a fair bit for the Wizard although not as much as a clean Masi/Colnago and certainly miles from the Confente/Herse stratosphere. I bought the Torpado for a song on Ebay.
Why buy the Wizard? I hoped it would ride well, but I bought it primarily because of the builders, then because it's rare, third because it's pretty. It turns out that it does rides very nicely, so that reason for affection is rising on the matrix, but rideability is more a reason to keep/ride a lot rather than acquire unless you're in the fortunate position of being able to test ride extensively before buying.
A more pertinent question may be "Who will be impressed by my ownership of this bike?" Probably almost no one outside this list, because who remembers Wizards and who made them? Is anyone impressed that Wizards are connected to California Masi? And are Wizards more like Masis (Masees?) or Colnagos? For 'public' acclaim you gotta go Colnago or Bianchi, or some make covered in racing glory. Would I have bought it if I hadn't been on this list? Almost certainly not, because I wouldn't have had even a tenuous connection to the "mojo" of the bike.
The Torpado was bought because Mark Agree, our list Torpado maven, rode with me some at the last Cirque on his lovely panto'ed Torpado, and extolled the marque's virtues. Since then the marque has been on my radar screen. At the same time I also have been acquiring a Galli group and needed a frame on which to hang it. When this frame popped up for not very much (bike is well patina'ed but presentable) I went ahead and got it, to kill two birds with one stone. She looks fine to me, but thanks to persistent snow I haven't had a chance for a test ride yet. So I suppose this one was bought for history, cheapness then list mojo. It doesn't hurt that these bikes have been prominent Euro race steeds. Anyone with a size 7 Magniflex jersey? How about a Team Torpado pic at Cirque this year?
The obvious connection is that my recent purchases are bikes considered "cool" or mojo-ized by sections of the list. In other words, its all you folk's fault. I suppose that makes me a spineless jellyfish, drifting with the tides of public acclaim. I'll send you all the bill for the psychiatrist. As soon as I get a Flying Scot.
Tom Adams, Shrewsbury NJ
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