Well this is exciting. My bike is stamped V54. It has a twin plate fork crown. When we spoke about it in the past, Bob Hovey thought it was probably from about 1974. As I read Angel Garcia's note, it implies that the frame could be a year or two older. Could it be a Mario-built Masi?
Of course if it is, the modifications it has had are a travesty. The rear dropouts, which were often milled on Mario's frames have been replaced. Mario often drilled little holes in the BB cable guides. The cables now run under the BB, so the original cable guides are gone. Also the frame lacks the four vent holes in the top of the seat tube that are apparently a Mario trademark. It has only one hole.
Possible scenario: One of the milled dropouts broke. I know the frame was modified by Poccianti, since it had his decals on it, and he was known to do this kind of work. Maybe Sr. Poccianti replaced the dropouts, and offered the customer the opportunity to update the cable routing. While he was at it, Poccianti added brake cable guides, shift lever bosses, and a front derailleur mount. Maybe.
Assumptions and questions The "V" in the fork and BB stand for Verona. Could it be something else? Mario Confente was the only Masi contractor in Verona. Could there have been others? Mario's Masi's had several identifying marks. Does every Mario Masi have them? Is there any other way to identify a Mario-built bike? Who else could have built my frame?
Best regards, Marcus Helman Detroit, MI
Message: 11 Date: Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:42:37 -0500 From: Angel Garcia <veronaman@gmail.com> Subject: [CR] Fwd: Masi comparo US vs. Italy NOW also Confente To: CLASSIC RENDEZVOUS <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Message-ID: <70e14d4c0912141042w1cfadf7brede5f89f3caf3d51@mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"
I don't know the Masi story as it relates to Verona but have read the conflicting stories that have appeared on this list about the "V" Masis.
In any case, I did speak with Mario Confente's sister today to ask about this. My question was: "After Mario left for the United States in 1973 did he ever return to build any frames, or was there the possibility that someone continued in his shop?"
Her answer was: "After Mario left for America no one worked in the shop. The shop was only used by my father to repair some bikes for friends, therefore it would have been impossible for a 1974 bike to have been built by Mario."
If there are Verona Masis post-1973 who would have built them? (i'm not indicating there were pre-1973 Verona masis....I don't know).
Angel Garcia Long Valley, NJ
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