Mark;
In the early 80's I think Alberto transitioned from Cinelli and Masi-branded ttt to Concor and Selle Italia. Most of the Prestiges from 1982 seem to have Concor San Marco or Turbo while some still have Cinelli, and occasionally a Masi-branded ttt. By '84 or so the ttt is gone and it's a pretty even mix of the others... no real consistent brand that I can see. But I have to confess, even tho I've got a ton of pics of Masis from this period, I don't know enough about 80's saddles to pick out the various models unless they are specifically listed in the notes. Even if I did, it'd be really tough to tell which bikes were built up by Alberto and which by bike shops or owners, so what Alberto's personal preference was at this time is anybody's guess. The easy answer is this: With all the variation in the 80's, the best thing is to just use the period saddle that's most comfy to you.
Bob Hovey
Columbus, GA USA
http://bhovey.com/
PS: I'd like to thank the Masi community for using and supporting the Masi site... just logged 50,000 hits a few weeks ago and that anniversary has given me cause to reflect on all the great friends I've made since starting the site and what a great bunch of folks are to be found in the vintage bike community. Many thanks also to Dale for giving us all a place to come together every day.
Message: 14 Date: Sat, 27 Mar 2010 08:58:13 -0500 From: "accobra" <accobra@peoplepc.com> Subject: [CR] Masi Prestige - Correct Saddle? To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Message-ID: <6E3DFB9F97A74D0B8DED72182DDF4C7B@MarkPC> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Can someone tell me what the most correct saddle would be for a 1982 Masi Prestige? I currently have a Cinelli smooth leather on it, but I also have a Cinelli suede saddle that I could use. Both are black of course, and both are the correct "flying C logo" early 1980's variety.
As I recall, the correct saddle for a mid-70's Masi Gran Criterium was a black "suede" Cinelli saddle, though the smooth leather was more practical from a use standpoint because the suede finish wore off quickly. Of course the mid-70's saddle would have the older Cinelli oval imprint on the sides rather than the flying C.
Can anyone speak to the "suede vs. smooth" leather on either era of Masi's? Bob Hovey?
Mark Winkelman
Dallas, Texas USA