08 Masi Stuff

Tim over at Masi gave me the big 'No' when I asked him if I could show y'all some of the new product. Of course, I checked BR&IN this morning and there is a bunch of stuff about the bikes.

SOOoooooooo. Let the steel-lovin' begin!

I think my favorite is the Soulville. The bike speaks for itself. Love it? You should. $800-ish for a RAD bike with an inter-8spd rear hub and roller cam rear brake. Fenders, the MASI leather saddle and no front brake make this thing a style MONSTER! I know that this bike will come and go fast so you can bet your sweet Aunt Mary that we'll be ordering a lot of these and early. If Tim doesn't make more of these bikes for 09 as well, I'm going to have to punch him square in the face. This thing ROCKS!

The new Speciale Commuter is another hot little ride. Box crown on the fork, fixed/free in the back (comes with both cogs, I believe), brakes, lower gear than the regular fixed stuff. Great little bike. Not a lot of money either. Around $700 with semi-horizontal dropouts and a derailleur hanger should you ever decide to ride this bike some other way (1x?, double or triple). It's got plenty of room for fatter tires and a great color. Tim is overworked at Masi, for sure!

And finally, our sub $1k steel, boxed-crown Speciale CX. You can race on it, do some touring, cruise town, do long road rides, whatever! Check out that sexy cork-colored tape! And that hot panel paint job. Canti brakes, rack and fender mounts, plenty of room for fatty tires. This will be another hit with the boys and girls of DC. Love it.

I don't think there are any other shops in DC (or even CLOSE to DC) with these bikes around. I can't imagine why Masi isn't getting more attention. These things are priced right, they look GREAT and they have some real heritage. Whatever. I guess I can't complain that City Bikes is the only shop smart enough to carry these bikes.

The rest of the line is really nice too. Carbon road starting around $1900, some really good-looking flat-bar stuff as well as the aluminum/carbon road bikes from $1200 to $2k. That stuff keeps them competitive with some of the big companies out there, but I think this is the stuff that really allows Masi to shine.

Let me know if you want one of these. I wouldn't expect to see them until later this year. I'm working on getting specific delivery info from Timmy asap. Who knows when their website will be up so hit them (or me) with questions about the other bikes, I'm happy to help.