New Masi bike is here!

I ordered this bike in Sept. sometime. Masi Soulville Mixte. Our school district gives longevity bonuses every 5 years, so this is where mine went this year. Took a long time to get here, had to wait through a model/color change, but I love it! It was going to be my commuter, but I think I may do many other rides on it too. It has coaster brakes and a 7 sp internal hub, which took some getting used to, and I may still get some brake levers on the bars, we'll see. They also had a faux wicker basket that would look great, but I really needed to show some restraint for now. I took it on it's maiden voyage at a bike path by the shop where I purchased it. I finally had to make my way back, but I love it so much, I stopped on the way home and rode it again. Really fun and a nice contrast to my serious (sort of) Surly. First time dealing with Old Towne Fenton Cyclery, but they were outstanding. Bent over backwards for me and were more concerned about the wait than I was. They are in a building in which I took art lessons when I was 10 years old and right in front of my old dance studio. Lots of nostalgia going on too, as I don't get back there much.

I need to tweak the seat with a level and shellac the corks. The seat may be replaced with my Brooks, it's pretty narrow.

Soooooooo, this is my final bike. I'm complete now. Road, mountain and fun. Well, until the next great looking bike shows up...

Wow! Worth the wait! That looks like all kinds of fun.
Enjoy it!!!
J

wow, I really like the color!! Nice fat tires, it looks like it should be able to handle any commute, and zombie road too! Are the brakes hard to get used to using?
vickie

wow, that's a beauty!

that is a beautiful bike! i want to know more about the internal hub. what about it needs you getting used to?

Vickie, I had to drag myself off of it. Once I got used to the brakes it was fine and kind of fun. The hills are still a little touchy, but then I think about how I could do it when I was 12! Yeah, it will work on Zombie road unless the shadow people decide to take it. Are you going to the swap meet? Did you ride today? Is it okay to hijack my own thread?

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Originally Posted by Biciclista

that is a beautiful bike! i want to know more about the internal hub. what about it needs you getting used to?

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It's the coaster brakes that I had to get used to. Guess I ran that all together, didn't I? My hands kept reaching for the brake levers and you have to be careful when you coast that you don't back pedal at all. I can change that up later if I decide to. I do want to give them a shot, though. The only thing about the internal hub is that it has a grip shifter and I haven't used one of those in a long time. I'm looking forward to not worrying about a derailleur in the mud and gunk of my commute.

Oooooohhhhhh.....GORGEOUS bike!!! Looks like HUGE fun! :eek: :p :p

Ooooo...I love it. Absolutely gorgeous. :D

I remember lusting after that bike when it was first released (in white/off-white, I think). It was really difficult to keep myself from running out and ordering one. And now that I'm seeing that gorgeous new color, I'm going to have to start exercising all of my powers of self-restraint again.

That is absolutely lovely. I need to move somewhere flat and get a cute step-through like that.

Wow that is a cool bike! I know someone who is looking for a bike that is a cruiser style with shifters and that looks perfect!

Congrats!!! I use the same bike for commuting (the unisex/fixed gear version) and love it. It's a comfortable ride and lots of fun, too. You'll have many great years together! :)

OOOOOOH Purdy bike! :D

May you two have many happy miles together!

I think I'm going to go ride al foster and maybe stinging nettle today, if stinging nettle isn't muddy. If it is, at least I'll have ridden a bit to get there. I thought about trying castlewood, but may just stick with the closer one (al foster).
probably you'll have to get the basket too, for shopping. It's just got such nice lines.
vickie

it'll be this afternoon when I ride, DH is playing golf this morning.
vickie

Interesting. I guess the one thing I don't get is those fenders. I guess if i'm going to run out and buy one, I'm getting fenders that actually wrap around the tires a bit. :cool::cool:

Claudia,

I just wanted to say thank you for this great thread and for the wonderful email you sent me as well; sincerely, this is one of the main reasons I love the job I have. When we design our bikes, it is in hopes of getting this kind of response. We are passionate about bikes- sincerely- and when somebody else who is passionate about bikes "gets" what we've done, it makes it all worthwhile. I know it sounds kinda cheesy, but it's real to us.

The SoulVille family has been such a fun project for us. I have two of them here at home. My 7 (actually a pre-production 8) is set up with all kinds of baskets on it and I use it as my shopping bike. My SS is my all around fun bike and I ride it either fixed or with the freewheel (if I'm towing my daughter on the Trail-a-Bike). I'm spoiled rotten and have too many bikes, but I love my SoulVilles- they were very much a labor of love and I couldn't be more happy about the end results.

Again, thank you for the kind words about the bike and for that email; truly made my day.

Tim Jackson- aka Masiguy

Lisa, this bike was about as close to "sweety" green as I could get. Do you remember how I fell in love with your husband's bike and you just laughed and told me the story?

Dex: True, this bike was in two colors in 2008: tan and black, and I orginally ordered the black, then changed my mind and changed it to tan and then I found out that the 2009s were only available in green. It's the color I really wanted, like the single speed that Bluetree has. It's a little darker than the pictures indicate. A rich metallic olive. The 3 speed is still white.

Mimi: I've seen pros and cons to those fenders. I feel a physics experiment coming on...

Tim: No problem. I love it when I get great customer service, beginning with you personally helping me find a dealer and they kept calling and touching base with me, and letting me know exactly where it all stood. Right back at you with the thanks.

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Originally Posted by uforgot

Lisa, this bike was about as close to "sweety" green as I could get. Do you remember how I fell in love with your husband's bike and you just laughed and told me the story?

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Oh yes, I remember now!- it was this (rather long) saga:
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showp...8&postcount=48
I laughed re-reading it. We were so obsessed and so frustrated! :D

Your bike is truly wonderful. :p

pretty,pretty,pretty :)
I love the sweep of the frame and the cork grips.
Isn't that a Brooks on it now?

Your bike is so pretty it makes me drool with both lust and envy (and a few other deadly sins). Wow! I'm so glad it was worth the wait and that you love it so much! I hope you enjoy every second you spend together. :)

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Originally Posted by Masiguy

Again, thank you for the kind words about the bike and for that email; truly made my day.

Tim Jackson- aka Masiguy

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MASIGUY!

I've heard you on the Spokesmen and the Fredcast. Didn't you have a bad crash a few months back? Everything OK now? Are you guys ever going to get back online with your podcasts?

That IS a nice looking bike! Be very proud!

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Originally Posted by Masiguy

Again, thank you for the kind words about the bike and for that email; truly made my day.

Tim Jackson- aka Masiguy

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MASIGUY!

I've heard you on the Spokesmen and the Fredcast. Didn't you have a bad crash a few months back? Everything OK now? I hope you guys will soon be back online with your podcasts?

That IS a nice looking bike! Be very proud!

Just wanted to make a quick correction because I'm just too much of a geek...

The Golden Green color is new, but we are also still offering the Gloss Black. We still have a few of the Antique Beige bikes, but not in the lovely mixte frame- those were sadly lost at sea in transit, when a full container of our bikes fell off a cargo ship... no, really. That said, the mixte comes in both Gloss Black and Golden Green for this season.

There, I feel better now.

Withm- Thanks for the kind words and support. Yes, I crashed in April and am lucky to be alive and not paralyzed. Riding as often as my schedule will permit- which isn't nearly enough. That said, I am blessed to be able to even complain about it. As for the Spokesmen, I know there is still the desire to record and we likely will. It's just a matter of being able to find a time when we're all available, which has proven darned hard lately. I'll put a bug in David Bernstein's ear, since he is the Boss, and tell him we've got requests for more shows. I also need to get back into recording my own podcasts again too. Maybe tonight would be a good night to try... hmmm...

Thanks again all. I really just wanted to reply to the thread and thank Claudia since she was so kind and sent her email as well. Thanks to Susan here at Estrogen for allowing me to comment here- I don't wish to abuse that privilege.

Tim

SO I have a question, perhaps a dumb question; what about the Masi is Italian?

And I am so sorry to hear you lost a bunch of bikes that fell of the boat!! what a drag!

That is a fabulous bike!

Biciclista-

The heritage is Italian, as it has been since Faliero Masi brought the brand to the US in the late 60's- early 70's. The last of the frames we had made in Italy was back in 2004, before the cost of manufacturing there simply became too high (the same reasons most Italian brands have moved some or all of their production to Asia as well).

We do all that we can to hold on to the principles that Faliero put in place. Obviously I'm super-biased, but I think we do a pretty good job.

I would love to reunite the two Masi families- Masi Italy and Masi USA- and maybe one day it will happen. It's a dream of mine at least.

Tim

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Originally Posted by Masiguy

Just wanted to make a quick correction because I'm just too much of a geek...

The Golden Green color is new, but we are also still offering the Gloss Black.

Tim

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Oops! Sorry about the mis-information. I'll pass that on to my lbs. That black is nice too!

Ohh la la! Nice! Have lots of fun!

I want one.

My name is Zen and I'm a bikeaholic.

Ooooh swoon! I was watching over my coworker's shoulder when she entered those into the catalogue this year and they made my heart go pitter-patter. I am so craving a town bike, preferably a mixte, and those are insanely classy.

She was updating some of the images of them the other day and I started swooning again. I like them better than Inglis/Retrotec bikes. In fact my buddy had to pull me away from them at Interbike. Haro was my first brand so I was super into checking out their booth.

You must let use know how it is! I so want one, but I think I'd put real brakes on it for Colorado. My commute to work involves a gradual downhill that I can get up to 30MPH without much effort so I don't know if a coaster is sufficient. ARGH! That bike makes me want a boyfriend to have picnics with!!!

Good taste love, incredibly good taste.