Good question, right? Answer: a Masi made by Mario Confente for Alberto Masi himself. Here is the recipe. Take one part Confente, mix liberally with some Alberto. Combine with thinned lugs and some nice REYNOLDS (not a typo), place in jig, braze and file for several days, and then:

1971 Confente Built Masi

As the story goes, this Masi was built by Confente to “in 1971 with my [Alberto Masi's] sizes.”   So how do we know such a thing? Well, a letter provided by the man himself tells all the details:

more info HERE

Well hello there CycleZine readers. It’s been some time. But my absence has not been in vain. I’ve been working on several bike related projects which I will (hopefully) soon share with ya’ll. At any rate, I’d like to start my return with another installment of “Seen On Ebay”.

This installment highlights another gem on eBay France [archive link]. Something that would be at home with cycling enthusiasts and avid Franklin Mint collectors alike. I present to you, the History of the Tour De France as told in an elegant series of 12 10 commemorative china plates.

As always, we like gossiping and name dropping - but we only do it with nice words for awesome action that are worth mentioning.

So IT’S OFFICIAL!!! our friend Erik Zo , 4 times freight bike world champion, is now officially part of Team Bullitt. He will be taking part in CMWC Tokyo next month.

Last Friday when I heard the news I was really excited, and without hesitation I hopped on my bike and rode to Erik’s house for a more quality chit chat time. Funny thing was, when I entered his workshop the first thing I saw was a brand new Belinky freight bike in the middle of workshop. Erik won the Bilenky freight bike from CMWC 2008 Toronto and it finally made it way to him yesterday.

Mikael from Copenhagen-CycleChic kindly sent me the link to his new gem on their online store: not one, not two, but sixtythree vintage cycling posters, compiled in one 23.0″ x 34.9″ sized poster…

I am a long time fan of CopenhagenCycleChic (CCC) and the Copenhagenized blogs. I must admit that because of these two blogs, I was  inspired to start Cyclezine. I am not going to go into a detailed blurb here, but I love his blog because it doesn’t bitch about wearing helmet or not bike riding on the sidewalk, but it is a well thought out visual communication for cycling.  His vision is clear.  Mikael is a grandmaster in blogging in my eyes. He can relay his words and photos, and use them to tell the story very well, and best of all, it is very entertaining and …

In my opinion, the Suntour Superbe Pro track hub was one of, if not the best track hub ever created- this goes for most modern hubs as well. It was a solid, well made, smooth spining hub that has yet to be rivaled.

Early Suntour Superbe Pro Hubs- Notice the logo markings and the lack of the word 'Pro"

Chris- a friend of mine, not willing to delve into the dark depths of tubular wheels recently asked me to remove the hubs (coincidentally) from my favorite tubular, Super Champion’s Arc en Ciel. Being a well versed cyclist, Chris wanted the hubs properly detensioned from the rims so as not to shock them and ruin them from another build.

Le Cyclisme Sur Piste- Vitesse

I recently picked up this little pamphlet on track racing in France. And with the TDF just around the corner, it seems like it was a good time to post it up.

The title roughly translates to ‘Track Cycling – Speed’ and it was authored by 4 time [cough] world track champion Lucien Michard.

1977 WCH Sprint Champions: Nakano, Nicholson, Sugata

Whenever I hit a flea market, junk sale, or antique faire, I often pretend I am 9 years old again and head straight for the collectors cards and comics tables.  It is a nice attempt at going back in time. Last weekend at the wonderful Alameda Antiques Faire, I happened across these Cycling Sports Cards. I know, they were already featured all across the web on many different bicycle blogs. There is even an online resource where all of them are collected!

6 Day Bike Racing - The Great Treadmill!

An artistic still life on my living room floor, made by the folks of CycleZine! The chair-base, stem, and bars have each been given to me by my friends, and fellow blog-writers here. A collection I’m quite proud to share: 

Sean, William, Puck, Brian

The stem comes from William.  Early last spring we all converged on Dolores Park for an impromptu bike swap.  I was unemployed and hopeful, and William made a wonderful gesture by presenting me with the gift of a steel Cinelli Pista stem.  The nice one, the one I’d wanted for — oh, around nine years or so!  The one last touch on my bike that I’d never been able to indulge myself enough to purchase.  It was a nice sunny day, and I was blown away to be handed such a present.

I’m a sucker for a nice vintage box or two and the following are no exceptions. Here are a couple of things that showed up in the mail the last few weeks. Just thought I would share, because sharing is caring.

I love the lettering and pictographs of this vintage Gaslo box. It’s more in line with the graphic design of that era. Whereas most cycling design was a couple decades behind the fold with a lot of their graphics.