NINETY YEARS OF MASI
COMMUNITY, CULTURE, AND STORIES OF LEADERSHIP.
Few modern brands are as inextricably linked to cycling culture as Cicli Masi.
Founded in 1926 in Sesto Fiorentino, a rural commune within the region of Florence, Tuscany, the small enterprise grew and evolved through the passion, vision, and skill of one dedicated artisan; Faliero Masi.
His journey from the white roads of Tuscany, to the industrial center of Milan during the early 1940s put Masi at the epicenter of Italy's turbulent, wartime regime. As bombs reigned down and decimated the nation’s industrial heartland, Masi's education as a student of bicycle racing geometries continued earning him an almost mythical reputation as a leading innovator and designer.
His techniques earned the respect of his industry peers, and his modest workspace beneath the spruce boards of the Vigorelli Velodrome became his laboratory. For twenty-years, Masi equipped the talismanic grand champions of the golden age of road racing with uniquely fast racing bicycles.
In the summer of 1972 founder, Faliero Masi sold the Masi marque to a California businessman named Roland Sahm. The company began its 7,000-mile transition to southern California, with Faliero leading a team of trusted Italian frame builders tasked with establishing a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in the beach city of Carlsbad. But this was an era steeped in cultural and operational challenges. The introduction of the made-for-America Masi Grand Criterium model set high expectations in a fertile ten-speed market, but a lack of synergy among the Italian and newly-recruited American staff members hamstrung the enterprise. In the late 1970s, the brand found a new home in San Marcos, California. Bike shop owner and entrepreneur Ted Kirkbride, took the helm, focusing his efforts on the quality and scaling the company in a manner that Faliero surely would have approved of.
Illustrated with imagery drawn from the deepest European press agencies, and with a candid and insightful recollection from a group of ex-company employees and celebrated frame builders, "Ninety Years of Masi" navigates the companies journey through the glorious "Golden Era" of European bicycle racing, and into the unparalleled US Ten-Speed-bicycle boom of the early 1970s and 80s. With insights from Hollywood Actor; Dennis Christopher, we pull back the curtain on the celebrated coming-of-age cycling movie classic, Breaking Away. Masi USA owner, Ted Kirkbride, and his team share never-before-published photography and insights from the Masi USA workshop. This is the untold story of Cicli Masi - an icon, and pillar of Europe’s celebrated bicycle racing culture.
SERVICES
Research & Interviews, Video, Event Management, Financial Modeling, Contributor and VIP Management, Graphic Design, Logo and Vintage Asset Creation, Product Management, Social Media Campaign, PR and Communications, Historical Consultancy.
THE RESEARCH
The trail led directly to Milan. A visit to Masi's atmospheric workshop beneath the stands of the Vigorelli Velodrome was both magical and insightful. Then, a rare tour of the Campagnolo component factory in Vicenza led to an opportunity to discuss Masi's history with Valentino, the son of Campy's founder; Tullio Campagnolo. Valentino's recollection of attending races and visiting the Masi workshop as a child informed a unique angle within the story. And on our third day in Milan, we ventured to the outskirts of the city for a discussion with one of the most storied organizations in the history of the bicycle and one of Masi's long-standing ally's; Columbus.
I used several key resources on this project. The people - surviving Masi stakeholders in Europe, ex-employees of the Californian era, personal friends, and collaborators of Faliero, and the deep photographic archives of two ancient European press agencies. The literature - The library in Florence contains records and accounts from the early bicycle racing scene in Florence. Faliero Masi was at the heart of this growing movement, both as a youthful bike racer and as a student of bicycle geometries. These resources became the roadmap to research that brought deeper cultural insights to the project.
“We have done several projects together, but this is Dom’s finest work. I knew it would be as he was deep in his research and his discoveries and enthusiasm could barely be contained along the way”
“What an incredible job you made of this book. I’m proud to have contributed to a project that has so much insight, passion, and pride within it.”
“Gorgeous new book from Masi Bicycles just released chronicling the brand’s long history from Italy to its rebirth in Southern California - ‘Ninety Years of Masi’. This belongs on coffee tables everywhere!”
ACTIVATION - UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
THE NINETY YEARS OF MASI BOOK LAUNCH ON HOME SOIL
In late July 2016, the On Record delivered the most significant and culturally informed event in Masi's recent history - The Ninety Years of Masi Anniversary celebration. The broader event featured three individual elements that unfolded over a forty-eight hour period during the weekend of July 30th and 31st 2016. The venue; Masi's California's famed, home territory - the coastal town of Carlsbad in San Diego. Each element of the weekend was fine-tuned and positioned to elevate Masi and drive valuable credibility to the marque. With a group of special guests, that included decorated U.S. Bicycle racers, celebrated Masi frame builders, and Dennis Christopher, the lead character in the Hollywood movie Breaking Away, we drew together an influential audience of bicycle historians, journalists, collaborative industry brands, and bicycle consumers.
The event served to drive awareness of the Masi story, while also reconnecting it to an audience who may have felt that the brand had lost touch with its authentic roots. In planning, we worked hard to combine almost every component of the Masi Legacy Project into one glorious crescendo.
