When Richard Byrne, the CEO of pedal manufacturer Speedplay Inc, was given a Masi Special that his brother found in a jumble sale, he was also presented with a dilemma: retain the original condition or restore it to it’s former glory.
Richard requested the opinion of some friends who happened to be experts in Masi matters, Brian Baylis and Rob Roberson (former frame builders at Masi California and now respected builders in their own right), and Joe Bell, owner of JB Painting and one of the best bicycle painters in the business. They declared the Special to be authentic but also refused any part in any restoration, recommending the bike be left ‘as is’, out of respect for Faliero Masi. They resolved to build a replica instead, which took a year to get to a point where commercial photographer Ian Cummings could capture the beauty you see today.
The original Masi can be seen below, virtually identical to it’s updated mate. Brian and Rob documented each step of the build process, and you can view those and more of Ian’s details on a dedicated page on the Speedplay website.
Previously: Masi 3V Volumetrica
