Magic or Tragic?

This is something that I came across on the heels of the media circle jerk that is(was) Interbike.
The Masi town bike. ..first off it needs sayin' that I'm all over any kind of bicycle.

..well, almost any kind of bicycle (but that gap may fill itself in subsequent posts). but back to the Masi town bike.


Luxurious? yes, Beautiful? yes, Striking? Sexy? yes, yes. Ludicrous? um, yeah, probably that too. Usefull? Well.. here’s where I have a problem. This is supposed to be a ‘Town bike’.

Now, I can’t speak for everyone but for me a ‘town bike’ is synonymous with ‘pub bike’ or ‘milk run bike’ or any other transit chore that involves getting where yer going then locking pub bike to a lamppost or something equally unattended and/or insecure while you ignore it for as long as you need to. It’s the kind of bike for which you’d expect to pay $50 -$200 bones (second hand of course) for then lube the chain once a year (or not) and get years of dependable use out of.

And that’s where the Masi Town bike falls down. The utility department.. In fact I’d go so far as to say that its got more capital in the ‘status symbol’ department than the ‘utility’ department. Its taking the noble concept of a utility vehicle and fuking it up by blinging it up and inflating its price to the point that it can’t be treated like a true utility bike should be for fear of theft, damage etc. I mean really, for a town bike to really fill the shoes and earn the title I think you should feel more comfortable learning to curb grind on the damn thing versus treating it like some poncy faberge egg that you’re forever worried about being scratched, bashed or stolen.

And that’s a shame cause this bikes got styles for miles otherwise. Nice curves, comfy lookin geometry, plush tires, internal gears. ..all kinds a good stuff going for it, but its just a bit too dolled up for the workaday street duties of a true town bike. Like a prize fighter that’s gone all soft in gucci shoes and taking Perrier baths, or a Willies jeep with heated seats and a wine cooler its lost its credibility for the intended duty. which is to say mucking it up in the streets.

And yet. Its still sexy, if overpriced so if you don’t mind paying more (way more) than you should have to for a simple pub bike and/or if you just need something shiny to sate that inner magpie or even just need the perfect garage accessory to collect dust and keep your Cadillac Escalade company then hop on down to your local Masi dealer cause this is the shit for you.