# masi soulville for commuting



## francoaa (Mar 19, 2008)

What do people think about using the soulville for commuting about 11 miles into work. I like the looks and might use government irs check to pay for it. Also would i be able to put v brakes on this, i think it has a coaster brake?

http://www.masibikes.com/cycles/soulville.php


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

And I quote, _"perfect for riding around town with coffee in hand."_

I think not.


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## blackhat (Jan 2, 2003)

looks like a good commuter. no canti posts means no v brakes, you might be able to fit a long reach road brake around the fenders if you cut them but you'd have to run different tires, I can't see 40c fitting. . it says it includes a "DiaCompe BRS-101 Alloy Dual Pivot" but Im not sure how they intend you to use it.


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## SleeveleSS (Jun 3, 2007)

MB1 said:


> And I quote, _"perfect for riding around town with coffee in hand."_
> 
> I think not.


That is a stupid quote. What were they thinking?


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## roadfix (Jun 20, 2006)

As a professional poser, I can tell you that my chocolate brown Steamroller is perfect for riding around town with coffee in hand.


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## francoaa (Mar 19, 2008)

Is it possible to see the steamroller. Yes I guess it would be in the running for aposer bike
(soulville). But is it worth getting to waste my gov rebate check on or wait for a bianchi velope on ebay?


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## roadfix (Jun 20, 2006)

francoaa said:


> Is it possible to see the steamroller. Yes I guess it would be in the running for a poser bike


Almost any bike can be used as a poser bike. Some make better coffee bikes than others. I have a few other poser bikes. Here's a front shot of the Steamroller.


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## blackhat (Jan 2, 2003)

francoaa said:
 

> Is it possible to see the steamroller. Yes I guess it would be in the running for aposer bike
> (soulville). But is it worth getting to waste my gov rebate check on or wait for a bianchi velope on ebay?


if you're going to do more than pose with it you should get the volpe.


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## roadfix (Jun 20, 2006)

blackhat said:


> if you're going to do more than pose with it you should get the volpe.


I agree.......or most any other cross bike would make a nice commuter. If I were looking for a complete bike for coffee & commuting, I like the Bianchi San Jose.


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## Henry Chinaski (Feb 3, 2004)

It's a cool bike but yeah, coaster brake in the back and that rear hub is insanely heavy.


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## Doggity (Mar 10, 2006)

Nah...there are so many seriously put together commuters out there, why blow yer IRS check on that? I'm agreeing with the Bianchi San Jose, or the Surly Steamroller. Serious bikes, not that much scratch. Don't want SS? Look at an already built up for you Surly Crosscheck. For around 9 clams, got to be one of the greatest all around bikes out there.


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## treebound (Oct 16, 2003)

SleeveleSS said:


> That is a stupid quote. What were they thinking?


https://www.masibikes.com/cycles/caffe_solo.php

I would think one would want the Caffe Racer Solo for coffee shop runs.








I've got no idea of the price though


Oh, they've also got one for espresso drinkers
https://www.masibikes.com/cycles/caffe_dopplo.php

I kind of like this one for some reason, would look good with a little road grime on it, maybe a little strawberry jam on the stem, a couple of drops of dried espresso foam on the downtube









I wouldn't mind having a Masi some day, maybe one several decades older though. Interesting stuff.


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## treebound (Oct 16, 2003)

roadfix said:


> Almost any bike can be used as a poser bike. Some make better coffee bikes than others. I have a few other poser bikes. Here's a front shot of the Steamroller.


Nice pic, just replaced a saddle pic for my daily wallpaper. :thumbsup:


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## chris401 (May 8, 2008)

I have a short commute (4.5 miles each way) and picked this one up because I was a sucker for the style. So far, it has been great. I upgraded the saddle to a brooks and would like to add a rack/basket for holding my bag, but otherwise this bike has been pretty great. It may make me a poser, but I like the look and the ride is very comfortable.


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

chris401 said:


> I have a short commute (4.5 miles each way) and picked this one up because I was a sucker for the style. So far, it has been great.  I upgraded the saddle to a brooks and would like to add a rack/basket for holding my bag, but otherwise this bike has been pretty great. It may make me a poser, but I like the look and the ride is very comfortable.


That's a nice short commute, just what the bike seems to be made for. I like it a lot. 

Glad you like it.


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## cs1 (Sep 16, 2003)

blackhat said:


> looks like a good commuter. no canti posts means no v brakes, you might be able to fit a long reach road brake around the fenders if you cut them but you'd have to run different tires, I can't see 40c fitting. . it says it includes a "DiaCompe BRS-101 Alloy Dual Pivot" but Im not sure how they intend you to use it.


The higher end version has canti posts. Actually, it has V-Brakes, fenders and 700 X 40 tires. I would imagine that you could easily fit 42C tires if you took the fenders off. There appears to be a lot of room.


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## m_s (Nov 20, 2007)

I bought my mom the Scattante Roma 7 when I worked at Performance, which is actually the exact same bike. Same frame/fork, same hub.

The hub isn't amazing but it works fine if you can live with the coaster brake. The bike itself is a lot lighter than you would think.

I did put a long reach IRD brake caliper on the front. The rims are not machined but do have a flat braking track, so it's powerful enough for a town bike with a light rider and some moderate loads (bag of groceries, etc). I did have to remove the fender to do this. I will be cutting it down eventually though, to make it fit. Unfortunately the frame has a rear fender mount, but will not accept a brake caliper. Maye you would be able to fit one of those clamp on brake mounts they make for track forks, I have no idea. I also put on a rear rack with some grocery panniers, as it is her town bike.

We got it because she needed a step through frame (a version of the scattante comes with a cool twin top tube step through design, dunno about the masi), it was cheap since I worked at the big P, and would be very low maintenance but have a wide gearing range. I wouldn't pay more than 600 for it, though, hopefully less. And I wouldn't ride it without a front brake.

Sorry I don't have a picture of our setup, but here's the scattante with step through frame I am talking about


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