While Jim's true obsession is vintage racing bikes he came to the conclusion around 2000 that he just had to try out the modern components with indexed shifting shift levers integrated into the brake levers. These were known as "Ergopower" shifting in the Campagnolo world but also offered by Shimano and later other manufacturers.  Jim was wondering if he should just bite the bullet and invest in a completely modern bike made from modern materials such as titanium which was quite popular in that period.  By a fortunate coincidence he was also in the San Diego area around that time and was happy to pay a visit to CyclArt and Jim Cunningham in order to obsess over the beautiful restorations he was famous for.  There just happened to be this Masi Gran Criterium that was for sale and had originally been made by the Masi California team in 1984, of which Jim Cunningham had been an important of.  It had undergone a full restoration by CyclArt.  The decision made was to build the bike with the latest Ergopower group and experience the best of both the vintage world and the modern shifting world. This was a huge success and this became Jim's regular riding bike for quite some time and made vintage bike riding even more comfortable and enjoyable.