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OPINION

Building the Definition

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Stu Kerton, tested the Mason Definition and liked it so much he went out and bought a frame. Now it's time to build it up

My name went on the pre-order list as soon as the review for the Definition was written and the bike had gone back. Saying goodbye to it left a bit of a hole in my cycling world and the only way to fill it was to get the cash out and buy one.

I went for the Definition as it’s got a slightly stiffer, punchier ride over the Resolution which suits my general riding style, that and the fact the lower price was easier to filter through the household finances.
I like to spec and build my own bikes so I ordered a frameset, a 54cm in Lens Blue that comes with the Aperture fork, the stainless steel bolts and the MultiPort system.

Original plans were to go Campagnolo as I had a Centaur groupset kicking about in the parts bin but the lack of hydraulic brake options put paid to that. TRP’s HyRd were considered but in the end the small compact Shimano calipers won through.

The budget didn’t stretch to Di2 no matter how badly I wanted it so mechanical Ultegra provides the front and rear mechs paired to non-series ST-RS685 shifters and brake levers which add a bit of carbon bling.

The chainset is a Miche Supertype with carbon cranks and 50-34T rings which when paired with the 11-28T Ultegra cassette gives plenty of gears for climbing and descending.

The MultiPort accessories give you the option on how you want to run your cabling, you can either run split outer or as I chose to do, run the outer fully through the frame. The cabling went pretty easily compared to some internal frames I’ve set up.

I wanted the build to look individual so avoided the Deda of the full bikes sold by Mason. I chose Fizik instead to match the saddle I’ve brought over from my T2. It’s all aluminium and provides stiff ride though if I want some comfort I can knock some air out of the 28mm Schwalbe One tyres.

The Mason x Hunt 4Season wheels are on the wish list for now, that pesky budget getting in the way again. The DT Swiss R23s are a couple of hundred grams heavier but are reliable and roll pretty well. I did have to remove the majority of the decals though to fit in with the clean looks of the frame.

So that’s the build so far coming in at 8.8kg without the pedals. No doubt it’ll get some upgrades along the way but I’m happy for now. 

The plan is for some big mile rides throughout the summer and autumn, audax and the odd sportive probably but all knocked out at a decent pace. Most of the time though it’ll be non-competitive, I just want to ride for the sake of riding (not something I do much of these days) and just enjoy the local countryside and cafes while staring at that beautiful paint job in the sunshine.

As part of the tech team here at F-At Digital, senior product reviewer Stu spends the majority of his time writing in-depth reviews for road.cc, off-road.cc and ebiketips using the knowledge gained from testing over 1,500 pieces of kit (plus 100's of bikes) since starting out as a freelancer back in 2009. After first throwing his leg over a race bike back in 2000, Stu's ridden more than 170,000 miles on road, time-trial, track, and gravel bikes, and while he's put his racing days behind him, he still likes to smash the pedals rather than take things easy. With a background in design and engineering, he has an obsession with how things are developed and manufactured, has a borderline fetish for handbuilt metal frames and finds a rim braked road bike very aesthetically pleasing!

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10 comments

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therevokid | 8 years ago
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well that resistance didn't last long ... Hydro di2 definitionin
lens blue ordered .... "Old nick" now has my soul ...  1

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therevokid | 8 years ago
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i sooooooo want one .... anyone want to buy a small child, one
kidney and a soul ?

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Iamnot Wiggins | 8 years ago
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Turns out that Dom's office is just round the corner from my house!

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Dom replied to Iamnot Wiggins | 8 years ago
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Iamnot Wiggins wrote:

Turns out that Dom's office is just round the corner from my house!

Pop in!

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userfriendly | 8 years ago
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Thanks, Dom. That sounds brilliant, happy to test it.

And you're right, I did post it in the wrong thread - due to people talking about putting Campag on it, and I wasn't sure if the issue I had affected only the Definition or also the Resolution.

I've now moved it to the correct thread/review.  1

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bikeandy61 | 8 years ago
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Very VERY envious of all owners. My dream bike in any configuration. You can keep your £12k "super"bikes.

Mind you wouldn't mind winning a £12k superbike. Then I could have a Resolution and a Definition.

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Geraint | 8 years ago
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Nice work Stu, both on the reviews and the build. Thanks to you I have a black Resolution, bit of a frankenbike build with all sorts of random junk out of the garage, but it's functional and doesn't detract from the absolutely brilliant frame. I love it to bits and if someone took it away I would cry proper tears. It's hard to do justice to the amazing job Dom has done with these frames, they are stunning. If anyone is reading this stuff and thinking 'hmm, maybe...' then just do it, you won't be disappointed.  8

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userfriendly | 8 years ago
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Nice one. I was torn between the blue and black version. Then figured most people would go for the blue, and since I'm such a rebel I went for black.

In case I'm not the only one building it up with a Campagnolo groupset, here's a comment I added earlier regarding the BB install on this frame when using full outers:

http://road.cc/content/review/152814-mason-resolution-105-hydro#comment-...

Maybe my solution to the problem I had is less than ideal, happy to be pointed towards something less of a blasphemous hack.

Still about 2 weeks till I get the wheels though.  2 The wait is killing me. Trying to cope by doing only one small bit of the build at a time, every day.

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Dom replied to userfriendly | 8 years ago
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userfriendly wrote:

Nice one. I was torn between the blue and black version. Then figured most people would go for the blue, and since I'm such a rebel I went for black.

In case I'm not the only one building it up with a Campagnolo groupset, here's a comment I added earlier regarding the BB install on this frame when using full outers:

http://road.cc/content/review/152814-mason-resolution-105-hydro#comment-...

Maybe my solution to the problem I had is less than ideal, happy to be pointed towards something less of a blasphemous hack.

Still about 2 weeks till I get the wheels though.  2 The wait is killing me. Trying to cope by doing only one small bit of the build at a time, every day.

Hi userfriendly,

Your solution sounds like a good one, it should work fine and thanks for suggesting it. A sleeved BB is needed for the Definition but not the Resolution [I think you posted the fix on the Resolution page]. I'll have a look at designing an adapter for sleeveless BB's and let you have one to test.
Let me know when your bike is up and running, interested to see the finished machine : ]

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StraelGuy | 8 years ago
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SCHWEEEEET  16 !

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