- News
- Reviews
- Bikes
- Accessories
- Accessories - misc
- Computer mounts
- Bags
- Bar ends
- Bike bags & cases
- Bottle cages
- Bottles
- Cameras
- Car racks
- Child seats
- Computers
- Glasses
- GPS units
- Helmets
- Lights - front
- Lights - rear
- Lights - sets
- Locks
- Mirrors
- Mudguards
- Racks
- Pumps & CO2 inflators
- Puncture kits
- Reflectives
- Smart watches
- Stands and racks
- Trailers
- Clothing
- Components
- Bar tape & grips
- Bottom brackets
- Brake & gear cables
- Brake & STI levers
- Brake pads & spares
- Brakes
- Cassettes & freewheels
- Chains
- Chainsets & chainrings
- Derailleurs - front
- Derailleurs - rear
- Forks
- Gear levers & shifters
- Groupsets
- Handlebars & extensions
- Headsets
- Hubs
- Inner tubes
- Pedals
- Quick releases & skewers
- Saddles
- Seatposts
- Stems
- Wheels
- Tyres
- Health, fitness and nutrition
- Tools and workshop
- Miscellaneous
- Tubeless valves
- Buyers Guides
- Features
- Forum
- Recommends
- Podcast
review
£3,175.00
VERDICT:
Top performance, looks and capability from Mason's updated gravel bike
Weight:
9,470g
Contact:
At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.
What the road.cc scores meanGood scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.
- Exceptional
- Excellent
- Very Good
- Good
- Quite good
- Average
- Not so good
- Poor
- Bad
- Appalling
The gravel and adventure riding scene has come a long way since Mason Cycles first launched its Bokeh in 2016, and for 2019 the model has been updated, increasing its capability. In terms of performance and handling it's still top class and essentially unchanged from the original – it's still a bike that is very happy mixing up road and off-road riding – but you are paying a premium over aluminium alternatives.
- Pros: Handling, looks, lots of mounts, tyre clearance
- Cons: Pricey, not the smoothest ride
Ride and handling
I tested the original Bokeh when it first launched, and I've ridden a hell of a lot of gravel and adventure bikes in the intervening years, so I was keen to have a go on the updated Bokeh 2 and see if it still lived up to the plaudits I handed it in that original review.
It hasn't lost any of its appeal. Most of my previous observations still stand. This is still a highly capable bike that's just as at home cruising along country lanes as it is splashing through hub-deep puddles, skidding around corners and dive-bombing down rutted descents.
The Bokeh 2 has a sporty ride. It feels fast – there's a positive steering response and evident stiffness from the frame and fork to ensure it's responsive to your inputs, whether through the pedals thrashing up a climb or carving corners.
Direction changes come quickly, too, when you're hurtling through the woods. And it feels quick on the road, the frame doing a good job of transferring power when you're gunning for the top of a climb. You can easily fit some fat slick tyres and, gearing aside, keep up with faster roadies on a club run or smash out the commute.
There's sure-footed stability when careening down a rocky descent or pushing along a gravel track. The slack head agile, longer fork trail and stretched wheelbase compared to a road bike, as is common with many gravel bikes, prevents the Bokeh 2 from feeling too edgy or nervous.
Comfort is good over rough terrain, the big tyres at low pressures obviously contributing a great deal. It doesn't smooth out the impacts quite as well as some rivals, namely the Specialized Diverge with its Future Shock or the GT Grade's bendy rear stays. Yes, tyres are the main source of suspension but the frame and fork still account for some of the difference you can clearly feel through the contact points.
I primarily rode the bike with the 650B Hunt wheels and 47mm WTB Sendero tyres it came with, a combination that proved excellent in the muddy conditions I had for testing. We've had one of the wettest autumns in a long while and slick gravel tyres aren't much use if you want to go off-road here in the Cotswolds, I can tell you!
The Sendero tyres are capable in loose gravel and deep slippery mud, finding traction when you're on the edge of toppling over. And when the time comes to bash out some road miles, they're not all slow and ponderous – in fact, they zip along quietly and happily.
Smaller wheels equal more fun too. The Bokeh 2 is more agile and easier to carve through tight corners with the 650B wheels. Speed comes more easily when sprinting out of corners. The only downside to the smaller wheels is the impact it has on the bottom bracket height and a slightly increased risk of pedal strike.
I also tried the Bokeh 2 with some 40mm Panaracer Gravel King tyres on 700C wheels, and I still personally think bigger wheels are the outright faster choice. If I was doing a long-distance gravel adventure that would be my preference. But for blatting around the woods, focusing on having fun and getting a faceful of mud, 650B with Sendero tyres get my vote.
Changes to the Bokeh 2
The Bokeh 2 is made in Italy from triple-butted Dedacciai 7000 series aluminium. It's packed with sensible details and there's a nice aesthetic balance to the bike, from the chunky carbon fork to the profiled down tube and curved stays. The decals are up to Mason's usual impeccable standards and give the Bokeh 2 a sense of pedigree.
The eye-catching green paint is new for the Bokeh 2 and an easy way to spot one in the wild, but the original orange and grey colour choices are still available too. There's an extra size as well: a 62cm frame, increasing the range to seven. The geometry remains unchanged from the original.
Tyre clearance has been increased by a useful amount, up from 41 to 45mm on a 700C wheel. There's also 650B compatibility with up to a 50mm tyre catered for. If you want wider, you'd be better served by Mason's ISO.
Those clearances are ample for many people buying gravel bikes who will want a bike that offers good speed on a wide variety of surfaces, from road to woodland tracks and pure gravel.
You have to look closely to spot the other changes because they're subtle. The carbon fork has been updated and now features internal dynamo routing and three rack mounts compatible with Anything accessories, so you could add extra bottles or load storage. They've been canted forward for more clearance.
Mudguard and rack eyelets carry over from the original, ensuring this is a bike that could easily serve as a slick-tyred winter training, commuting or touring bike with a change of tyres or wheels.
Cable routing has been revised, still using the same modular system that ensures compatibility with all groupsets and 1x or 2x, but the rear gear cable port has been repositioned to reduce top tube pack interference.
Another change to provide easier internal routing of the rear brake hose and electronic shift cable is an oversized 56mm diameter shell around a 68mm threaded bottom bracket. The bigger shell not only provides space for the hose and wires to pass around the bottom bracket, it also provides more real estate for welding the chainstays lower, for better cable routing and more tyre clearance. It's a little slab-sided ugly but it's at least functional and serves a purpose.
Frame weight is a claimed 1,730g for a 56cm frame, with the Parallax 2 carbon fork adding 465g.
Equipment
The £3,175 Bokeh GRX on test is the pick of the range in my opinion. You get Shimano's brand new GRX 800 mechanical groupset in a 1x configuration, pairing an 11-42t cassette with a 42t chainring.
If you prefer 2x, that can be specced for an extra £20, and you get an 11-34 cassette and 48/31 chainset.
I've spent quite a bit of time on Shimano's new GRX groupset, on several test bikes, but this Bokeh 2 was my first with the 1x version. The ergonomics of the hoods are excellent and increase control in tricky situations, with the brake levers easier and nicer to operate.
The shifting quality is flawless; each push of the gear lever results in a smooth, quiet and quick gear change. It works reliably in all conditions too – even when the entire bike is caked with mud, there's no reluctance from the rear mech.
The clutch mechanism in the rear derailleur eliminates chain slap. This makes the bike quieter, reduces damage to the chainstay paint, and prevents the chain from falling off when you're bouncing across cobbles or rutted fields.
Braking performance is first class too. The braking force and delivery of the power feel the same as Shimano's road bike groupsets; it provides easy one-finger braking, which gives you more control over the handlebar when the tyres are sliding around struggling for grip.
Wheels are the Mason X Hunt 650B AdventureSport Discs, shod with those WTB Sendero tyres I mentioned earlier, but other tyres can be specced from Schwalbe, Panaracer and other models from WTB. The 650B Hunt wheels are stiff and responsive and proved reliable during my test, and the tyres are grippy in the mud and not draggy on the road. A good winter pick.
Finishing kit is a combination of Mason branded carbon seatpost and seat clamp, a Deda Gravel100 handlebar and Superzero stem, and Fabric Scoop Shallow saddle with matching Hex bar tape.
The aluminium handlebar has a nice amount of flare to the drops, 12-degree flare to be precise, without being excessive, enabling more control over the direction that the bike takes on the descents, while the top section is slightly ovalised, lending more comfort when cruising.
Value
The Bokeh 2 frameset costs £1,250, a £100 increase since we tested the original in 2017. You can buy a 'rolling chassis' for £1,598, which includes Hunt wheels in a choice of 650B or 700C size, and a carbon fibre seatpost.
Our test bike with Shimano GRX 800 costs £3,175, but complete builds start from £2,795 with SRAM Rival 1 or Shimano 105, rising to £3,995 with Shimano GRX Di2. If that's not posh enough for you, switch to the Bokeh Ti and you can spend £6,195.
It's certainly a pricey proposition for an aluminium frame, but not all aluminium frames are designed with as much care and attention to detail as the Mason clearly is. Take into account subjective things like the Italian manufacturing, the design, finish and attention to detail and the price becomes more acceptable – but you are paying more for the frame when comparing complete bikes to some rivals in this category.
Ribble's CGR AL, for example, costs £1,839 for a complete bike when custom specced with Shimano GRX 800 and WTB Nano tyres. You can read a review of it here.
There's also the excellent Canyon Grail AL 7.0, which offers very good value for money, though the finish of the frame clearly isn't on the same level as the Bokeh 2.
> Buyer's Guide: 22 of the best gravel and adventure bikes
You could also get a carbon fibre bike in the shape of the Vitus Substance CRX, which costs £1,799 with a SRAM Rival 1 groupset and 650B wheels and tyres.
If you want a British designed and British made gravel bike, your choices are limited. One that springs to mind is the new Enigma Endeavour which costs £2,001.98 for the frameset.
Verdict
The updated Bokeh 2 retains everything that I loved about the original, with excellent handling that works well across a variety of terrains. It's fast, sporty and involving. The extra tyre clearance will be welcomed, as will the increased capability with extra mounts, and the small changes to cable routing show the company's attention to detail.
Verdict
Top performance, looks and capability from Mason's updated gravel bike
road.cc test report
Make and model: Mason Bokeh GRX
Size tested: 54cm
About the bike
List the components used to build up the bike.
From Mason:
Frame Dedacciai custom-shaped performance Aluminium.
Fork Mason Parallax2 full carbon Thru-Axle fork.
Headset DEDA Low profile integrated headset.
Colours Element Grey. Flare Orange. Filter Green
Bike Weight 54cm 9.2kg.
Transmission:
Shifting Shimano GRX-810 Mechanical Shifting.
Chainset Shimano GRX-810 1x (42T) / 2x (48/31)
Cassette Shimano M8000 11-42. / CS800 11-34
Chain Shimano HG701 11 Spd.
Wheels and braking:
Braking Shimano GRX-810 Hydro Calipers.
Tyres Choice of Schwalbe, Panaracer, WTB.
Wheels HUNT Four Season Gravel Disc / Mason X HUNT 650B AdventureSport Disc. Other models available.
Contact zones:
Handlebar Deda Gravel100
Clamp MASON Macro alloy ultralight.
Seatpost MASON Penta carbon, microadjust.
Saddle Fabric Scoop, Shallow, Mason Custom.
Bar Tape Fabric Hex tape.
Stem DEDA Superzero.
Sizing:
Sizes 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62.
Tell us what the bike is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about the bike?
Mason says:
The Bokeh bikes and framesets are AdventureSport machines for fast 'Continent Crushing' rides and they can use either 650b x 50mm or 700c, with up to 45mm tyres. Many customers specify 2 sets of wheels, a quick swap dials the Bokeh perfectly to your chosen terrain or adventure. Use our 'Configure' tool to build your perfect Bokeh.
All our bike designs require a spark, something that starts the fire smouldering and gets us enthused and caught up, the Bokeh bikes were no different. We started to see the Definitions and Resolutions being used in ways that we hadn't envisioned when they were designed, more and more riders were fitting lightweight packs in the frame and on the bars and behind the seat and heading off on huge adventures. The comfortable, fast, long-distance nature of the bikes really worked for this type of riding and larger volume tyres and disc brakes gave comfort, confidence and predictable handling and braking in all conditions...our mantra 'FastFar' was born.
Josh Ibbetts incredible Transcontinental 2015 win, riding a virtually standard Mason Definition really inspired me and helped strengthen my resolve to design a bike that was a 'continent crusher', capable of being ridden fast on many surfaces and varied terrain, for a long way in as much comfort as possible. It's a response to this move in cycling towards venturing off road and using bigger tyres, disc brakes and lightweight packs and having adventures, but not necessarily on bikes with masses of luggage.
We have again collaborated with our friends at Hunt Bike Wheels to develop a Mason x Hunt 'AdventureSport' 650b wheelset for the Bokeh bikes. The development of 1x drivetrains and lightweight, performance multi-terrain 650b tyres and fast, large volume multi-terrain tyres for 700c has really helped fuel bike development.
We have started from the ground up with the Bokeh geometry the clearance is increased to take up to 650b x 50mm or 700c x 45mm, I think anything larger is MTB territory. The wheelbase is longer and angles a little slacker, with the fork using a 50mm offset to keep the trail dimension under control.
The stack height is very similar to the Definition and Resolution, we didn't want overly long head tubes because these are fast bikes and they need to accelerate and climb well. Sizes are 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60 and 62cm, see individual bike pages for full geometry.
The carbon monocoque 'Parallax' fork has been developed in conjunction with our Italian frame builders, it uses a Ø12mm thru-axle, flat-mount and internally routed hose and weighs just 465g. As with the frames, there is a full compliment of discreetly sited fender eyelets and an extra one at the front for a Dynamo light.
Where does this model sit in the range? Tell us briefly about the cheaper options and the more expensive options
Complete builds start from £2,795 with SRAM Rival 1 or Shimano 105, rising to £3,995 with Shimano GRX Di2. If that's not rich enough for you, switch to the Bokeh Ti and you can spend £6,195. The test bike with Shimano GRX 800 costs £3,175.
Frame and fork
Overall rating for frame and fork
9/10
Tell us about the build quality and finish of the frame and fork?
Excellent quality, up with the best you'll see on a bike.
Tell us about the materials used in the frame and fork?
Dedacciai custom formed, triple-butted performance aluminium frame with Mason Parallax full carbon thru-axle fork.
Tell us about the geometry of the frame and fork?
Longer and slacker than a road bike.
How was the bike in terms of height and reach? How did it compare to other bikes of the same stated size?
I found the fit and reach comfortable.
Riding the bike
Was the bike comfortable to ride? Tell us how you felt about the ride quality.
The ride quality is very good on the road and in the woods. Wide tyres at low pressures obviously help a lot when it comes to comfort.
Did the bike feel stiff in the right places? Did any part of the bike feel too stiff or too flexible?
The frame is very stiff with good power transfer.
How did the bike transfer power? Did it feel efficient?
No lack of power transfer at all.
Was there any toe-clip overlap with the front wheel? If so was it a problem?
None.
How would you describe the steering? Was it lively neutral or unresponsive? Sporty!
Tell us some more about the handling. How did the bike feel overall? Did it do particular things well or badly?
It's a sporty and engaging bike with decent stability at higher speeds.
Which components had the most effect (good or bad) on the bike's comfort? would you recommend any changes?
I wouldn't rush to change anything on this build.
Rate the bike for efficiency of power transfer:
9/10
Rate the bike for acceleration:
9/10
Rate the bike for sprinting:
9/10
Rate the bike for high speed stability:
8/10
Rate the bike for cruising speed stability:
8/10
Rate the bike for low speed stability:
8/10
Rate the bike for flat cornering:
8/10
Rate the bike for cornering on descents:
8/10
Rate the bike for climbing:
8/10
The drivetrain
Rate the drivetrain for performance:
8/10
Rate the drivetrain for durability:
8/10
Rate the drivetrain for weight:
7/10
Rate the drivetrain for value:
8/10
Wheels and tyres
Rate the wheels for performance:
8/10
Rate the wheels for durability:
8/10
Rate the wheels for weight:
8/10
Rate the wheels for comfort:
8/10
Rate the wheels for value:
8/10
Rate the tyres for performance:
8/10
Rate the tyres for durability:
8/10
Rate the tyres for weight:
8/10
Rate the tyres for comfort:
8/10
Rate the tyres for value:
8/10
Controls
Rate the controls for performance:
8/10
Rate the controls for durability:
8/10
Rate the controls for weight:
8/10
Rate the controls for comfort:
8/10
Rate the controls for value:
8/10
Your summary
Did you enjoy riding the bike? Yes
Would you consider buying the bike? Yes
Would you recommend the bike to a friend? Yes
How does the price compare to that of similar bikes in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?
It's more expensive than many other aluminium gravel bikes, as listed in the review body.
Rate the bike overall for performance:
8/10
Rate the bike overall for value:
5/10
Use this box to explain your overall score
It's expensive for aluminium, but it's an extremely lovely looking bike that packs a great ride and loads of capability and versatility that shines on all terrain.
About the tester
Age: 31
I usually ride: My best bike is:
I've been riding for: 10-20 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, time trialling, cyclo-cross, commuting, touring, mountain biking
David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes.
Latest Comments
- David9694 8 sec ago
I hope you're all checking your insurance policies, test certificates and road tax, it's the 2024 round-up...
- check12 1 hour 39 min ago
200 people out of a close by population of how many? Just build it and stop being a wuss
- Spangly Shiny 3 hours 12 min ago
To paraphrase Field of Dreams, "Build it right and they will come: and use it!"
- Rendel Harris 5 hours 33 min ago
And a Happy Christmas to you, road.cc staff!
- Rendel Harris 6 hours 21 min ago
The odds of not being able to find a single pedestrian - just one, note, "any pedestrian" - in an area containing more than about ten of them who...
- bikeman01 8 hours 39 sec ago
I love how wannabe racer reviewers talk about fork flex under braking like their tyres are made of glue. I find traction gives long before fork flex.
- hawkinspeter 9 hours 7 min ago
They don't make them like they used to
- LongitudeLatitude 9 hours 58 min ago
Thanks for using my picture of chocolate in your opening picture. The original can be found here, chocolate! | LongitudeLatitude | Flickr.
- lesterama 10 hours 25 min ago
Fair comments. I'll put my hands up and say I got the wrong end of the stick with this one. ¡Feliz navidad! Here's a pic for the season of goodwill.
- Mike Holmes 10 hours 29 min ago
A trip down memory lane (or street) for me - Harry Quinn's bike shop was at the top of our Street and I used to spend time staring at the bikes and...
Add new comment
27 comments
Hi Cal/Dom,
Question for you, why did you choose Italian steel (Columbus) over British Steel (Reynolds)?
They both seem to offer similar quality. I note Reynolds supply DeRosa for their Ti hand build frames. Maybe Reynolds are more expensive, just curious.
I think the Mason Aspect uses some Reynolds Ti too, including 3d printed Ti dropouts.
Hi quiff,
Yes, correct. The Aspect uses Reynolds UK chainstays and 3D printed dropouts. We also use Reynolds 853 seat tube for our new InSearchOf model.
We try to use the best tube and component for the design and intended use of the bicycle, rather than just trying to use one supplier or restricting things by price-point.
Dom | Mason Cycles.
Hi peted76,
Thanks for your question.
When I started the brand in 2014, I was very keen to work with the highly skilled and specialised frame builders in Italy. They were leading the world at one point and then they were badly hit by the huge growth in the Taiwanese cycling industry. I really wanted to work closely with them, get to know the welders and painters by name, hold and design the tubes with them and get dirt back under my fingernails! So... at the same time I went to visit the Italian tube makers to find the perfect tubesets. Columbus and Dedacciai were very keen to work with us and we have ended up designing complete custom tube sets with them, especially Dedacciai who are passionate about what we are doing and have helped us a great deal. Take a look at the new InSearchOf steel frameset for a good example of our collaboration and some really lovely tube shapes and sections.
The material and finish quality is also extremely high. So the answer is that we are able to work more closely and acheive more complicated and specific tube shapes by working with the Italian tube makers for our custom Alu, Steel and Ti tubesets. They also work very closely and directly with the people that weld our frames.
Saying that, our thing is to work with the very best suppliers for our needs, so when it came to the seat tube for our new InSerachOf and the 3D printed dropouts and chain stays for our New Titanium Aspect frame, we went to Reynolds UK. The steel dropouts for our Resolution and ISO models are also UK machined by BEAR.
So it's not an expense thing, it's more that we use a blend of tubing and suppliers to try and achieve the perfect outcome for the design and intended use of our bicycles.
I hope that helps and makes sense?
Dom | Mason Cycles.
It's worth noting that the GRX groupset is around 400g heavier than Force. GRX is designed to be a totally dependable and reliable groupset and somewhere between Ultegra and XT, which is partly why you won't find a load of superlight materials in the group. For example, the lever and crank are alloy where in Force it's carbon. A little heavier, but on this type of bike superlight doesn't count for much, especially not over reliability and trust.
The same goes for our Bokeh frameset and most Mason framesets in fact. We could make it lighter, but that is certainly not our prime focus. We've designed it to be fast, engaging and dependable. All of these are more important than featherweight to us. We also properly test ALL our frames and forks by putting them through the extremely tough ISO testing schedule before production. [Take a look at our FB page for an example of the testing our new InSearchOf frame had to endure]. It's not law and not all brands do this, because it's TOUGH.
Serious ultra-racers and bikepackers see this and our bikes have been adopted by them and those who want to go fast, in comfort, and to be totally confident in their kit. It's an added bonus that most if not all of these riders have become very close friends of Mason.
Look to race results to see if weight matters. Josh Ibbett / ItalyDivide win. Angus Young GBDuro 2nd Place, Further 2nd Place (with LOTS of hike-a-bike). Philippa Battye has clocked over 25000km, 6 ultra races with numerous 1st female places, 22 countries in just under 2 years on her Bokeh.
A final note on pricing: our exclusive Dedacciai custom Aluminium tubeset costs close to the Columbus steel we make our Resolution frameset from [the final steel frame ends up more expensive because of a longer more involved construction process, more expensive components and different 'cataforesi' anti-corrosion treatment] . Looking at manufacturing industry at large, steel (not stainless) is generally cheaper than aluminium. Why should it be any different in our industry? A history of low grade Alu. being compared to high-end steel, perhaps.
Further to this, we're really proud to have professional bike tour leaders and routefinders on our Bokeh and InSearchOf bikes. Not only does this give us great confidence in our designs it is also essential feedback from pros riding day in day out. They never talk about bike-weight.
We're well aware of other bikes in this category with various 'suspension devices' for ride quality, but in our opinion it's increasing the number of areas prone to wear and possible failure. We prefer to engineer the ride-quality into the profile and shaping of our tubes. We also develop all our own carbon forks from scratch and do not rely on open mold or aftermarket designs.
We always say to our customers that 'we are with you all the way' and this is why you'll find our social media channels are predominantly featured with our happy customers - this is what matters most to us. Take a look at our Facebook page to see. We really are here to look after you throughout your Mason ownership, and this level of customer service is what you don't get with big brands.
The last couple of years have been an incredible journey as our Bokeh and InSearchOf customers are totally inspiring us with their adventures all over the world. It's fantastic when our customers come back to us to add another Mason to their quiver.
When you first make a phone call, email or drop by the Barn for a test ride you'll either speak to Dom, me, Alex (Head of Customer Service) or Matt and James (our master technicians). We're a small bicycle company and we work flat-out towards our goal of designing and building the best bicycles in the world, and delivering the ownership experience to go with it.
Callum Nicklin | Mason Cycles Brand Manager
It looks lovely and is exactly the sort of bike I would use for my kind of riding (mixture of road / off-road, bikepacking, bit of light touring). However, it looks mega expensive. I don't mind this but I'm keen to know what I'm getting for the extra money. I could, for example, buy a Sonder Camino frame for £300 (compared to £1200 for the Bokeh) which gets great reviews and looks like it will do everything the Mason will do. Am I really getting £900 of extra bike when I buy the Mason ?
Hi luiandlui,
Thanks very much, glad you like it. It does sound well suited to your riding styles.
The above post from Brand Manager Callum Nicklin goes some way to answering your question.
Also, yes the Sonder Camino is no doubt a good entry level frame but possibly something that you will want to upgrade as and when you get more serious about your traveling and bikepacking. Our Mason frames use full custom tubesets that we have made for us by Dedacciai in Italy, they are then welded in very small workshops by one man and painted to an extremely high standard in the best Italian paint shop that we could find. We also design and tool for all our own carbon forks, to ensure they match and perform with the frame perfectly. All our frames are tested to full ISO standards and sometimes beyond. The idea is that they are an investment and something that you will own for many many years and many 1000's of miles. Our bikes are highly proven and chosen by some of the best endurance atheletes in the world and they are built to perform and be dependable and durable in very demanding conditions. Because of the Italian made custom tubeset and small-batch high quality construction and investment in our own tooling for tubes, forks and components, it's just not possible to compete with far-east pricing, but we offer something quite different that our customers value and discover us for.
So you aren't just 'buying a bike' when you come to Mason and you have our attention and excellent customer service backup for the entire life of your ownership + an absolutely excellent bicycle, hand-built in our Sussex workshop.
The story is so much more complicated than just 'price & weight'. We are trying to do something very special here. As you can see if you take a look at our FB page or https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/thisisbokeh/ our existing customers and their riding experiences would back this up.
I hope this helps and please email us direct at Mason Cycles or call 01273 463000 if you would like to know more : ]
Dom | Mason Cycles.
My point was that going custom steel would cost too much, my Kinesis cost £280 (£430 rrp) plus £260 for the carbon fork, and weighs the same as a custom £1750 Enigma! I would have loved the Enigma of course, but my entire build will cost approx £1800...
That's a fantastic weight you've achieved, can't get my head round how you've done it. Frame and fork total weight is the same as my Kinesis, and I'm running Avid Short Ultimates so I doubt I'm giving any weight away there, and my wheels build up to 1.7kg before tape or QRs, so most of that additional 2kg must come from the groupset, finishing kit and tyres!
Cost mainly, plus I'm not aware of any that work in aluminium so would need to be Ti or maybe stainless to keep weight low, even more costly!
Nearest frame builder to me is Shand, and they won't even build with Canti posts any more!
To keep weight low you can use steel, did you not read the review of the Enigma Endeavour that uses Columbus Zona, the quoted frame weight was 1.85g in a 52 plus 435g for the forks. My full carbon gravel bike (in heavy duty FACT 9M layup) has a 1354g f & 567g fork (2036g incl h/set) in a 58 and builds into a 7.2kg bike sans pedals. Okay I've got fag paper 40mm road tyres (though the 35mm conti gravel kings are about the same), carbon post, lightweight carbon flat bars plus lightweight V-brakes but it's a 2x using SRAM Apex chainset and Ultegra shifters/derailleurs + 105 11-32 cassette but there's nothing out the ordinary or massively costly.
Sub 9kg with a made to measure steel frame should be easy and at not much more if anything than the cost of the reviewed bike. Adrian at 64 frameworks https://sixfourframeworks.com/ordering/ gives a gravel framset an example price of £1750, that's filet brazed in Zona/Lite with a Columbus Futura Fork.
I do respect and admire small framebuilders and guess there must be a big cost to producing small runs of custom frames, my Kinesis frame quite obviously came straight from Taiwan!
I have a very clear idea of what my perfect frame would be, I did the barest minimum of research into getting a small run made in Taiwan or similar and ran a mile, far too much effort! So fair play to Dom, guess I'm just not the target market!
Why not go to a UK custom frame builder? I recently had a frame built by Winston Vaz of Varonha and it's gorgeous. Its exactly what I wanted. I thought great value too.
https://www.varonha.co.uk/
S'cuse my ignorance, having never ridden a 1x setup, but with a 42t front 11t rear, don't you run out of gears? Especially when stating that this bike is capable of keeping in touch with faster roadies.
Nope, not really; the rolling resistance from the frame and tires makes a 42t quite long actually, certainly thats what i run on my very similar gravel rig - i am quite a powerful rider and find that pushing 42 teeth along tarmac on gravel tires at 40psi for sustained periods is pretty much the practical limit (its effectively a rigid 29er really). Maybe 44 would work occasionally. And no, you wouldn't keep up with roadies, who have 50x11, an aero advantage and much lower rolling resistance.
When the reviewer said "You can easily fit some fat slick tyres and, gearing aside, keep up with faster roadies on a club run" I took that to mean you'd have to change both the gearing and tyres to keep up on the club run.
[/quote] ... rolling resistance from the frame ...[/quote]
Jim, what is this "rolling resistance from the frame" that you talk about?
That weight is WITHOUT pedals as well (never mind the lack of second ring and FD), so you're looking closer to 10kg with say a pair of Shimano M530s.
Similar to the Enigma, when you can buy a made to measure gravel framset for £1750 in Zona steel+top end carbon forks why would you buy off the peg in Alu?
The clearance is hardly anything to shout about these days and is retrograde to previous offerings from Specialized over 10 years ago, a properly useful frameset for offroad would accept something like the Marathon Plus 2.1/Clement Xplor 2.0 29er tyres.
It's obvious that these frames and forks could be designed to take wider 622 tyres (the Specialized I mentioned accepted a 55mm 700C tyre (sans mudguards) but why would they want to do that when they can sell another set of 650B wheels+tyres, which they proudly boast about!
Marketing genius isn't it, and all at the cost of a fully made to measure frameset built by a master craftsman ...
suckersbuyers beware of the emperors new clothes!Oh and giving a 4 star rating for a frame that is stated by the reviewer as expensive and isn't comfortable, come on, that's a three at best isn't it?
Lovely, buuuuut... 9.5kg for £3k? Is this the premium you pay for disc brakes and 1x?
Am building up an aluminium Kinesis with carbon forks, DT/Sapim/Pacenti wheels, 2x 105 Groupset with Praxis sub compact chainset, Cane Creek Thudbuster seatpost for my prematurely aging back and Avid Shorty Ultimate brakes.
It weighs in at 9.6kg but only cost £1900, and that includes £150 and 0.5kg for the seatpost.
Perhaps not a fair comparison as the frame was a 'black Friday' special, certainly not as pretty as the Bokeh, but still. Glad I'm still living in the dark ages of front mechs and rim brakes!
I think that might be the answer to your question.
Excuse my ignorance, but is the extra 4mm tyre clearance just a matter of tweaking the front fork, chain stays and seat stays? I use the word 'just' carefully here as I'm sure there's a lot more to it then that
Oh come on, you obviously don't understand the importance of the marketing team, the graphic design team, the sales team and the accountants role in all of this redesign game. Minor tweaks have to be surrounded with new product launches, new demo days and loads of hype to ensure that we all feel that what was a perfectly good product yesterday is now totally inadequate and not fit for purpose. This is much more than finding an extra 2mm either side. I bet you are still riding rims which are too narrow by 1mm either side too.
Hi Welsh boy,
Actually we don't have a 'marketing team', a 'graphic design team' or a 'sales team'. We do have an accountant though, although I never really ask him about bike design or graphics. His thing is really 'accountancy'.
We are really not in the game of adding features for marketing hype [actually we don't do much 'marketing' as we would rather rely on word of mouth from Mason owners and solid reviews] everything that we do is there for a reason, we don't have 'model years' so there is no pressure to do things just to make our '2020 models' sound more appealing. Our motto of Ride Driven Design means that everything is there for function and never driven by fashion or marketing. Real riders are very quick to see through this sort of thing.
The V2 Bokeh has many detail changes, all of which are there to improve performance, practicality and ride quality and ALL these changes are driven by direct rider feedback from our team here and from world class riders and friends such as Josh Ibbett, Rob Packham, Philippa Battye and Jason Black.
I hope this helps to explain the way we do things here at Mason and please email us direct or call if you would like to discuss further.
Dom | Mason Cycles.
Hi zero_trooper,
The front fork has a huge amount of clearance already, so no tweaking there [we added accessory mounts and internal dynamo routing]. At the rear, it's a matter of reworking the chainstays in the difficult area between chainring and tyre to get optimum for both. The original Bokeh was designed for a max of 50mm tyre but there are many more tyres available now and adding the extra clearance really opens up your options for tyre choice. Thanks for the Q and I hope that helps : ]
Dom | Mason Cycles.
Saw one of these "in the wild" the other day and that green colour is lovely!
Hi Rapha Nadal,
Thanks very much! Glad you like it. It is very hard to find the 'perfect green', it's a really nice soft green in reality, quite hard to photograph : ]
Dom | Mason Cycles.
It was on the Annington/Coombes lane so may well have been you riding it, Dom!
I'm stunned by the versatility of the Sendero tyres - they've literally handled every terrain I've thrown at them - deep mud, tracks masquerading as streams, dense sand, loose gravel, hard-packed gravel, and rubbish-strewn roads. Haven't had a visit from she who must not be named and haven't fallen off or had that unpleasant top-tube interface issue only a slipping rear wheel can provide. Well worth the money for the amount of fun they make available. I think for a gravel bike Senderos for the winter and something like a GravelKing SK when things dry up will be the ideal combo. I know Horizons are popular too but they're too slick for anything but the dryest of conditions.