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Mason Cycles: First painted Bokeh adventure bikes unveiled Mason Cycles: First painted Bokeh adventure bikes unveiled Mason Cycles: First painted Bokeh adventure bikes unveiled Mason Cycles: First painted Bokeh adventure bikes unveiled Mason Cycles: First painted Bokeh adventure bikes unveiled Mason Cycles: First painted Bokeh adventure bikes unveiled Mason Cycles: First painted Bokeh adventure bikes unveiled Mason Cycles: First painted Bokeh adventure bikes unveiled Mason Cycles: First painted Bokeh adventure bikes unveiled Mason Cycles: First painted Bokeh adventure bikes unveiled Mason Cycles: First painted Bokeh adventure bikes unveiled Mason Cycles: First painted Bokeh adventure bikes unveiled Mason Cycles: First painted Bokeh adventure bikes unveiled Mason Cycles: First painted Bokeh adventure bikes unveiled Mason Cycles: First painted Bokeh adventure bikes unveiled Mason Cycles: First painted Bokeh adventure bikes unveiled Mason Cycles: First painted Bokeh adventure bikes unveiled Mason Cycles: First painted Bokeh adventure bikes unveiled Mason Cycles: First painted Bokeh adventure bikes unveiled
Mason Bokeh painted

Mason Cycles: First painted Bokeh adventure bikes unveiled

Mason's new Bokeh will be available in four builds and two frame colours
by David Arthur @davearthur
Thu, Oct 06, 2016 13:34
50

A couple of months ago Dom Mason of Mason Cycles swung by the office with his latest frame, the Bokeh, which has been designed to be able to tackle more rugged terrain than the original Resolution and Definition endurance road bike that he launched with last year. Today Dom sent over some photos of the very first painted samples of the new  Bokeh, and so good do they look that we just had to share them with you. The new bike is in production now and should be available very soon. The wait looks to be worth it.

mason bokeh painted 1.JPG

- Exclusive sneak peek: Mason Cycles Bokeh and Bokeh Ti

You don't need me to tell you that adventure and gravel bikes have become very fashionable over the past couple of years, and now it seems every bike manufacturer is dabbling in this category. The Bokeh is a natural progression from the original Resolution and Definition endurance disc bike - Mason says much of what it inspired the development of the Bokeh was seeing customers using the Resolution and Definition in ways that he hadn’t envisioned when he designed them, strapping bikepacking bags to them and using them for adventures on less than ideal terrain.

- Buyer’s guide to gravel and adventure bikes

Dom_Bokeh_Aug2016.JPG

The Bokeh is the response, a bike designed for the rider that wants to purposely head away from congested roads into the wilderness, for “continent crushing rides” in Mason’s own words. With the Bokeh, Mason has sought to create a frame with increased capability than the original bikes he launched the brand with a couple of years ago. The big news is the capacity for much wider tyres, up to 41mm if using a conventional 700c wheelset, but it goes out to 50mm if using a 650b wheelset, a French wheel standard that has been resurrected by the industry, most prominently with the Cannondale Slate from last year. 

mason bokeh painted 6.JPG

The bikes Mason showed us back in July were pre-production frames in a raw unpainted prototype form, but he's just had the first painted frames delivered and built up with the actual build kits that he'll be offering, and my goodness don't they look good. The finish looks to be right up there with the very high standard that Mason set with his debut frames. 

mason bokeh painted 11.JPG

The aluminium Bokeh (there will be a titanium version eventually) is going to be offered in two colours, ElementGrey with Copper/Mustard/White details, and FlareOrange with Tunsten/Ochre/White. And here they are. The two bikes also demonstrate the different builds with the key differential being the wheels and tyres.

MASON_GREY_SRAM_3_4_side.jpg

This is the ElementGrey with SRAM Force 1x and 650b x 50. The 650 builds will feature SRAM Rival or Force 1x groupsets with 10/42t cassettes, with new Mason x Hunt AdventureSport 650b wheels with Panaracer Comet Hardpack 2.0in tyres.  A Force build will cost £3,100 and Rival will be £2,795. 

MASON_ORANGE_ULTEGRA_3_4_BACK.jpg

And here’s the FlareOrange with 700c x 35 with Shimano Ultegra and hydraulic disc brakes. The 700c build will get Shimano 105 or Ultegra groupsets with hydraulic groupsets, and Hunt Four Season Gravel Disc wheels shod with Panaracer Gravelking SK 35mm tyres. The Ultegra hydro bike will also cost £3,100, the 205 hydro comes in at £2,795. So all you have to do is choose your colour and build kit preference. Shimano or SRAM? 650b or 700c wheels and tyres? It's a dilemma. To add to the choice, Mason will also offer framesets for £1,150 if you want to build your own.

mason bokeh painted 7.JPG

Finishing kit for both bikes will be Deda Elementi with a choice of SuperZero parts on the more expensive Force and Ultegra bikes. 

The geometry is obviously altered to account for the bigger tyre capacity, but Mason has managed to keep the stack height similar to the Definition and Resolution, so swapping between both shouldn’t result in a huge shift in riding position. Tall head tubes have been avoided because Mason is pitching the Bokeh as a fast bike that needs to accelerate and climb well. There’ll be six sizes from 50 to 60cm to choose from. Here's the geo chart: 

mason bokeh geo chart.png

There’s a new fork called the Parallax, made from carbon fibre in Italy and features a 12mm thru-axle with a flat mount caliper fixing. The front brake hose is routed inside the fork blade and there are eyelets for a mudguard, rack and dynamo, pointing to the long distance unsupported roaming intention of the new bike. Weight is a claimed 465g. 

mason bokeh painted 8.JPG

Production bikes are being painted right now and you can place a pre-order on the Mason website with the delivery of frames and bikes for October, and due to the demand he's already received another batch of frames has been ordered for a later October delivery. 

 

More info at masoncycles.cc/shop/categories/bokeh-bikes

Mason Cycles
Dom Mason
Mason
Bokeh
mason cycles bokeh
adventure bikes
David Arthur @davearthur

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. 

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50 comments

Avatar
Dom replied to keirik | 8 years ago
0 likes

keirik wrote:

Love it, but a lot of money to pay for a bike without trying it first, and Brighton's a long way from Chester for a test ride!

Thanks keirik,

Glad you like what we are doing : ]

You are right, it's always best to ride before you buy when you are investing in a bike like this. We would be very happy to lend you one for a couple of hours if you ever find yourself down Brighton way.

Dom | Mason Cycles.

Avatar
ecycled | 8 years ago
2 likes

Dom,

Beautiful bike and love the builds you've presented. Especially like the orange. Brings to memory a particular bike I've had (and still have) in my stable of steads. Who says orange is the new black. I caught a bit of grief from mates for the color choice way back in 2000 when I originally bought the frame (Waterford X-11) which has seen many builds since. I'd say it's held its own quite well. I predict yours will too. Now where did I stash that lotto ticket...  39

.

Avatar
Dom replied to ecycled | 8 years ago
0 likes

ecycled wrote:

Dom,

Beautiful bike and love the builds you've presented. Especially like the orange. Brings to memory a particular bike I've had (and still have) in my stable of steads. Who says orange is the new black. I caught a bit of grief from mates for the color choice way back in 2000 when I originally bought the frame (Waterford X-11) which has seen many builds since. I'd say it's held its own quite well. I predict yours will too. Now where did I stash that lotto ticket...  39

.

Hi ecycled,

Thanks for the comments. I really like your Waterford! Haven't heard of that brand before, looks great.

Dom | Mason Cycles.

Avatar
hsiaolc | 8 years ago
0 likes

Don't really like the name Brokeh. 

Avatar
Dom replied to hsiaolc | 8 years ago
4 likes

hsiaolc wrote:

Don't really like the name Brokeh. 

Hi hsiaolc

That's good because the name for our AdventureSport bikes is 'Bokeh' which sounds way better.

All my bikes and components use photography based naming because I'm into photography. 'Bokeh' is the term that describes the quality of the out of focus area in a photograph BTW.

Dom | Mason Cycles.

Avatar
hsiaolc replied to Dom | 8 years ago
0 likes

Dom wrote:

hsiaolc wrote:

Don't really like the name Brokeh. 

Hi hsiaolc

That's good because the name for our AdventureSport bikes is 'Bokeh' which sounds way better.

All my bikes and components use photography based naming because I'm into photography. 'Bokeh' is the term that describes the quality of the out of focus area in a photograph BTW.

Dom | Mason Cycles.

 

Just my honest opinion.  I had to rub my eyes a few times with that word.  Looks like Broke to me. 

But thank you for letting me know what Bokeh stands for. 

 

Avatar
Dom replied to hsiaolc | 8 years ago
0 likes

hsiaolc wrote:

Dom wrote:

hsiaolc wrote:

Don't really like the name Brokeh. 

Hi hsiaolc

That's good because the name for our AdventureSport bikes is 'Bokeh' which sounds way better.

All my bikes and components use photography based naming because I'm into photography. 'Bokeh' is the term that describes the quality of the out of focus area in a photograph BTW.

Dom | Mason Cycles.

 

Just my honest opinion.  I had to rub my eyes a few times with that word.  Looks like Broke to me. 

But thank you for letting me know what Bokeh stands for. 

 

Hi hsiaolc,

No problem at all : ]

Actually, I would rather people had a reaction to the name rather than it just making no impression at all. It's supposed to be a bit different and challenging rather than bland and forgettable.

Dom | Mason Cycles.

Avatar
imajez replied to Dom | 8 years ago
0 likes

Dom wrote:

That's good because the name for our AdventureSport bikes is 'Bokeh' which sounds way better.

All my bikes and components use photography based naming because I'm into photography. 'Bokeh' is the term that describes the quality of the out of focus area in a photograph BTW

I did wonder if that was where the bike names came from.
Nice looking bikes Dom, particulary in grey.

Avatar
Dom replied to imajez | 8 years ago
0 likes

imajez wrote:

Dom wrote:

That's good because the name for our AdventureSport bikes is 'Bokeh' which sounds way better.

All my bikes and components use photography based naming because I'm into photography. 'Bokeh' is the term that describes the quality of the out of focus area in a photograph BTW

I did wonder if that was where the bike names came from.
Nice looking bikes Dom, particulary in grey.

Hi imajez,

Thanks very much!

Dom | Mason Cycles.

Avatar
Yorkshire wallet | 8 years ago
1 like

Looks like a beast! In a good way of course!

Really tempted to take my hardtail boardman MTB and do a bastardised mash-up, getting rid of the front suspension for DMR rigids I've got spare and sticking on some drop bars and used shifters. I imagine the geometry would completely gone to pot though.

Avatar
Ratfink | 8 years ago
1 like

Is that a tool caddy on the underside of the grey one?

Avatar
Dom replied to Ratfink | 8 years ago
1 like

Ratfink wrote:

Is that a tool caddy on the underside of the grey one?

Yes Ratfink,

We've designed it so it works really well with the Fabric bottles and tool-keg. I found I could mount the bottles lower and give more tyre clearance for smaller bike sizes using their system. You can also mount a cage of course.

Dom | Mason Cycles.

Avatar
midschool | 8 years ago
2 likes

These look awesome. I have always admired the UP, and part of that was because the Open was ahead of its time. Saying that I do prefer alloy over carbon for this type of bike, and would rather support a local brand as well. Definitely on the want list...

Avatar
Dom replied to midschool | 8 years ago
1 like

midschool wrote:

These look awesome. I have always admired the UP, and part of that was because the Open was ahead of its time. Saying that I do prefer alloy over carbon for this type of bike, and would rather support a local brand as well. Definitely on the want list...

Thanks midschool,

I've always admired what Open do too, in fact I called them up when I was thinking of starting Mason Cycles and they really encouraged me.

Carbon is a fantastic frame material but I also like Alu for this type of bike. We also have the added advantage of rack and mudguard eyelets and threaded BB's : ]

Come and visit us and take one out for a ride.

Dom | Mason Cycles.

Avatar
fukawitribe | 8 years ago
2 likes

Oh bless, how parochial.

Avatar
tritecommentbot | 8 years ago
2 likes

Riding the Open UP hype train. Sure, why not laugh

Avatar
Dom replied to tritecommentbot | 8 years ago
4 likes

unconstituted wrote:

Riding the Open UP hype train. Sure, why not laugh

 

Hi unconstituted,

Thanks for your comment.

Actually, the Bokeh has been in development for well over a year and I hadn't seen the Open U.P. when I started on it, although I really do admire what Open are doing.

I got really interested in this type of fast, long distance, multi-terrain riding when Josh Ibbett won the TCR on one of our Definition bikes and I was already developing what became the Bokeh at that time. It was also spurred by watching what our existing bike owners were doing with our bikes - strapping on lightweight packs and adventuring over large distances.

I've never really ridden 'hype trains', in fact far from it. If everyone is doing it I often feel a compulsion to steer away. But saying that, I have often found myself at the sharp end of things because that's where I like to be and that is why we have 'Progressive' in the middle of Mason & Cycles.

There's more about the development of the AdventureSport bikes here > https://masoncycles.cc/blog/adventuresport-the-development-of-bokeh

If you are referring to 650b/700c, we were playing with that concept back in 2012 I designed the TripsterATR.

Maybe you are referring to the FlareOrange colour? If so I used that for one of my original Definition frame samples in 2014 and saved it because I knew it would work well for the Bokeh. Open also use orange but so do many others...

I hope that helps to clarify things.

Dom | Mason Cycles.

Avatar
tritecommentbot replied to Dom | 8 years ago
0 likes

Dom wrote:

unconstituted wrote:

Riding the Open UP hype train. Sure, why not laugh

 

Hi unconstituted,

Thanks for your comment.

Actually, the Bokeh has been in development for well over a year and I hadn't seen the Open U.P. when I started on it, although I really do admire what Open are doing.

I got really interested in this type of fast, long distance, multi-terrain riding when Josh Ibbett won the TCR on one of our Definition bikes and I was already developing what became the Bokeh at that time. It was also spurred by watching what our existing bike owners were doing with our bikes - strapping on lightweight packs and adventuring over large distances.

I've never really ridden 'hype trains', in fact far from it. If everyone is doing it I often feel a compulsion to steer away. But saying that, I have often found myself at the sharp end of things because that's where I like to be and that is why we have 'Progressive' in the middle of Mason & Cycles.

There's more about the development of the AdventureSport bikes here > https://masoncycles.cc/blog/adventuresport-the-development-of-bokeh

If you are reffering to 650b/700c, we were playing with that concept back in 2012 I designed the TripsterATR.

Maybe you are reffering to the FlareOrange colour? If so I used that for one of my original Definition frame samples in 2014 and saved it because I knew it would work well for the Bokeh. Open also use orange but so do many others...

I hope that helps to clarify things.

Dom | Mason Cycles.

 

Dom, no need for all that - I was just ribbing you for the colour orange which has been a major source of hype at the bike shows for Open Up. Surly were doing Blaze Orange before Open Up for example. But it wasn't hype.  When you get the right frame and the right colour, it's sick. 

I'd love a Mason or an Open Up myself. I'd go for the orange model either way.

Avatar
Dom replied to tritecommentbot | 8 years ago
0 likes

unconstituted wrote:

Dom wrote:

unconstituted wrote:

Riding the Open UP hype train. Sure, why not laugh

 

Hi unconstituted,

Thanks for your comment.

Actually, the Bokeh has been in development for well over a year and I hadn't seen the Open U.P. when I started on it, although I really do admire what Open are doing.

I got really interested in this type of fast, long distance, multi-terrain riding when Josh Ibbett won the TCR on one of our Definition bikes and I was already developing what became the Bokeh at that time. It was also spurred by watching what our existing bike owners were doing with our bikes - strapping on lightweight packs and adventuring over large distances.

I've never really ridden 'hype trains', in fact far from it. If everyone is doing it I often feel a compulsion to steer away. But saying that, I have often found myself at the sharp end of things because that's where I like to be and that is why we have 'Progressive' in the middle of Mason & Cycles.

There's more about the development of the AdventureSport bikes here > https://masoncycles.cc/blog/adventuresport-the-development-of-bokeh

If you are reffering to 650b/700c, we were playing with that concept back in 2012 I designed the TripsterATR.

Maybe you are reffering to the FlareOrange colour? If so I used that for one of my original Definition frame samples in 2014 and saved it because I knew it would work well for the Bokeh. Open also use orange but so do many others...

I hope that helps to clarify things.

Dom | Mason Cycles.

 

Dom, no need for all that - I was just ribbing you for the colour orange which has been a major source of hype at the bike shows for Open Up. Surly were doing Blaze Orange before Open Up for example. But it wasn't hype.  When you get the right frame and the right colour, it's sick. 

I'd love a Mason or an Open Up myself. I'd go for the orange model either way.

Hi unconstituted,

No problem : ]

I just wanted to point out that we have been developing the Bokeh for a while and weren't trying to copy what other brands were doing.

Thanks very much and looking forward to having you as a Mason customer one day!

Dom | Mason Cycles.

Avatar
VeloPeo replied to Dom | 8 years ago
1 like

Dom wrote:

Maybe you are referring to the FlareOrange colour? If so I used that for one of my original Definition frame samples in 2014

Yup - here's one my wife test rode last year 3

https://twitter.com/Gethin76/status/607895290012680192

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