cbuddy2005

I'm really liking the Resolution w/full Ultegra.
I'm 55, about 210# (will be dropping that down to about 180-190#), 6'1" Wanting a good steel, dependable bike for myself. Speed not top priority anymore.

bruce19

Go to 2:55.

Oldguyonoldbike

Not riding one, but I sure would like to.

cbuddy2005

if possible

bruce19

If I wasn't riding this Guru Sidero, I'd be looking at these steel bikes.

mstateglfr 

The mason resolution 2 is a cool modern steel road bike. Columbus Spirit and Life tubing with shaped down tube and well thought out design.

since you are looking at frames...

All city zigzag could be a good choice.

fairlight strael 2 is what I would really heavily consider for a steel disc road bike with carbon fork. Quality 853 tubing that is shaped for flex and stiffness, external cable routing since it's simple, good road tire clearance, and nice finish.
...I'm biased, I have their secan gravel frame.

cbuddy2005

I am eyeing the Fairlight Strael also. Stu Kerton did a Strael 2.0 review for Road.cc on April 11 2018 and really liked it. He also did a Mason Resolution review, but it was in 2015, with 105 groupset, before Dom Mason tweaked the bike to where it is now.

The ultegra versions seemed to be about equal for each ride. One thing not happy about is the shipping to the USA is hugely different. $130 for fairlight and about $325 for Mason. Hmmmmm?

Anyway, probably my last road bike purchase and I will not; own a carbon fiber frame, ride aluminum on the road, or buy a titanium frame that shouldn't be painted--plus my first ever road bike I bought 40 years ago was a Raleigh Super Course MkII for $190.

Rode it everywhere in San Diego--great place to ride a s a kid. So, I might have a little loyalty to Reynolds tubing. But, I've also owned a masi form '78 and my wife has some Italian heritage, so the Italian-built Mason frame is attractive too.

May come down to the wheelset or the color---thanx for any input from my fellow cyclists cruisin' the other side of the road.

HarborBandS

I just put down a pre-order deposit on a Resolution frameset. I'll post an update later once it comes and I have it built up. Probably a winter project, the way this is shaping up now.

RockiesDad

You mean like this? Went with GRX 2X 800 series. Very value oriented bike. Nice frame, great components and good pricing. Shipping is like paying tax...Love mine!

HarborBandS

I do love an orange bike!

HarborBandS

My Mason Resolution frameset arrived in November and is now built up! Here are the initial photos of the frame set. Size 56 cm.

I placed my order back in July with an estimated ship date of October. I checked in with Alex at Mason in October, and was pleased that they were able to honor their initial ship date. The shipping company was TNT Express, which has been acquired by FedEx. TNT Express did their job on the European side of the Atlantic, but FedEx decided to just park the package in Memphis for weeks, even after it cleared customs. Luckily the shipping box that Mason used was very sturdy, and the frame arrived unscathed.

The total duty due was somewhere around $75, I believe. And of course, you get the frame with the VAT deducted from the stated price on the website. There are certainly less expensive options out there for a steel frame, but this one seemed special.

I had wanted a frame set with the essence of "quality" to use as a platform for my latest build, and the Mason Resolution does not disappoint. The welds are clean. The lines are graceful. The Bear-designed dropouts are the most elegant solution to flat mount disc brakes on a steel frame that I've seen. The paint is thick and shiny. And the whole thing came faced and chased and ready for assembly. I know that personal taste in bikes can vary greatly, but this one suits me perfectly.

chaadster

Don’t let the UCI know about your “doped” tubes! 😉

bruce19

Anyone know about the Condor Fratello?

mstateglfr 

Pic of it built?

HarborBandS

Here's one pic of the maiden ride, with more to come later. Unfortunately it's sitting in my basement without a tire right now, and I'm in no hurry to bring it outside in to our three feet of snow here in Chicagoland.

Due to delays in getting parts, I didn't get it built up until the end of December. Luckily we had some mild weather here in the Chicago area, and I took the bike for a ride in the Morton Arboretum for about 30 miles to check the fit and cockpit set up. I had an issue with one of the tubeless WTB tires, and needed a warranty replacement. Note that one of the tires is "upside down" in terms of logo placement compared to the other. That will be fixed. Drives me crazy.

First impressions are very positive, but limited due to may lack of time in the saddle. I'll post more in the Spring after I have actually put some miles on this thing.

chaadster

Hot.

mstateglfr 

I've thought about picking up a pair of expanse 32 for a road bike, but running them with tubes. Is the shoulder tread significant or just decorative and not really noticable?

HarborBandS

Not really much of a shoulder tread at all. Here’s a close up:

JungleJuice

A bit late to the party but I can offer a bit of insight on the Resolution 2.

I've had mine almost a year, and took the the steel frame over anything carbon as I wanted durability and comfort as the priority (49 this year...)
Not trying to blow smoke up Masons butt...but what you've read in the reviews are pretty much spot on. This bike does just want you to ride further, and brings a smile to your face.

I'm located in Singapore and have ridden it through frequent tropical downpours, and where my fellow bikers on carbon frames and skinny tires are jousting all over the road to avoid ruts, potholes, poor roadworks, etc...my Resolution just floats over the top in perfect control. I'm running 30mm Schwalbe tubeless tires which help immensely as does the proprietary Mason fork.
The bike is no rocket, but equally it still has enough speed to make it fun. I've ridden 125km around Singapore in a bunch of 4 and the efficiency on the flats is really something else. It just rolls nice.
Climbing is probably it's weak spot, but we have so little elevation here a 52/36 with a 11/28 rarely gets a work out at the low end. The real beauty is in its flexibility. I'm a MTBer at heart and I just like to go off and explore. The Resolution lets me ride road, wander down crappy canal paths and then jump off and blast light gravel without having to worry.

I brought rolling frameset with Hunt x Mason wheels, but in the cockpit I've gone with Ritchey WCS stem and the WCS Ergomax bars (wonderful bars with a minimal rise).Selle Italia Superflow endurance saddle is perfect for long rides for me. About 4 months ago I switched out the wheels for Zipp 303s, which just gave me that bit more responsiveness and rolling speed.

I'd recommended this bike for anyone who appreciates a distinctive ride that just keeps giving back. Gran Fondo magazine assigned it "Best BUY" for superbikes out of a lineup of pretty heavy hitters.

cbuddy2005

After all that great stuff--I finally had the $$$ to order from Mason and they don't offer the color I really wanted.
Soooo after so much back and forth I ordered a Titanium Endurance disc bike from Ribble. Thanx to Covid I have a long wait until it's built.
Gotta' have it by August first so I can dial it in for the Hotter-n-hell 100 here in Texas at the end of August.

HarborBandS

I've now put a couple thousand miles on my Mason Resolution on mixed surfaces, and have some more relevant observations about ride feel and durability. My bike was a custom build with components I chose myself, so you may get different results if you purchased a complete bike from Mason with different specs. Your choice of cockpit components and your rider position could radically change the way the bike feels to you.

I think the defining characteristic of the Resolution frame is the way the custom tube shapes form a frame that is quite distinctive from a traditional steel frame with standard tube diameters. When I step on the pedals, there is none of the sideways motion through the bottom bracket that you feel when riding, say, a 1980's steel bike (which I also own and still ride from time to time). It feels almost carbon-like, and the power transfer is more efficient. The large d-section down tube rigidly welded to the tapered head tube and bottom bracket shell forms a stiff backbone from the handlebars to the bottom bracket, and you can feel this when you put down the power.

On the other hand, if you are used to a super-compliant ride from a steel bike, this frame does not necessarily provide that. It is noticeably stiffer, particularly in the front. And that makes sense. The carbon fork has a tapered steerer bolted to your stem, just like a modern carbon bike. I don't think a carbon head tube feels noticeably different from a steel head tube. The "lively" feel of this bike comes almost entirely from the rear triangle of the bike, as far as I can tell. I notice is most when I have more weight on the seat itself, and the rear wheel seems free to absorb more bumps, with the narrow steel chain and seat stays curved to provide compliance. To me, bike feels very different on the front end vs. the back end. And I am able to further dial in compliance by adjusting the tire pressure of my tubeless tires.

One of the most pleasant things about this bike is the way it handles. It is very stable in a straight line, and I think that the designers really dialed in the geometry for long bike rides without turning this in to a touring rig. The bike still feels fun and fast, yet may not be your top choice for a crit race. It's a nice balance for me personally.

The frame is definitely heavier than many alternatives, but if you're cross-shopping this against carbon "endurance bikes", you can probably make it considerably lighter than a stock Trek Domane or Specialized Roubaix. My bike came in just over 19 lbs, which is still favorable compared with some of the more bloated "big brand" endurance bikes with heavy stock parts and compliance gimmicks like IsoSpeed and FutureShock. And the frame feels bomb-proof without any complex proprietary parts to service.

One last comment I want to make is about the quality of the paint. I know it probably adds weight, but the Resolution has really thick and shiny paint job that has proven to be very durable so far. I often ride on crushed-limestone trails to get out of the congested Chicago area, and my frame has been subjected to countless strikes by stones and twigs. So far there is not a single ding on the bike from any of it. I bought a roll of helicopter tape to protect the down tube, but so far I have not installed it because it seems unnecessary.

All in all, I am still quite pleased with this bike, and it has become my primary ride for longer adventures on mixed surfaces. It's a perfect bike for those who prefer the feel of a road bike, but who also want the versatility to ride rougher roads or a compacted gravel trail. And I think the frame will prove to be durable for many years and upgrade cycles.