RED HOOK CRITERIUM BROOKLYN 2018

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Fixed gear racers and fans from around the world converge on Brooklyn each year for the Red Hook Criterium. This year felt different then years past.  Rumors circled the race pits questioning if this was the last Red Hook Crit. With no future dates announced this well oiled machine’s future felt unclear. Maybe in the back of some racers minds they wanted a win because what if this was the last RHC? For the past 7 years we have enjoyed this series as MASH and hope the future is bright for this microscopic subculture. It is exciting racing, Fast, Brakeless, Large fields of skilled riders, but the unknowns can show their face in crashes, and podiums. These variables make for some very fast racing for the athletes and the fans. Enclosed are a series photographs recorded on April 28th 2018 at the RHC.

The weather was great for most of the day. This event used to be scheduled in March/April, but May has proven to be quite nice.

Photos: Mike Martin for MASH 2018

MASH AC-1 GAMMA

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Evan has a few races under his belt racing our new frameset, and we had a chance to share his build while in New York for Red Hook 2018. This is our first aluminum/carbon design under our own name, and we are excited to share some details of what’s to come in 2018.

We launched our first design intent with the Bolt frameset in 2008. Ten years later, we are sharing an update to a geo we first showed in 2014 known as the Parallax. Our hearts are in the streets, so we wanted to continue that tradition with the new AC1, and we could not be more excited with the end result. The design process has been invigorating as we grow as a manufacture. This new design shows what is to come as MASH. With eight years working closely with Columbus, we had the opportunity to develop new tube specs to create a light modern frame that is stiffer then our past designs.  The stainless steel plates on the rear dropout are detailed with millimeter markers.It is common for bike brands to use OEM forks, but we chose to open a new mold to create our own monocoque carbon fork. We wanted to create a full carbon fork with a 30mm rake and nothing existed. Working with Al Nelson, we developed and tested this new stiffer shape that weighs nearly half of what our carbon forks have  in the past. In 2008 we developed the first drill-able carbon fork, and we have kept that tradition alive today. This is a small detail as purists do not want brake holes, while some parts of the world require running brakes on the street.Phil Wood X ENVE 20/24 race wheels built for Evan by John Bennet at MASH. Look for a fun collaboration with Phil later this summer.Design + Paintwork for this finish was developed by Al Nelson. We named this graphic Gamma. The greek word has a broad meaning, but we found inspiration in the process of darkening and lightening hues in photo/video processes. The inside fork and rear stays illustrate stepped gradations of the same tone. This effect is reminiscent of creating test strips in the darkroom. Nerdy we know, but that is who we are.Framesets will include a low rise headset, compression plug and seat collar. This is the first time we have used the smooth welding process. It was too expensive in the past, so we are happy to be able to finish clean welds without using any filler. Both the fork and now the rear brake bridge are drill-able so a rider may choose to run a single or full brake option.

We made 150 pieces for this first delivery. Fifty will be offered in Japan through Blue Lug, and a few shops will share the remaining 100 pieces. Look for pre-orders opening in July, and shipping in August 2018.

More details including geo and sizing soon!

MISSION CRIT 2018 BY EVAN MURPHY

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Three weeks ago I was personally transported to my own version of a past place and time that I no longer felt existed. You see, my personal trajectory through the sport of cycling has been thoroughly defined by fixed gear crits. The first criterium I ever actually competed in was in Providence Rhode Island, took place after an alleycat, footdown competition and longest skid event, and was about 8 laps around a bike shop on track bikes. I have been vocal about my disappointment that Red Hook Crits have become too fast for friends and family to even qualify for, and too dangerous for me to consider racing once my road cycling career took over.

You can maybe empathize then, how I felt personally transported back to past years when buddies were showing up after beers the night before to smash a crit on track bikes. It had been a while since I had literally seen some of the faces I saw racing Mission Crit. It’s maybe not well known that my own brother, Kyle, won the first edition of Mission Crit. I’m pretty sure he rode over after finishing some school work and I recall him mentioning it being pitch black, scary, and fun as shit. Mission Crit V reminded me of the years just after the explosion of the RHC scene, with people unloading their messenger bags on the ground and swapping street gears for racing. There were high school kids with bikes covered in stickers of their favorite brands, people getting sunburned while screaming for their friends before their own races and an atmosphere of party and hangout that I haven’t felt in while, (it could just be me of course!) However, I will say that the pressure to do well in a bike race can be offset by the presence of familiar faces goofing off while sitting on the curb. It also helped my nostalgia that I was racing better than I had in years as well, and knew a few people ringing the course.

One of the most beautiful parts of Mission Crit is the course. Set up on open streets, the serpentine loop is dotted with some serious potholes, and utilizes natural features of the streets to create one of the more technical courses out there. Replete with simple yellow tape strung between trees, the course also had fully barricaded technical sections adorned with the glitzy sponsor boards that have come to define a PRO race. When James Grady himself wasn’t on the mic, a comedic duo of (hopefully? maybe?) day-drinker/race announcers alternately teased competitors or simply said ‘hi’ to friends over the loudspeaker. The course is incredibly stop-and-go, and to those who thought the chicane was “so awesome!” I can definitively say you are a better bike rider than me because I was white-knuckling through that section and barely keeping my shorts on.

When was the last time you walked through a literal cloud of marijuana smoke? On your way to staging? The mixture of substances represented the mixture of people who also defined the Mission Crit experience for me. The diversity of people who showed up to watch or simply hang out after work was inspiring and certainly surprising compared to most of my recent big-race experiences. The biggest and loudest crowds of dred-locked punks still made room for kids to run by or well-dressed couples pushing their Uppababy into Gus’s for some oat milk. Of course the candid drug use and relaxed police signal the worse issues San Francisco has going for it right now, but I couldn’t help feeling proud that the gut of the track-bikes-on-the-street scene is still a little bit dirty and scary.I feel so lucky that the San Francisco bicycle scene has adopted me into its family. The epicenter of a unconventional bike trend that became an international racing sensation has brought track bikes back to their home streets and the event and community surrounding Mission Crit deserves all the success and joy it has, and will continue to have. I felt so proud to chase down riders wearing my MASH kit and though I missed a podium I hope SF knows I gave it all I had.

Words: Evan Murphy

Photos: Mike Martin

RESISTANCE RACING TRACKLOCROSS NATIONALS #2 – Oakland to Sacramento group ride

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For the second race of the Northern California Tracklocross series we made our way to the state capital – Sacramento – for some clean dirty fun. Eight of us met up early (some later than others) Saturday morning and began our journey through the 75mi of vineyards and byways with the Sacramento river always at our side. Track Bikes, strawberrys, and Dave Yoha – What more could you ask for? The pace was quick, but not to quick for a few road sodas and jammer breaks. I mean you gotta take in all the scenery don’tcha know. When we finally landed in sactown, we were greeted by our friends over at Squid Bikes who took us for a lovely sunset cruise of their extensive riverside hobo trails and showed us the best corner store in all the land – Ed’s. After many laughs, buncha’ miles, and a few crashes – it was time to get some shut eye for the big day. Thank you Squid crew for your warm welcome and letting us camp at the compound! It was a beautiful night to sleep outside.  -Sean

RESISTANCE RACING TRACKLOCROSS NATIONALS #1 2018

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On a warm Saturday racers met at the Berkeley Marina to race track bikes in the mud with friends. This format of racing is self regulated on an open corse with the energy of DFL or an Alleycat race. Not many rules, but one was to podium you needed to be racing a brakeless fixed gear drivetrain. Enclosed are photographs from a day of racing bikes with friends. Thank you to Nick and Jean for making these races happen. Congratulations to Chas for the first win of the series, and looking forward to Sacramento next!

MASH STEEL SS FRAMESET

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2018 is an exciting year for us. For the past 8 years, we have designed framesets and components, and in partnership with Cinelli, had the opportunity of distributing them to riders around the world. As the years went on, it became clear to us that we wanted to manage it all, and the experience has been invigorating.  For the first time, we are creating and manufacturing these designs independently as MASH, and shaping the designs with every detail we envision in an object. The first frameset offering is our SS Steel design. Born as an all-arounder with racers, workers and commuters in mind, this Columbus steel frameset was developed.  As an aggressive SSCX geometry or a well handling track bike, our frame designs are historically aggressive. This one splits the difference by being comfortable with a front rack loaded, tracking well in the dirt, while still responsive on the city streets. PRE-ORDER HERE

Details include:

• Columbus Cromor Double Butted Tubing
• Straight blade fork with 35mm rake
• 1 1/8 threadless headset (not included)
• 27.2 Seat Post
• 30.0 seat collar with cable hanger
• 100/120 track hub spacing
• BSA english 68 bottom bracket
• Two water bottle mounts
• Removable Brake Studs
• Internal rear brake cable routing
• Clears most 38c tires
• Frame and fork weight: 2900 grams
• Includes nylon plugs to fill brake holes if needed
• Top cap, bolt, and star nut included

Frames are built with Columbus Cromor triple butted steel tubing. We love the balance of strength to weight for this set.The Black Chrome finish of the frame is fully chrome plated then coated with a black clear. Over time these painted frames can chip to chrome like many of the classic Italian road bikes. The downtube and rear dropouts are a window to this layer.We offer 5 sizes with subtle geometry updates based on three years of development and testing in the dirt and on streets.Framesets include a removable seat collar and rear cable guide if set up with cantilever brakes.

The silver smoke finish draws inspiration from paint techniques of the early 90’s. This metallic silver base with smoke contrast creates a beautiful finish with white artwork on drive-side, and black on the non-drive.Each frame includes the top cap for 1 1/8 threadless stems, the bolt, and star nut.These frames have removable brake studs and internal cable routing. You can run them as lean brakeless street bikes, or set them up with brake options for canti or mini-v options for racing or commuting.The fork includes a brake hole that can be used for mounting a rack, fenders, or long reach caliper. 

Our pre-order for both finishes of this frameset are available today, and will begin shipping worldwide at the end of March.  If you are in Japan, you can pre-order both designs from Blue Lug in Tokyo. If you are in New York, you will be able to get frames and components from Deluxe Cycles. We do not have any additional dealers at this time, but hope to offer frames to a few new shops as we grow.

PRE-ORDER HERE

Look for new designs in 2018 including front racks, riser bars in alloy and carbon, and toe clips, as well as collaboration projects with Izumi and MKS this spring. We will continue to offer additional frame designs including an aluminum/carbon track frameset this fall.

Thank you for riding with us as we embark on this next journey!

DFL 12-23-2017

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The best way to see friends, race bikes, and say goodbye to 2017. Thanks for helping keep SF fun DFL!

SELLE ITALIA X MASH

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Selle Italia debuted the SLR saddle in 2000 and quickly became a staple for cyclists worldwide. The sleek shape was revolutionary, and it’s minimal weight set a new standard. We are lucky to collaborate with this historic brand to bring the original SLR back with a new finish. The black fibra-tek cover hosts a black on black take on the original graphic with the MASH metallic gold shield on the back. 133mm width. Selle Italia introduced the Flite saddle in 1990 and 28 years later, it is still a staple for generations of cyclists. We had the opportunity to skin this classic shape with black perforated full-grain leather. The silhouette shows our bolt icon in black on black with metallic silver Selle Italia icons. 140mm width

The Green Video

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NACCC 2017 & Pre-Event

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PRE RIDE

The summer is as always an exciting time, work slows down, people find themselves with some free time, and everyone can make some excuses to skip town for a bit. This year two of my favorite events – Minneapolis’s “All City Championships” and The North American Cycle Courier Championships coincided within the same two weeks in the blissful late august Midwest. We arrived to mpls on a thursday built our bikes up and started what would turn out to be a pretty wild trip. ACC consists of 3 days of events – SK After dark (alleycat) Bike Jerks Bandit Cx and the Main Shindig on Saturday. Being the pre-event for NACCC many people were brought to mpls for their first time, and once seeing how those fools got down they will likely make it a yearly stop just like myself. After the weekend of events, the few if any hours of sleep, and stupid inside jokes already making the rounds through the group – about 20 of us geared up and started the Pre- ride to Milwaukee, WI which would be a 4 day 3 night 380mi~ adventure through the middle of Wisconsin. A few of us had done the reverse of this ride a few years back when the NACCC was in MPLS, and woah what a trip it was retracing our steps 3 years later. The scenery of WI is Beautiful- rolling hills for days, cows, bluffs, tunnels, and my favorite the rails to trail. Jeff Oneil did a fantastic job routing us and keeping the group together oh and of course telling us how many mile to go every 5 min. We finally rolled into Milwuakee and were greeted by everyone at Cafe with free beers and friends.  Turns out that same weekended was the Harley Davidson 115th anniversary so the streets of Mke were swarmed with two wheel Vehicles of all sorts, it was rad. After a long ride no way better to sooth the tired muscles with  an out of towner alleycat and Karaoke party which is exactly what we did.  The NACCC organizers somehow scored an entire elementary school campus to use as the course for the main race which we spent many an hour at over the next few days. Siting atop a small hill in the Hay-market district, they provided a challenging course with elevation sharp turns gravel and alley ways. By far my favorite course to date.

Just wanna say thanksthanksthanks to all of the Organizers for giving us one hell of a Mess vacation and congrats to Allan Shaw for taking home the NACCC overall win, against all odds we could say.  I wish i had the words to describe how fuckin’ insane and fun the whole trip was but I just can’t, guess you’ll just have to see for yourself…

-Sean

ACC 12

NACCC