At 5ft 9in/175cm, I’m right on the cusp of most medium and large divisions, and that’s true of the Mason RAW. The medium I rode is good for 5ft 5in up to 5ft 9in, while the size large is 5ft 8in to 6ft 2in. Hopping on the medium, though, gave that modern geometry feel of a bike that initially feels a little short, thanks to the steeper seat angle, but a quick ride round the block showed it to be very well balanced, with just the right amount of weight on the grips on longer flat sections. This is an important factor on a bike that’s intended for that ‘Fast, far’ mindset.
The inevitable product-sourcing issues meant that some of the bikes we rode weren’t quite 100% on-spec, but they were close enough to get a good idea. Interestingly, Mason will fit whatever chainring and cassette you want, when you order it, which is a very useful feature, given that what works for South Downs epics won’t necessarily cut it in the Lakes.

Just stood still, the Mason RAW has a very neat, classy look: the beautiful curve of the seatstays down to the bolt-thru rear dropouts, the shiny head badge, the neat (and informative!) decals around the frame and that very, very shiny paintjob. It seems a shame to go and get it dirty, but that’s what it’s meant for, so we set off from our lakeside cafe and took off up into the hills.

As I mentioned, the steady-away riding position of the RAW is very comfortable. After all, you don’t want a front-weighted riding position if you’ve got 500 miles of Scottish back roads and singletrack ahead of you.

The trail soon kicked up and gears were grabbed, until none were left to grab. The leaf-slick, crazy paving trail made traction hard to find, but it also showed the balance and poise of the Mason. The fore-aft position felt very sensitive (and responsive) to weight shifts. The difference between a spinning back wheel and traction was surprisingly easy to feel and manage. Eventually, though, everyone was off and pushing. It was here that I appreciated the lack of sticky-out rackmount bolts (they’re on the inward curve of the seatstays) and the rear brake, tucked into the rear triangle.

At our lunchtime debrief, Dom Mason had said that he’d had to relearn what modern mountain bikes were doing. Having been away from the ‘scene’ for the last half-dozen years, while working on Mason’s adventure bike line, he had come to hardtail design fresh and free from the incremental improvements that other manufacturers had been playing catch-up on in the last decade. When he last designed a hardtail for Kinesis, headtube angles were still in the 70s and dropper posts weren’t as omnipresent as they are now. This fresh start seems obvious in the bike’s ride, as there are no legacy quirks to worry about, as the RAW was designed from a completely blank slate with some 29in wheels on it and nothing else.

The design of the RAW frame took a lot longer than intended, not helped by his Italian tubing and frame factories having to close completely for two months during the worst of Covid. However, this did help Dom to nurture his relationship with the builders at Five Land, who he’d met at Grinduro in Arran. By the time the factories had reopened, Dom was ready to give them the job of making the Mason RAW. And, indeed, the welding on it is faultless looking, with neat downtube gussets and tricky welds like the inboard rear brake mount done perfectly.

While the Mason ISO has won many fans in the gravel riding and racing world, Dom knew that riding ‘proper’ off road on a drop bar, rigid bike ‘is hard and bumpy’ so the RAW would be designed around a suspension fork.

The neat balance of the RAW does help with riding on tricky terrain, as a subtle weight shift can either weight the forks for grip or lighten the front wheel to smooth bumps or hop over obstacles. There’s a really nice compact and ‘together’ feel to the bike, like you’re riding something that works as a whole. The exaggerated, dynamic body shifts that are sometimes needed to bully a modern slackgnar bike between linked turns isn’t needed here. The Mason RAW rides with a neater, cleaner feel. Welcome back to the work of picking lines… not that the RAW doesn’t take on the bumps, but good lines are rewarded with extra exit speed. Smoother, contouring trails are a joy and it was fun cornering at a speed that put the tyres into controllable drifts. If you’re on the gas and you have the traction, it’s going to be a blast to thread between the trees.

Bring back dry, summer trails!

Our wet and slippy Lakeland test loop was probably a world away from the dappled and dusty, south-coast woodsy singletrack that that RAW was doubtless trialled on, but it handled the day just fine. Give the bike some confidence and enthusiasm and it’ll reward you with an engaging ride.

The Mason RAW is going to appeal strongly to a subset of riders, while many others won’t really see the point. It’s certainly very expensive when compared to other steel hardtails, but it depends on what value you put on things. Some riders will just see an expensive hardtail. Others will put store in the ‘UK-welded from UK and EU tubing and frame components’ aspect, or the simply stunning paintjob. Some riders will appreciate the support that Mason has given to riders like Josh Ibbett and to the whole adventure racing scene in general and will shop accordingly.

The bike has a well thought-out layout, with everything fitting together well. The chainstays had plenty of room for some 2.5in WT Maxxis Minions, with claimed room for 29 x 2.6in tyres. The cables all exit from neatly integrated ports and skirt around the head tube without cable rub. There are even some concealed rack/mudguard eyes on the insides of the rear stays. It all seems to come from practical experience, rather than just going through a ‘boss and braze-on) catalogue and ticking boxes.

A painted frame comes in at 2.5kg/5.5lbs, which, in these days of 900g carbon hardtails, is a substantial chunk – and again, it may turn off riders wanting a frame they can race XC at the weekends on. In fact, that’s the same weight as the Salsa hardtail I had in 1991. However, until that frame, this frame takes massive wheels and tyres, all the luggage and it’ll still go round corners. Anyone who’s ridden a too-light steel frame can tell you how unnerving it is to have your head tube pointing in a different direction to your back wheel. The RAW has been designed to travel a long way, fully loaded at a fast speed, so durability has been woven into it from the start. Unless you’ve lost every pound you can from body and gear, then it’s unlikely that you’ll suffer from the frame weight.

It’s hard to get a hardtail to do something shocking or surprising, especially now that longer frame reaches and slacker angles mean that most hardtails handle themselves well on most trails. However, Mason has focussed the Mason RAW onto a particular part of the hardtail world – that of a woodland singletrack smasher and a horizon-bringer and it has done that bit very, very well. You’ll either see the value in the design, the brand and the components, or you won’t. And for those that do, they’ll have a steel hardtail that still has the power to draw a crowd, which is a tough thing to do these days.

3 Things I’d Improve

• Despite the tough clearcoat, I’d still want to Invisiframe the bike to protect from bag strap-rub
• Mason decided against the extra engineering (and metalwork!) needed to fit SRAM’s Universal Derailleur Hanger. For global travellers, this means always carrying a spare.
• It costs what it costs, but many riders won’t be able to afford it. And the frame weight is more than you’d expect for the price.

3 Things I liked

• The poised and precise feeling. The Mason RAW certainly isn’t twitchy, but it responds beautifully to subtle inputs.
• The fit and finish of the final frames is so good. Even wet and dirty, they clean up quickly, ready for another lap. Seems a shame to take them out in the rough and tumble of the trails, but hopefully that’s what they’ll be used for.
• Mason really stands behind the riding it promotes: sponsoring riders and events. It really live the ‘fast and far adventures’ motto.