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TECH NEWS
Exclusive sneak peek: Mason Cycles Aperture2 fork
That Dom Mason, the brains behind Mason Progressive Cycles, called in at road.cc HQ the other day to show us the new thru-axle Aperture2 fork he has developed.
We’ve reviewed both the Mason Definition four season long distance aluminium bike and the Resolution steel bike here on road.cc in the past and both have impressed us massively.
Check out our Mason Definition review here.
Check out our Mason Resolution review here.
Since the launch of those bikes, Dom has been busy both fulfilling the orders and working on new projects, some of which we’re banned from telling you about yet (he keeps us in line with some really nasty Chinese burns). We are allowed to tell you about the new Aperture2 fork, though.
“It’s a development of our existing fork design, because I really wanted to keep the award-winning ride quality and family look to it,” Dom told us. “It is the same geometry as before but it’s opened up a bit so you can fit a 33mm wide tyre in there – maybe more depending on the brand – or a 30mm tyre with a mudguard.
“We've moved to thru axle because that’s the way things are going, we’ve gone 12mm, and we have developed what we call the F-Stop axle system.”
F-Stop – like Definition and Resolution, a term from photography – has a taper-fit insert at the end of each fork leg, each retained by a 3mm Allen bolt. One of the inserts is threaded and the axle screws onto there. Dom has actually developed his own QR axle.
The inserts are tapered so the more the axle is tightened the more secure they are, meaning that there will be no rattling as you ride.
“The F-Stop axle system means that you can adjust the wheel’s quick release lever exactly to your desired position,” says Dom. “Plus, if you damage the thread you can remove the axle insert and replace it.
“The F-Stop system prolongs the life of the fork. Anti-obsolescence is part of the MASON design ethos, so the wearing parts of the fork are replaceable. We design our bikes with the idea that the owners will own and ride them for many, many years."
The Aperture2 fork will be launched in September and will be used across the entire Resolution and Definition range and on one of the new Mason launches that’s just around the corner.
New Mason launches? Just around the corner? What’s all this?
We’ve said too much already. It’s hush, hush! You ain’t seen us, right? But if you do want an exclusive look at what's coming – if there is anything coming, like – you might like to keep a close eye on road.cc over the next week or two.
Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.
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8 comments
Great to see a tiny British business flourish and develop new products in a crowded corporate marketplace through great design and some good old fashioned British engineering .
I didn't appreciate until I read this exactly how much thought goes into a front fork and it sort of sums up what they are about.
Whilst new bikes are on the horizon its really nice to see the continued progression of the existing frames keeping them bang up to date.
Nice job.
Hi emjay49
Thanks so much for your comments, you are right, we do put a lot of work into our forks! It's such an important component and so often lets bikes down because the fork is underdeveloped or just an 'off the shelf' item that dosen't really suit or work properly with the rest of the bike.
Our Aperture V1 was a hard act to follow but we take the 'Progressive' part of our brand name very seriously and I'm very proud to say that the V2 has turned out even better than I was hoping and final ride testing was excellent.
Thanks again for the support and look out for more product news on road.cc soon : ]
Dom | Mason Cycles.
In Photo 3, what's with the wee arrow on the axle? Are you able to adjust the thread rotation, so that the locking lever folds to your desired angle with the desired force?
When I first saw this I was envisioning a system where you could have a standard QR insert as well for a standard wheelset. Did he mention that? Folks with pricey standard QR wheels would be drawn to a fork where they could use them for now, then upgrade to 12mm over the years.
Also looks like there would be enough surplus metal there to do a 15mm as well. Was that discussed?
Guess you didn't read the article then.
judging from the pictures, no.
That was my initial thought as well but again, looking at the images, I'm guessing this isn't an option. Fromthe outside of the insert there appears to be plenty of spare room, but look at the insert from the inside.
That was my initial thought as well but again, looking at the images, I'm guessing this isn't an option. Fromthe outside of the insert there appears to be plenty of spare room, but look at the insert from the inside.
[/quote]
Hi Joules 1975,
Thanks very much for your feedback : ]
Ø15mm inserts are possible and we tested and considered them but in the end it wasn't practical for us to offer them because of all the 'standards' still out there [see the comments in reply to KiwiMike].
We may still consider offering them as spares in the future though.
Dom | Mason Cycles.
Guess I did then, but this wasn't covered. The article said "...you can adjust the wheel’s quick release lever exactly to your desired position”
That speaks to an adjustment at the lever end, like the Formula 12mm on my Merida. It's a bit of a faff, though. I like the design that Dom explains above (Thanks Dom, good stuff), that means over time you just tweak it a little at the thread end using a hex bolt, so you get perfect closing in your desired position, every time. This was not in the article, but is a cunning innovation that just upped Mason on my N+1 list.
Thanks very much KiwiMike glad you like it! More coming soon...
Dom | Mason Cycles.
Hi KiwiMike,
Thanks for your interest and comments.
The arrow in Photo3 aligns with the threaded portion of the axle which is infinitely adjustable by using the allen bolt on the end of the axle. This means you can adjust and re-tighten to allow exact alignment of the QR lever when tightened. [I was keen to use a QR rather than 'bolted' axle to give positive closing and a visual indication that all was tight and in place].
Just about all modern, high-end disc wheelsets have adaptable hub inserts to allow fitment to QR/Ø15/Ø12Thru-axle forks. So, the complication of trying to make the fork work for QR wheels wasn't high on the list.
Ø15mm inserts are possible and we have considered and tested them, but...there are still quite a few axle thread and length 'standards' out there, so it's really difficult for us to stock all options. Actually, it is far simpler to adapt the hub down to Ø12 to fit our axle!
I hope that answers all your questions : ]
Dom | Mason Cycles.