Self Bike Check : Do everything Mash Work
Welcome to my own bike check! Yep, today I’m gonna tell you the story behind my Cinelli Mash Work and how it went through almost every fixie boy phase: tracklocross, commuter, long distances, and much more... A few years back when Mash first released this frame, I remember seeing it for the first time on a wall in Osaka. It was such a nice frame!
Only straight lines, no paint, and just the right amount of decals. It really got me thinking about buying one. But it was way out of my budget at the time and I had to pass. A few years later while I was not really looking for anything, I found one! Second-hand and for a decent price, I knew I had to get it. It was also completely rust-free, with not a single brown spot on it. At the time, my daily was a stripped GT GTB and I was kind of itching to go back to a steel frame. So I built it up! The only things I had to get were a headset and a crank since I was running Omnium cranks on the GT and they are not compatible with Mash Works. I remember bidding on eBay, trying to be smart to get a used Chris King and a pair of Sugino 75s for a decent price. That was pretty much it and I transferred the rest of my parts onto it and I was good to go.
With time, my needs changed and so did my bike. Some parts never moved like, a Thomson Elite seat post I’ve had since forever now and my AARN chainring on which I probably put way too many kilometers already. Some parts of my Mash Work will always change over time, while some others will probably stay the same forever. But in the end, I always found it so interesting how a bike can continuously evolve along with its rider.
My favorite pastime for a long time was just to go on Pedalroom and look at bikes’ histories. Where did you take it, what adventures you did with it, which races you participated in, and even which life events you went through with that bike?
Having a super neat Sunday bike you get coffee with is nice. But having something that lives with you and ends up looking like its own unique piece, something you created with time and use, is from my point of view, way cooler. And trust me I have a tendency to get coffee bikes I end up not using that much. Even today, talking bikes with my friends usually revolves around what the next update will be or what we’ll use them for next. It can be really any bike to start with, as long as you just keep it long enough to make it your own.
Since it was nice outside, Ella and I went to take a few shots in these early springtimes. Most of you probably already know the bike from the time when I was working with the Courage Cycling Club. It has been shot from every possible angle and in almost every situation. After my departure from the C.C.C. and a few long rides later, I never really switched back to wide bars. Being on wide risers all years around, it’s one of the rare bikes I feel comfy on with some drops. These are quite shallow and wide for the best comfort I can get and ultimately preserve my back a little bit. On the color side of things, I’m starting to see the anodizing fading on the seat post and the Chris King headset, both slowly turning to a light purple with time. When I got these Sugino 75s they were brand new and some people got mad at me for riding them with cages and toe straps first. “You’re gonna ruin it!” I’m not sorry and they just look so much cooler that way and I could buy anodized parts just to see them fade over time as I just love the way it wears out. As always, the obvious choice for the chainring was an AARN 49T but I spiced the thing up recently by switching my usual black one to a King-Kog limited edition. On the rear, you can find a very standard but crazy tough EuroAsia cog that I have owned for 6 years now. It has gone on to a fair amount of wheelsets and it’s still perfectly in shape. Quite impressive! You might ask why both my bottle and my tool keg are strapped down with some kind of Voile Strap knockoff? Well, being used to track bikes with that super minimalistic feel when you ride them, no brake cable hitting the frame, no cassette sound, not a single loose part, I just didn’t like them rattling around so I tightened them down like this. For the tools, this is not really an issue since I can just unscrew the top. For the water…I just stop…I’m not a fast fixie boy anyway...
Let’s just take a minute to look at these wheels. Most of you already know, but if you don’t, I’m a total Zipp fanboy and there is pretty much nothing I can do to stop my “Speed Weaponry issue” (the new logo is enough to make me stop buying new ones tho). From my experience, getting this exact pair can be an absolute challenge. They are clincher 404 Firecrest with Original Zipp Track hubs with 28 holes front and rear.
You could either get it from the US website Wheelbuilder.com by buying separate rims and hubs and ending up with a salty bill at the end or you needed to be a sponsored rider participating in some crit events. Either way, neither of these options were in my scope, so I just hoped to find them online one day at a decent price. Many years later, I randomly stumbled upon an auction for a track CAAD 10 with these sexy pair of shoes. I had to buy the entire bike, but in the end, it was 100% worth it. You know, I’m a simple man, Zipps makes me happy...That’s all there is to it. Coming back to the frame, it is hard not to notice the big “Courage” on the down tube. If you’re wondering where that sticker comes from, I’ll have to surprise you because it’s neither a sticker nor a decal. We randomly asked a guy who was painting a storefront to do our bikes and he just painted what he felt was the right color and font. I was so happy with the result and today I look at it as a tattoo you get when you’re having the time of your life, just to set it in stone. Add some stickers here and there to wrap it up and you pretty much have the complete bike together.
In the end, it’s just the right bike for me. Even if it’s very subtle, It does fit me better than my more recent Mash steel. I think raw bikes (steel or aluminum) might just be my jam since most of my dailies end up that way. A big thanks to @ellaellad for some of the shots!
