Bike Check: Sean’s Mash Steel
During Slow Burnin’ Man, I met up with Sean a.k.a. @slowleak. Well known member of the Mash Crew, I’ve been meaning to shoot one of his bikes for years now. Lucky for me, Sean brought one bike with three different setups to Japan–a Mash steel frame in a raw/teal colorway with tracklo, street, AND criterium setups–proving that you can do almost everything with just one bike. (Especially if it’s a Mash Steel)
About a year ago on the podcast, I talked about the 2022 Mash steel colorways and said that the raw/teal looked unfinished and was probably the least desirable of the bunch. Well, after seeing Sean’s in person, I take it back. That color’s matte finish has a unique way of catching the sun that is best appreciated in real life. Sean built his with the fork of his previous Mash steel (seems to be a tradition at this point). A mild flex signaling that he has at least two, and honestly, I'd do the same if I could.
For today, let's focus on his wild tracklo build. Sean included a few Ritchey bits like the stem and the low riser bar, nothing too fancy here. The drivetrain is a fun one–half of an Omnium crank and the other half of a Sram Rival with stage power, but with no batteries…again, ten points for originality; you don’t see that everyday!
Tracklocross requires a low gear ratio, so this bike includes AARN’s “old knees” 43T chainring. Sean’s is a very limited AARN x Chas collab. This is paired with a 19T Cog from All-City to create a magical 2.26 ratio with more skid patches than you’ll ever need.
Detailed Parts List
Frameset
Mash Steal
Chainring and Cog AARN 43T, 19T Cog
Crank Half of a Sram Omnium 165mm
Seatpost and Saddle
Thomson Elite, Specialized power saddle
Stem and Handlebar
Ritchey Classic Stem, Ritchey Rizer Trail
Wheels Reserve Prototype Rims laced to Phill Wood Hubs
Tires Ultradynamico Rose Race 42c
Hopefully all those skid patches will preserve the rather expensive Ultradynamico tire wrapped around this sweet custom Phil Wood/Reserve wheel set. Apparently the wheel set is a prototype, and it was refreshing to see Reverve rims on a fixed build. Honestly a good change from the usual Zipp, DT Swiss, Velocity and all that usual Jazz.
If you read my review of the Rose Race, you know that it was rather a tight fit on my own Mash steel. The rear tire rubbed against my chainstays every time I was sprinting. (Not a real issue for me since… I’m pretty slow)
To avoid any rubbing, Sean did the very logical thing of cutting EVERY side knob off the rear tire to avoid any rubbing… why did I not think of that….
Other noticeable details include a Slow Squad top cap and the inverted Chris King headset in the very distinguished “Bourbon” colorway. Overall, it is a simple yet very tasteful build–I expect nothing less from the man that helped develop this frame.
Thank you Sean for letting me shoot your bike between two races. You can find him on Instagram @slow_leak, or probably at the next California tracklocross event.
Mash Steel 2023 colorways are beyond awesome btw…
🎞: Fuji Xtra 400
📷: Nikon F100
📍: Nishiurahirasawa
