Bike Check: Tommy’s Mash Lava
You’ve already seen a couple of shots of my Mash Lava on this blog and I can’t lie by telling you that, this paint job, might be one of my favorite of the entire Mash lineup. But what you haven’t seen yet is the bike that made me want one.
Tommy is my good friend and his tastes in bikes are always impeccable. So today we’re taking a look at his forest ripper Mash Steel Lava, and how having cool bikes is probably just a formality when you work at Blue Lug.
Let’s be honest! Sugino 75 are very cool, and I’m first in line to preach natural superiority of the square taper system. But recently I’ve been a fan of people taking a decent road or gravel crank set, and installing them on their fixed gear bike. Pair all that with a fancy AARN ring that looks weirdly familiar, but for some reason hits different… Time Atac pedals to say you’re a true OG, and a well-earned Hotline sticker for the one Terry.B himself. Why earned? Well, Tommy built Terry’s bike! Don’t trust me? Here is your proof.
Every details on this bike is a little gem. Cool vintage stickers mixed with new ones, early Mash stem cap, vintage Flite Max. And of course a few green anodized elements to get some contrast against this very bright orange frame.
After all, when you see hundreds of custom-builds every year while working at BlueLug, it’s natural that you tend to search for something a bit different from the rest. Either with limited edition, vintage parts, or even elements from other disciplines, this bike has a bit of all that, creating something truly unique.
Starting with these beautiful Phil 45th anniversary hubs, laced to my new favorite rim: The Velocity Aileron! Just deep enough, and with the perfect profile in my opinion, it is truly a great rim, that might get its own review soon!
Yet, I can already hear some of you screaming behind your screens about the front wheel being radially laced. And guess what? Three-Forth of this bike has been radially laced. (yes…look again) On top of that, Tommy is a gnarly rider and enjoy landing very heavy tricks from time to time. Still! His wheels are completely fine! Radial looks good, but is also way stronger than some people think.
But coming back on the green accent series, we have a fine Bingham Built Titanium seatpost, and a Philwood headset to switch from the usual Chrisking domination. Green anodizing, truly, isn’t that common compare to very popular colors like purple or turquoise, but with this build, I could see myself getting something similar.
Detailed Parts List
Frameset
Mash steel Lava
Chainring and Cog AARN 40t, 18t Cog
Crank Sram Force 165mm
Seatpost and Saddle
Bingham Built Titanium, Selle Italia Max Flite
Stem and Handlebar
Ritchey WCS 110mm, Nitto ForShred Turquoise
Wheels Velocity Aileron laced to 45th anniversary Philwood
Tires Terravail Cannonbal 38c
A few final details, making all the difference. The very limited Nitto Turquoise ForShred Bar, some cotton bar tape, and a very nifty Spurcycle bell to announce yourself when you shred your local woods.
Overall, this is a perfect example, of a bike that isn’t sticking to the standards we somehow created. No Thomson parts, no 144 bcd crank, just interesting alements all around and a fine balance of aesthetics.
As always, well done on that one, truly a unique bike. And if you’d like to see Tommy’s Pista Concept, you can take a look, just here.
Orange? Green? Blue? What looks better to you?
🎞: Kodak Gold 200
📷: Nikon F100
📍: Hokuto
