Mason Aspect Integrale

The very model of a modern metal mile-muncher

- Words Sam Challis Photography Lizzie Crabb

I n a way, the Aspect Integrale is Mason's most important bike to date. Not from a performance perspective - the company has a range of ten bikes that all hold their own in specific niches - but in terms of what the model represents. It's a direct link to Mason's original bikes, expressed in the most contemporary way.

'Mason started with the steel Resolution and aluminium Definition road bikes,' says founder Dom Mason. 'Then, using titanium meant we could achieve the ride quality and feel of steel but at a lower weight than our aluminium frames. We'd done it successfully in the Bokeh Ti - the titanium version of our Bokeh gravel bike - so we were keen to apply the same concept to a road frame.

'I didn't want to just roll out the same frame in three different materials, so the first Aspect in 2018 also had geometry changes that I felt suited titanium as a tube material. It was a little longer and had more stack height, among other tweaks.' The introduction of titanium comes with an associated increase in price, of course, but the material allows Mason to perfectly capture the brand's motto of '#FastFar' - being comfortable and efficient over long distances.

Going underground

The Aspect Integrale is model generation 2.5, meaning it is essentially the same bike as the Aspect2 but with fully internal cable routing.

'Our Ride Driven Design approach is focussed around listening to riders, so when more and more people said they'd like to see the clean lines of fully integrated routing on the Aspect, it was our responsibility to make it happen,' says Mason.

Titanium comes with an increase in price, but the material allows Mason to perfectly capture the brand's motto of '#FastFar'