Built for Big Country

If you're part of the MASON crowd, you'll be used to following the adventures of Weronika and Tomek as they explore off-the-beaten-track regions of eastern Europe and central Asia.

Every time we catch up with Weronika and Tomek via their amazing Instagram posts or an occasional video call, we revel in their stories of discovery, human interaction and the breathtaking landscapes within which they find themselves immersed. But how about the bikes that enable these amazing odysseys? 

Let's ask Weronika and Tomek about the MASON models that carry them through their fabulous adventures: their MASON Macro and MASON ISO.

"Hey, it's Weronika and Tomek here. We have recently finished our 5 month long tour. We started in Mongolia at the end of May, continuing through China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, finishing in Uzbekistan.

"It's hard to put up those months into words. Moving on two wheels, carrying all necessary belongings with us and being in nature for the most of our time is such a huge privilege for me and it really makes us feel alive. We have experienced it all - breathtaking landscapes, friendly locals, remote campsites and even making bonfires with animal dung. The bikes carried us around flawlessly and we wanted to share some more feedback on each of them."

Weronika on her MASON Macro

"You can travel around the world on every kind of bike. However, having good equipment definitely makes it more comfortable, smooth and fun. And staying mostly off road, like we did, does require solid gear.

"Riding across Mongolian steppes with endless washboards, tackling steep climbs in Kyrgyzstan, being swept by a dust on a 4000m high plateau in Tajikistan or thigh-deep river crossings? My Macro was in its natural habitat this summer.

"It was my first tour with a front suspension bike and I really appreciated it both on washboards and rocky descents. I was running Vittoria Mezcal 2.35" and those tyres were on point in terms of width and grip for this trip (mostly off road, sometimes on rough single and double tracks).

"I had my Macro built up with SRAM GX Eagle AXS. While I initially had doubts about taking a bike with electronic shifting on such a long adventure and to the part of the world where bike shops are very sparse, I loved the lack of hassle with it. My gears were always on point. I had to charge my derailleur battery about once a week and it took about half an hour a from power bank to be charged. I had 3 batteries with me but I only ever swapped between two of them.

"Once, my derailleur got hit quite hard and I was sure it must had broke. To my surprise, it merely loosened, thanks to a protection system SRAM uses, which prevented it breaking. After adjusting two bolts, the gears were smoothly in place again. I never had an issue while submerging my bike during the river crossings, in freezing temperatures (around -5 Celsius was the lowest) and in a thick dust.

"It was a great choice to have a flat bar for this trip - both for handling the bicycle and because I was able to carry more on my handlebars and therefore distribute the weight better between the back and front of my bike.

"The Macro is a lightweight yet solid machine and I cannot wait to take it with me for my next adventures which I am already plotting!"

Tomek on his Mason ISO

"In Search Of the wild at heart. We quickly became friends with the ISO and I found that wildness thanks to him. The wildness and enthusiasm of a kid who got an off-road bike for his birthday and can finally go wild on hills and dirt tracks with his gang of friends, away from the city! Yeah!

"The idea of a second-hand bike is very close to my heart, so I'm very happy that I could give this green beast a second life and show it a part of the world it hasn't been to before.

"It's amazing to me how much this bike has endured and emerged unscathed.

"I rode GRX Di2, which was completely new to me, and before the trip, I also had many concerns about what might happen to the electronics while traveling with our off-road mountain riding profile.

"And absolutely nothing happened.

"Despite crossing numerous rivers, where I often rode the bike with the derailleur fully engaged, despite sub-zero temperatures, dust, and falls. Everything worked as it should.
I reminded myself to charge the only battery I had with me on average every three weeks, and charging it with a power bank took several dozen minutes. Gold!

"I fitted the ISO with wide Vittoria Mezcal 2.35 tyres, and for complete comfort, I installed Redshift Suspension seat post, which did a good job. And so, the bike, loaded to the brim with bags, took me through all the mountainous terrain we encountered in Asia.

"But let's not make this description too pretty. Let's be honest, the ISO is like a beloved Pamir donkey. It will help you carry all your belongings to the highest landscapes but when you take off all that bikepacking weight, it will race with you like a Przewalski's horse across the endless steppes of Asia. Hold the reins! Ihaaa!"