#FastFar | Jason Black's RAAM Definition

For 36 years RAAM has been challenging ultracyclists from around the globe to push their physical and mental limits to the farthest reaches. Starting in Oceanside, under one of the longest piers in California, RAAM spans 3000 miles, climbs 175,000 feet, crosses 12 states and finishes at City Dock in Annapolis, Maryland, the east coast sailing mecca.

The route travels west to east, traversing three major mountain ranges (Sierra, Rocky and Appalachian), crosses four of America’s longest rivers (Colorado, Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio) and the Great Plains.  Also, passing through such iconic American landmarks as the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts, Monument Valley, Great Plains and Gettysburg.

The Race has become a global icon, having had over 35 countries represented. Not only has RAAM proved to be one of the most challenging races in the world, but has become a huge platform for racers to raise awareness and money for charities of their choice.  Racers have raised over $2 million per year over the past 5 years.

- Raceacrossamerica.org

A Mason built for RAAM 2020.

When the exciting news came that Mason-supported rider Jason Black had a place on RAAM 2020, we knew he needed the ultimate tool for the job. Jason is fiercely fast and hard as nails, and we could not wait to start piecing together our take on the ultimate RAAM machine.

The finished build that came out of this daunting task resulted in a truly distinctive, ultra fast and totally unique bicycle that we're very proud of.

Here's the full details and spec of this #FastFar beast:

The Frameset

At the core of Jason's RAAM bike is our award-winning Dedacciai Aluminium Definition2 Frameset. Designed with the very latest frame design features, this frame is a super efficient pedalling and power transmission machine. Low weight, straighter 'stays and large diameter down tube give it a punchy and responsive ride. It has more of a race-bike feel, although it still retains a beautiful ride quality because of the advanced tubing, custom BoatTail stays, advanced taper steerer Aperture carbon fork and of course the capacity for larger tyres. All of this combined creating the ideal race machine that must be as comfortable as it is unrelentingly fast over 3000 miles.

This is the only Filter Green Definition we've made, finished with a custom set of decals taken from 2 other colourways from two different Mason GFX designs to represent Jason & Ireland, as he will be raising money and awarenes for Irish Red Cross. The Aperture2 fork detailed with our signature grey-metallic half 'MASON' and our orange / light blue 'Crest & M' finish off this custom frameset.

The Groupset

For races of any length, using equipment that you can trust and you're familiar with is essential. This is why Jason's RAAM Definition2 is running SRAM's 11spd RED eTap groupset - he's put thousands of miles into this series and he knows it works for him. It's still of the latest flat-mount brake caliper spec. and it 100% looks the part on his race bike.

He uses an 11-28 cassette paired to a specific Rotor ALDHU crankset, with oval chainrings and rarely seen 155mm cranks.

The Wheels & Tyres

The latest developments from our friends at HUNT made this an easy decision. For the ultimate in real-world aerodynamic efficiency, ultra low friction and large volume tyre compatibility no other wheelset comes close: the 48 Limitless Aero Disc. The world's fastest disc brake wheelset; yeah, they come with the numbers to back this up.

The 34.5mm wide rims on these beautfully engineered disc brake wheels is optimised for the low rolling resistance made possible by 28mm Schwalbe Pro One tubeless tyre, and that's exactly what Jason will be using for RAAM 2020.

The Cockpit

As is commonly seen in the ultra-cycling world, Jason will be using aero-bars on his Definition during RAAM. So, a traditional style drop bar is a great choice with enough room and the correct shape to fit aero-bars and real-eastate left for various electronic devices. We've spec'd Deda Zero100 components here, as we so often on our high-end builds. They're amongst the lightest alloy 'bars in the world and they have a comfortable shape and superb ride quality.

We'll revisit Jason's set-up once he has it fully dialled in and in RAAM mode.

With many hours of training still go, Jason has already been putting the miles into this Definition and we'll be catching up with him next week to hear how he is getting on with this bike aswell as an insight into his recent world-record breaking Malin Head to Mizen Head ride.