Mason Resolution 3 SRAM Force

The Mason Resolution 3 is the latest version of this four-season steel road bike, with updates that include a T47 bottom bracket and much larger tyre clearances, bringing it bang up to date and adding even more versatility. Thankfully the stunning ride quality has been maintained, as has the exceptional finish and attention to detail.

> Buy now: Mason Resolution 3 for £5,380 from Mason

Think an all-road bike might be for you? Our feature What is an all-road bike? Is this new bike breed really an N+1 killer? should help you decide…

Mason Resolution 3: Ride

The Resolution was one of two bikes in Mason's original line-up and I was lucky enough to be one of the first people to actually ride one. It certainly left an impression, being one of the best bikes I have ever ridden, and the fact that Mason has merely tweaked it over the years rather than go for a major redesign is testament to what a classic bike the Resolution has become, straight from those original designs.

In 2015 it was actually quite ahead of its time. Designer Dom Mason had gone down the route of creating a road bike that was nippy and responsive while also being comfortable (both in terms of materials and geometry) and versatile.

It came with 28mm tyres and disc brakes, both of which weren't the 'norm', but the Mason proved that neither of these were a detriment to performance, and as we now know, wider tyres and powerful all-weather braking systems arguably improve performance in real world conditions.

With room for 35mm tyres on this latest version, the Resolution has certainly evolved to meet current trends. Wider tyres mean lower possible pressures without risking pinch punctures when using a tubeless setup, but soft tyres alone can't mask a poor frame ride quality – thankfully, in this case they really don't need to.

The ride quality is the Resolution's defining feature. It's a masterclass in steel alloy manufacturing and design, not only in terms of the specific materials used but in the way the tubes are shaped and manipulated to create the incredibly smooth ride feel while also maintaining a huge amount of involvement between the bike and rider.

While there is a risk of getting all misty eyed over the 'steel-is-real' analogies, frames like the Resolution's are why such a thing exists. You can make a poor frame out of any material, steel included, but get it right and you'll end up with a bike like this – something I consider having a near perfect balance of comfort, feedback and stiffness without really sacrificing anything.

There is no harshness whatsoever, and while you'll feel the natural undulations of a poor road surface, it's never jarring, and vibration is kept to a minimum at the contact points.

At a smidge under 9kg the Resolution is no threat to a lightweight carbon machine, but it still feels responsive and eager to please should you need to put the power down. My racing days are far behind me but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy a spirited ride every so often, and I found the Resolution to be rewarding when I wanted to attack a climb out of the saddle or if time was tight and I just wanted to smash it around the lanes in my lunch hour.

The frame feels tight at the front end and around the bottom bracket area, and anywhere else that is likely to see heavy loads from hard riding, and that is paired with endurance-style geometry that allows you to ride the Resolution quickly in relative ease.

At 1,020mm the wheelbase is lengthy enough to give some stability, while the slightly relaxed head angle gives the front end predictability – and you a huge amount of confidence regardless of whether you are tapping out a fast pace or taking things easier. This means the Resolution is a lot of fun but it's just reined in to a point that, when loaded up with some bikepacking kit or when taking a short cut on some broken tarmac or hardpacked surface, it won't ever feel like a handful.

I love descending, the more technical the better, and the Mason is flattering in the bends. It tracks very nicely indeed and thanks to that amount of feedback I mentioned, you know exactly what the tyres are up to.

I just found that the geometry works perfectly overall. I could achieve a great position on the Resolution, low enough at the front to be aero and still feel 'racy' or to get out of the wind on a long straight road, without the position being too extreme that it'd take its toll on my neck and arms.

'Fast Far' has always been Mason's mantra and that sums up the Resolution quite aptly as this is definitely a bike you can cover plenty of miles on, and while there are no specific sub-ranges on its website, the Resolution has the geometry and tyre clearance to mimic many of the Allroad bikes on the market.

Mason Resolution 3: Frame & Fork

Everything I mentioned in the ride section above comes down to meticulous planning at the design stage. Having met Dom Mason plenty of times to discuss new bike designs and launches over the last decade, I can safely say that even the tiniest details of the frame and fork are subject to the most intense scrutiny before anything ever makes its way to the final production model.

The Resolution is made from a mixture of Columbus's Spirit and Life steel tubing ranges, with each tube of the frame being selected to do a specific job – this is no off-the-shelf tubeset welded together with a brand's badge applied.

Both tubing ranges are cold drawn and triple butted, with wall thicknesses down as low as 0.4mm at their thinnest part. Butting, if you aren't aware, is where a tube has differing wall thicknesses along its length, which allows for thicker walls at the ends to increase strength and stiffness while thinner walls in the middle allow for a controlled amount of give or flex to benefit the ride quality.

The frames are handmade in Italy by small independent frame builders, and the finish of the welds is to a very high standard. The welds are never smoothed or sanded, so there is no hiding when it comes to the overall quality.

The painting, decals and so on are also carried out in Italy, and the frames are fully tested to EN regulations (not a legal requirement) so the attention to detail isn't just skin deep.

The overall finish is carried out to an incredibly high standard, giving the bikes an almost custom bespoke feel to them. The Grigio Tecno colour you see here is a new one and it looks stunning in my opinion, as do the Sepia and Shutter Black.

Mason was one of the first brands I was aware of to use what it calls its Multiport internal routing system. Many brands use similar now, offering a series of plates to give a neat solution to where gear cables or brake hoses enter and exit the frame, or blanking plates where wireless groupsets are used, or 1x chainsets. It looks as neat as ever and ensures a steel frame like the Resolution still keeps those classic lines. You'll not be finding any redundant cable guide points here.

One of the biggest updates to the Resolution 3 over the previous two versions is the cable/hose routing. Both of those versions ran the rear mech cable through the top tube and down the outside of the seatstay, while the rear brake hose and front mech cable ran down through the down tube but exited before they reached the bottom bracket shell, and then ran externally.

Now, thanks to the adoption of a larger T47 bottom bracket over the standard BSA option specced before, the hoses and cables (if the groupset uses them) run completely internally with the rear hardware receiving their respective hose or cable from exit points on the chainstay. It certainly gives the Resolution a clean look.

The amended design for the T47 also means that Mason has been able to remove the chainstay bridge without affecting mudguard fitting. If you do want to fit mudguards, the maximum tyre width is reduced to 32mm from 35mm without, but that still allows you some decent sized rubber for riding in poor conditions.

The CNC machined dropouts give a smart look to the rear end of the frame plus a clean mounting position for the flat-mount calliper. As expected, 12mm thru-axle mounts are catered for and you also get mounting points for a rear rack towards the top of the seatstays.

Up at the front Mason has resisted the fashion of running any hoses and cables through the top of the head tube and headset, instead sticking with running them from the handlebar to the down tube, which I personally think suits the style of bike.

The Aperture2 fork is Mason's own design and mould, and incorporates removable thru-axle eyelets which is a nice touch. Any issues with cross-threading the axle won't write off the fork, for instance.

You also get an internal cable route for a dynamo light and, again, mounting points for the mudguards. The mounts are on the inside of the fork leg so guards will require a bit of fettling to get them to fit.

Mason Resolution 3: Sizing & geometry

In terms of sizing there are an impressive eight options, ranging from 48cm through to 62cm. They cover effective top tube lengths of 519mm to 601mm.

I know I've touched on some of the measurements already, but as a little recap: the bike you see here is a 56cm and comes with a 561mm effective top tube length and a 170mm head tube. The seat tube from centre to top is 560mm, and the stack and reach figures are 580mm and 389mm respectively.

The fork offset is 45mm with a crown height of 380mm. In terms of angles, we are talking 71.5 degrees for the head tube and 73.5 degrees for the seat tube.

The bottom bracket drop is 71.5mm, while the chainstays are 420mm from the centre of the bottom bracket to the centre of the dropouts, and the overall wheelbase is 1,020mm.

Mason Resolution 3: Finishing kit

The Resolution 3 is available as a frameset for £1,795, or in builds using Shimano, SRAM and Campagnolo, with prices starting at £3,300, £3,850 and £3,950 respectively.

The finishing kits aren't set in stone, with Mason offering various component, wheel and tyre options to suit your tastes and budget.

The model I've been riding here, with this particular build, has a price of £5,380. It comes with SRAM's latest Force groupset, which was given a big update earlier in the year. Improvements to the ergonomics of the shifter hoods and faster, smoother shifting for the front mech has made it a joy to use.

The combination of a 48/35-tooth chainset and a 10-36T 12-speed cassette gives a wide range of gears which I find very efficient over all kinds of terrain. The slightly smaller large chainring compared with Shimano's compact offerings (48T versus 50T) means I can get more use out of it without the need to switch down for climbs or draggy sections, while the inclusion of a 10T sprocket on the cassette means you don't lose out on high-speed gears.

Force is completely wireless so it is very easy to set up should you need to replace a component or give it a tweak via the app. Battery life is very good, and you can switch the batteries between the mechs, so should one run out of juice you can swap it with the other to get you home.

For braking the Resolution uses 160mm rotors front and rear which provide all of the stopping power you could need, and with plenty of modulation.

The cockpit is an all-Deda affair with its Zero100 range taking care of the stem and handlebar. Both are made from 7075 aluminium alloy and have a high-end finish. I've always got on with the shape of Deda's RHM handlebar models and this one is no exception. Mason's bar tape helps as it is pleasant to use without gloves and provides plenty of grip.

The Penta carbon fibre seatpost is Mason's own; it's 27.2mm in diameter and is easy to adjust, which helped for the small amount of fettling required to get the Fizik Argo saddle to sit perfectly in position for me.

Hunt supplied the wheels for our review bike with a set of its 44 Aerodynamicist. A wheelset that we found worthy of 9/10 when we reviewed it back in 2022.

A blend of aero and low weight (1,468g on our scales for the set we reviewed) makes it a great choice for spirited road riding, and the 20mm internal rim width (29mm external) means it works well with wider road rubber.

I've ridden these wheels on many bikes over the years and think they are great. They are deep enough to get some wind-cheating gains but don't sacrifice handling on blustery days.

Fitted to them were a pair of Vittoria's Corsa Control Graphene 2.0 tyres which are beautifully supple and offer loads of tacky-feeling grip in all conditions. The Controls are a beefed-up version of the standard Corsas, so allow you a bit more scope for heading off the beaten track as long as the terrain isn't too extreme.

As I've mentioned, the Resolution 3 can take 35mm tyres, but the 30mm Vittorias fitted here are a great balance if you still want to focus on speed.

Mason Resolution 3: Value

Looking at the price of the Resolution 3 as a frameset, it's around £400 more than rivals such as Condor's Fratello Disc and Fairlight's Strael.

The Fratello Disc is also manufactured in Italy from custom-shaped Columbus Spirit tubing, and I thought it was an excellent bike when I reviewed it a few years back.

Like the Resolution, the tyre clearance is 32mm with full mudguards fitted, but unlike the Resolution it runs all cable and hosing externally and sticks with a straight-through 1 1/8in head tube rather than the tapered design of the Mason. Condor sells the Fratello Disc as a frameset for £1,399.99.

> Buyer’s Guide: Best steel road bikes

The Strael is another steel all-rounder that has always impressed us here at road.cc and there are many similarities with Fairlight's and Mason's design ethos and that attention to detail.

The Strael is also on its third iteration and is made from a mix of Reynolds 853 and 725 tubing. It includes loads of details like full mudguard capability, front and rear dynamo light integration, and a mounting point for a third bottle cage. Tyre clearance without mudguards is around about 36mm.

Like Condor, Fairlight has stuck with external cable and hose routing, so the Resolution has a slightly cleaner aesthetic if that is more important to you. But Fairlight asks £1,399 for a full frameset.

Mason Resolution 3: Conclusion

The Resolution has been one of my benchmark bikes for the last 10 years and this latest version has done nothing to change that. With the adoption of the T47 bottom bracket and increased tyre clearances Mason has brought it bang up to date without sacrificing those classical looks or its performance as a year-round, all-season road bike.

Both the finish quality and the ride quality are truly exceptional, which makes the Resolution 3.0 a bike you could easily buy with both your head and your heart.

> Buy now: Mason Resolution 3 for £5,380 from Mason

Verdict

Masterpiece in showcasing what can be achieved with steel tubing, finished to an incredibly high standard