Silk Road Mountain Race Mason RAW Bike check

The Silk Road Mountain Race is a 2000km bikepacking race around Kyrgyzstan. The race is predominately off road taking on high altitude mountain passes and rough tracks as the route winds its way around the country.

This is the bike I used for the 2023 edition of the race. Full spec is as follows:
Frame - Mason RAW
Fork- Rock Shox SID Ultimate 120mm
Groupset- Shimano XT 12speed. 32t chainring, 10-51t cassette
Brakes- Shimano XT
Wheels- Custom HUNT Beyond Carbon Dynamo
Tyres- ReneHerse Fleecer Ridge 55mm
Bars- MountZoom 760mm 9 degree sweep
Stem- Ritchey
Seatpost- Redshift Suspension post
Saddle- Ergon All Road core
Grips- Ergon GS2
Inner grips- Redshift TopGrip ( modified)
Aero bars- Deda Metal Blast
Bar bag- Tailfin R&D Division custom
Frame bag- Tailfin R&D Division Custom
Rear pack- Tailfin R&D Division custom
Top Tube bag- Tailfin 1.5l flip top bag
Light- Klite Mtb dynamo and charging system

A big thank you to the brands that support me:

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[alexprice]

Well done Josh and also a very helpful video.

[alanhanley]

We dont like this stuff....We love this stuff!

[davidedwards]

Massive welldone Josh on 7th place in the SRMR love your videos. Cheers Dave

[mycoolcar]

Thanks for the run down, looking forward to seeing the kit video.

[welshbikepackingadventures]

Ohhh bro, this is my ultimate dream gear. Well done on your recent adventure, best wishes from Wales

[markjthomson]

Very cool. Congratulations on your 7th place. Looking forward to hearing more about your ride.

[andrewprocter-plth]

Top work Josh, brilliant result.

How did you cope with water? I only noticed 2 bottles. There where some sections that where quite dry, I thought I was going to run out at points and I had 3+ litres.

[Foxtrottangoabc]

Well done with the race Josh, thought you did really good, and on the dotwatcher I thought u were improving as the race went on

[timgearing]

Awesome race result, Josh. I’m intrigued about how you re-supply, what reception you get from the local people, etc. Hopefully a future video will answer these questions?

[garethowen]

Useful video Josh and well done on 7th place. What saddle do you use? I tend to suffer from sit bone sores on long consecutive days on the bike. Looking for new ideas.

[alexprice]

Josh do you absolutely need a hub dynamo for the SRMR? That whole setup is expensive, how about a few powerbanks instead, charging them at towns along the way?

[Ludwig.]

Absolutely no idea how did you ride and passed the Enilchek way!

[meobridger]

Awesome stuff Josh. Well done. Do you have any advice for knee pain on long rides? I attempted a bike packing race recently but had to pull out as my knees started hurting too much. To prevent this from happing in my next race, do you think it a case of just getting more time on the bike to prepare, or do you think specific strength training is the way to solve this?

[cbulloch]

Not sure I caught mention, what bracket are you using to hold the front roll bag off the frame/bars?

[gadsgsadgsadg]

I noted that you changed your clip-on TT-bars from Prime Noosa to quite similar looking Deda Metal Blast. Care to elaborate why? Congrats on the top 10 finish!

[lydiagould]

Congratulations on your 7th place finish!
Your bike is very similar to my steel Cotic solaris, except a longer wheelbase, and single 12spd front ring.
I have looked for the Tailfin frame bag but I'm not sure if it would be too big for my Cotic wich is a small-medium size frame.
Also your rear bag set up looks really stable. Is the support system compatible with any non carbon mtb frame?
The one i use is ok but the bag is quite big and sometimes rubs against the rear wheel going fast on bumpy tracks. Partly because my seatpost is quite low (I'm 5ft 2). Your system looks better.

[shalakabooyaka]

Dude, top 10 is a proper effort. Finishing these mega races has to feel so good on your psyche when you get to shed the trail filth and just decompress after.

[oldanslo]

What bike bag do you use for flying the bike?

[northanorth]

Amazed at how white your bags still are.

[pmckeown]

Josh the opening your chest comment sounds to me like marketing bleerb. When you look at the sprinters on the track with their tiny bars with HR probably near 200bpm weaving through tiny gaps. The wide bars making breathing easier for endurance events does not make sense but aero does especially for you faster guys.