Fairlight makes state of the art steel frames and a carbon fork. These are not your garden variety tig welded frames from China/Taiwan (aka Surley, Salsa, etc etc).
If you're into details, definitely check out the "Design Notes" on the Strael model. A LOT of cool engineering/design has gone into these bikes.
Even their "road bike" would be gravel capable with clearance for 36 mm tires. The gravel bike fits 61 mm tires.
For the weight conscious folks out there, these steel frames will weigh about 2 pounds (900 ish grams) more than a high end carbon frame.
Disclaimer: I have no connection to this company. I'm just hopelessly into bikes of all frame materials.
Agree that their bikes look really nice and well thought out. IMHO, steel continues to be dismissed by so many and that's unfortunate. I have a steel road bike that is about 12 years old and I just can't imagine parting with it. Having been in the bike biz, I have had a lot of bikes over the years and my steel bike just feels right. Weight is such a funny topic within cycling. Assuming a 165lb rider, 5lbs of water and misc and 18lbs of bike, if the bike were to weigh 20lbs, the total difference of what's being hauled up a hill is ~1%. In my own experience, there are so many factors that may play into a given ride such as sleep, nutrition etc. that are likely to have a much more influential impact than frame weight.. Conversely, if the ride quality makes you feel better/less hammered after 4 hours, I think the gain may be more than 1%.
As my father used to say, that and $.25 will get you a cup of coffee. My father was pre-Starbucks..
SWGraveler - I couldn't agree more. For racers looking for every last bit of advantage (competitiveness?) then sure an all carbon bike makes sense but for the riding and enjoyment a couple pounds isn't going to make a bit of difference. Lately I've been putting in a lot more miles on my almost vintage ti Dean CX. Pretty sure I got it in 2000 and it's got all those (almost?) old school parts: rim brakes, 2x10 drivetrain, aluminum rims, and cables running on the outside of the tubes... But it just rides great.
After my two steel bikes I had an aluminum bike and now a titanium bike. I don't care about a few pounds nearly as much as I do about durability and compatibility with common parts. I also like a frame which is corrosion resistant and won't flex when I climb or sprint out of the saddle.
I generally stick with old school parts unless something comes along which works better for me. At various times I was the first on my block to have supple clincher tires, a slant-parallelogram derailleur (Suntour Superbe), side-pull brakes (Campy Record), aluminum frame (original Cannondale), clipless pedals (Look), LED lights, wide rims, and a radar. But most of my parts wouldn't look out of place on a 1970s bike. And my attire would work on an off-road motorcycle.
I’ve been admiring the Secan for a couple of years now, and this year there’s a killer purple paint option. Sigh. I don’t NEED a new bike, I really don’t. But if I did…..
I’ve been admiring the Secan for a couple of years now, and this year there’s a killer purple paint option. Sigh. I don’t NEED a new bike, I really don’t. But if I did…..
When I was in the market for a new frameset 3 years ago, I looked long and hard at Fairlight. They look very well made but in the end, I went with a Wolverine. I've been very happy with it but believe I would have been just as happy with a FL.
And I'm a steel snob. I won't ride anything else. I've had way too many bikes over the years and while carbon rides nice, it scares me off road honestly. I've had a few Ti MTN bikes and while they do ride better than steel (more suple, dampening, lively), the ride quality isn't 3X's the price better.
I do have a vintage Lemond carbon/ti road bike that is just amazing to ride but she rarely sees the light of day. Why? Because I can take the gravel bike out and ride just about anywhere and anything I want so there are almost zero limitations...within reason, I mean no rock drops or anything like on the MTB. 😁
Hi, I bought a Fairlight Secan (v1) used from Pro's Closet last August. I'm not a great cyclist by any stretch, and this is the best bicycle I've ever owned. (I'm 62 now.) Bought it in part because of the 'tall' sizing - I'm 6'5" and the 61T fits me fine. I've thoroughly enjoyed it so far, have ridden about 5000km on it. I live in Winnipeg, so don't do much climbing, but lots of wind, and country gravel roads outside the city. Got a second wheelset with 32mm 'road' tires for longer road rides when I want to think I'm fast. thanks Ray vdZ
I'm in the middle of building up a new Fairlight Strael 3.0. The frame is just beautiful, all the threads were chased, no burrs, absolute perfection! ...makes the build real easy. So many nice touches, all stainless hardware, spacers for the bottle mounts, etc...even the bore of the carbon fork is polished and dimensionally perfect (I have seen quite a few carbon forks with ragged inner bores that were sized too small)
Nice! I’m with you on road salt — regardless of the frame material, the thought of salt and brine getting in the aluminum and all the dissimilar materials keeps me off the roads during salt season.
Angstrom wrote:Nice! I’m with you on road salt — regardless of the frame material, the thought of salt and brine getting in the aluminum and all the dissimilar materials keeps me off the roads during salt season.
I still ride in the winter but with an alloy beater. I think the Strael and other stock steel frames have an ED coat inside so they may be more robust than we think.
jannmayer wrote:I'm really curious about their new Holt mountain bike. I haven't seen any reviews of it yet though.
I just looked at this after reading you post. Wow, there is some fantastic detail built into this frame. If I wasn't in love with my Samsara MTB, I would seriously consider this guy. A lot of versatility built into it. A lot of thought and time built into all the details too. Great looking bike.
I'm in the middle of revamping my entire bike collection...have sold off a few, and I'm building up a Fairlight Strael as my main road rig (replacing my 40-year-old Miyata Team Pro from the 1980 Olympic builds), and I'm not very happy with my Cannondale Topstone Alloy frame, but like the build components that I collected. Cut to the chase, I'm looking at frame replacement choices to swap the Topstone build to. I'll keep my Ritchey single-speed and my Miyata 710 (also 40-year old updated to the 2x9, 46/30T era)
My current short list (seeking informed comments): - All-City Cosmic Stallion (steel...maybe Ti) - Soma Wolverine Disc A-Type - Fairlight Secan 2.5 (which looks perfect, but I'm hesitant to buy a frame so similar to what I'm building already) - Lynskey GR300
NoCoGreg wrote:Fairlight makes state of the art steel frames and a carbon fork. These are not your garden variety tig welded frames from China/Taiwan (aka Surley, Salsa, etc etc).
Note from the Fairlight website: Frames hand-built in Taiwan. Full Reynolds frame including a custom butted and formed Reynolds 853 front triangle and Reynolds 725 rear triangle.
I have a Lynskey GR270 which is the same as the 300 (like literally they changed the sticker) and love it. The only thing I'd change is ditch my Ekar for Di2 GRX and give it internal routing. If I could only have one bike it'd be that one. I think the 300 is two years old now and I keep seeing it on sale, so they might do a refresh.
shmuelyosef wrote:I'm in the middle of revamping my entire bike collection...have sold off a few, and I'm building up a Fairlight Strael as my main road rig (replacing my 40-year-old Miyata Team Pro from the 1980 Olympic builds), and I'm not very happy with my Cannondale Topstone Alloy frame, but like the build components that I collected. Cut to the chase, I'm looking at frame replacement choices to swap the Topstone build to. I'll keep my Ritchey single-speed and my Miyata 710 (also 40-year old updated to the 2x9, 46/30T era)
My current short list (seeking informed comments): - All-City Cosmic Stallion (steel...maybe Ti) - Soma Wolverine Disc A-Type - Fairlight Secan 2.5 (which looks perfect, but I'm hesitant to buy a frame so similar to what I'm building already) - Lynskey GR300
I have the GR300 and I find it very different than the Strael. The Strael is closer to a full road bike while the GR300 I find pretty slack. Great for single track, rail trail and adventure rides. I am not a fan of the Ti look but it is durable and very comfortable to ride. There is a bit of give in the bb when I am out-of-saddle but I weight about 185lbs. Overall it is a great frame for the price and one I will keep. I have external routing and love the simplicity.
shmuelyosef wrote:I'm in the middle of revamping my entire bike collection...have sold off a few, and I'm building up a Fairlight Strael as my main road rig (replacing my 40-year-old Miyata Team Pro from the 1980 Olympic builds), and I'm not very happy with my Cannondale Topstone Alloy frame, but like the build components that I collected. Cut to the chase, I'm looking at frame replacement choices to swap the Topstone build to. I'll keep my Ritchey single-speed and my Miyata 710 (also 40-year old updated to the 2x9, 46/30T era)
My current short list (seeking informed comments): - All-City Cosmic Stallion (steel...maybe Ti) - Soma Wolverine Disc A-Type - Fairlight Secan 2.5 (which looks perfect, but I'm hesitant to buy a frame so similar to what I'm building already) - Lynskey GR300
I have been on a Soma Wolverine for 2.5 years. It rides nice, has good compliance, good clearance for gravel tires and I have no major complaints. I'd prefer the cable routing were different but other than that, it's been a great bike. I also have it built up with the matching carbon fork. I like it so much, that I even had it powder coated as I do not like black bikes....I road it that was for 1.5 years until I found a place nearby that would powder coat for only $100. Totally worth it. I see myself on it for another 2 years at least.
When I'm ready for a new steed, I'll be going with a Samsara, the same as my MTB. I've been on that for over 5 years and have nothing but huge LOVE for that bike. Matt builds an awesome bike and his wait time usually isn't too bad (6-8 weeks typically). So if you're into custom frames and in no rush, I'd absolutely talk to Matt at Samsara Cycles.
