Anyone with a Fairlight Strael? How does it stack up?

[Baron Blubba]

This bike, in its 2.0 and 3.0 iterations, has received glowing (as in, full marks) reviews from several websites, mostly based in the UK. I'm a little skeptical, and of the mindset that these encomiums might be bolstered by some amount of homerism, since Fairlight is a UK brand.

Still, gosh darn am I tempted, especially in that nice nice purple colorway.

Does anyone have a Fairlight? Can you tell me how it rides compared to other bikes you own, steel or otherwise?

[mstateglfr]

I dont have a Strael, but I do have a Fairlight Secan as my gravel bike frame.

If I didnt have a main road bike I love, or multiple backups, I would 100% pick up a Strael because the geometry looks pretty perfect and I already have a good opinion of the company. Well really, if it were just my main road bike that needed to be replaced, I would get the Strael and expect it to be the new main road ride.

Buckle up...


Fairlight as a company is really cool. They provide so much info on their frames that it can almost be difficult to sort thru, but I would much rather go that route than not enough info. The lookbooks are super cool and the design notes for each frame are awesome.
It is very clear that Dom(designer) puts a lot of effort into the frame designs. They are well thought out, feature really nice quality bits, and I would say the result is a frame thats elegant(vs kludgy).
Fairlight's willingness to show tube butting details, frame weights, and more all means they have nothing to hide and are proud of what they offer.
I actually emailed back and forth with Dom a few times while deciding which frame I wanted to buy back in 2018. He was quick to respond and helpful- and he geeked out on some details there too, which was cool to read.

The varied sizing(R and T) makes for a ton of options to help ensure fit for most everyone. And its really neat that so many measurements are adjusted for each frame size(compared to some other companies).

The welded front triangle and brazed rear triangle looks very nice both naked(lookbook pics) and painted.

My Secan is an 853 main triangle with shaped tubes and 4130 stays that are heavily manipulated. I like the look and result- lots of tire clearance. The main triangle uses an 853DZB downtube though, and that thing is a beast. They have to use it in order to pass testing, but its so strong and thick at the head tube joint that I bet a truck could roll over it and that end of the tube wouldnt deform. As a result, it isnt the lightest frame ever built. I knew that ahead of time though, and it also is lighter than comparable frames from Jamis, Niner, Kona, AllCity, etc so its not like there was much of a choice when it comes to production to get lighter.

The finish on my frame has been fanstastic and the new frames are even better with the changed dropout and stainless plates.


As for the Strael, the tubing is thinner than my Secan, as shown on the site/lookbook so it will obviously be a bit lighter. The redesigned stays and tire clearance are really nice on the Strael.
If the geometry is what you are looking for, I wouldnt hesitate based on anything else. The company is solid, the thought and design is excellent, and the finish is great. Geometry that works is most important and you will have everything you would want(at least everything I would want).
One thing worth noting- I enjoy external cables. I dont care if cables are hidden or not and the external cables are very well managed by using a 3d printed guide under the downtube. Just worth mentioning since the current trend for eliminating cables from being seen is increasing.

What else are you considering?
One other British company with a similar road bike is Mason. https://masoncycles.cc/shop/categories/resolution-bikes

[Baron Blubba]

Dang, that's a great post. Thank you very much. I'm going to be selling my main road bike soon...maybe I'll pick up a Strael frameset.

I also have no problem with external cabling. While I have an eTap bike (and have had several di2 bikes), I really like classic-style analog bikes with cutting edge modern hard components attached (wheels, bars, stem, post, etc).

I've seen Mason, but I like the looks of the Strael better than anything they're doing. I'm not partial to a bike made in the UK or anywhere in the world.

My current steel ride is a Norco Section Steel, which I think is incredible fun with a wonderful geometry and handling that is planted but exciting. My only concern is that the Strael would be a little too similar...but I bet I'll be taking that risk sometime this year.

[theboucher]

I've got a Faran 2.0 and have used it for adventure/bikepacking and also around town. Super versatile, well-designed bikes. I think they're some of the best production steel bikes available at the moment.

[mstateglfr]

Originally Posted by Baron Blubba

Dang, that's a great post. Thank you very much. I'm going to be selling my main road bike soon...maybe I'll pick up a Strael frameset.

I also have no problem with external cabling. While I have an eTap bike (and have had several di2 bikes), I really like classic-style analog bikes with cutting edge modern hard components attached (wheels, bars, stem, post, etc).

I've seen Mason, but I like the looks of the Strael better than anything they're doing. I'm not partial to a bike made in the UK or anywhere in the world.

My current steel ride is a Norco Section Steel, which I think is incredible fun with a wonderful geometry and handling that is planted but exciting. My only concern is that the Strael would be a little too similar...but I bet I'll be taking that risk sometime this year.

Worth noting too- Fairlight moved production to Taiwan. I dont know when that was, maybe a year or so ago? The frames used to be built somewhere in Europe. You mentioned you arent partial to a UK frame, so it doesnt really matter, but its still worth noting.

The orange Strael 2.0 was a really cool color(my main road bike is orang/white fade, so I am partial), but the new purple Strael is just killer cool.
I wish there were more of me so I could ride more bikes and justify adding a purple Strael!

[nspace]

Originally Posted by mstateglfr

Worth noting too- Fairlight moved production to Taiwan. I dont know when that was, maybe a year or so ago? The frames used to be built somewhere in Europe.

I had no clue this happened. Looks like they are still making the Holt in the European factory—curious if that is still the case (that frame has been delayed for nearly a year)

[DeBike]

I am really impressed with the looks and quality of what I see on their website. Looks to be a fine example of a modern steel road bike at a very good price point. Color choices are not great, my only detraction.

[shmuelyosef]

Originally Posted by Baron Blubba;3193351I

also have no problem with external cabling.

I have serious problems with INTERNAL cabling...I have purchased a couple of bikes in the last 5-6 years that had fairly unwieldly internal routing...one of which actually had bare cables in the downtube that crossed and affected the shifting (sluggish) from cable friction.

FAIRLIGHT does a great job of making the external cabling nearly invisible and very simple to maintain. I have both a Strael 3.0 (my fast bike) and a Secan 3.0 (my wet bike) and they are both not only awesome to ride, but exceptionally easy to maintain.

[dftjunkie]

I have the Fairlight Strael 2.0 in a size 54T. Have had it for about 4 months now. It’s a really sweet ride except for one issue. It’s weight. I run dynamo hubs and the total weight with Force AXS works out to 22lbs. I can’t say that I don’t notice it but anything flat it excels.




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[don'TreadOnMe]

For you Fairlight riders/owners, how was the ordering/shipping process? Painless?

[mstateglfr]

Originally Posted by don'TreadOnMe

For you Fairlight riders/owners, how was the ordering/shipping process? Painless?

Yes painless. Mine was delivered a few weeks sooner than predicted(they have a chart showing production ETA for various sizes).
It delivered quickly, I think 3 days after it shipped - UK to Iowa.
The packing was perfect- secure and still minimal.

I bought mine pre-brexit/pandemic. No idea how delivery costs are now, but they were listed and very reasonable back in '18.

[callmeishmael]

Perhaps a little OT, but I test rode a Fairlight Strael against a Mason Resolution and a Definition; TL/DR, I went for the Definition. Part of that was fit, but I did feel the Strael lacked a certain zing; as a previous poster alluded to, it's not a terribly light bike. And while I would absolutely agree that weight isn't anything, the Definition felt noticeably sprightlier. I also prefer Mason's aesthetics and European provenance, but those things are subjective.

[spoonrobot]

Fairlight Strael is heavy compared to CF of Al, but it's among the lightest steel framesets. Standert makes some lighter that are pure road bikes, but that's all I've seen. Not many steel frames <2000g, which the Strael is for all sizes <61

Mason Definition mentioned above is Al, for instance. The Mason Resolution frame is steel and appears to be about ~190g heavier than the Strael frame.

[Daveyraveygrave]

Originally Posted by callmeishmael

Perhaps a little OT, but I test rode a Fairlight Strael against a Mason Resolution and a Definition; TL/DR, I went for the Definition. Part of that was fit, but I did feel the Strael lacked a certain zing; as a previous poster alluded to, it's not a terribly light bike. And while I would absolutely agree that weight isn't anything, the Definition felt noticeably sprightlier. I also prefer Mason's aesthetics and European provenance, but those things are subjective.

I'm really interested in your demo experience with Fairlight. Was it at their place in London? How long did you get to ride it for?

This time next year, I'll be looking for a mountain bike, and a long distance road bike. Fairlight and Mason tick all the boxes for both, and Mason are literally a 10 minute ride away from me.

[callmeishmael]

Originally Posted by Daveyraveygrave

I'm really interested in your demo experience with Fairlight. Was it at their place in London? How long did you get to ride it for?

This time next year, I'll be looking for a mountain bike, and a long distance road bike. Fairlight and Mason tick all the boxes for both, and Mason are literally a 10 minute ride away from me.

Sorry to disappoint but the mechanic at my LBS has one. After giving him a lift back to and then from the shop after he mislaid the keys to the shop van at a sportive once, he owed me one, so for the princely sum of a pack of hob nobs he let me out on it for half an hour It was a size bigger than I'd have liked (mainly just a bit long), but I still got a feel for the bike.

Slightly OT, but I know Fairlight are planning on a test fleet (and they're currently advertising for a technician at least in part to assist with that) but I don't think they have one at the moment.