Hi everyone, I’m looking for some buying advice for a new bike frame. I currently ride a 2017 CAAD12 rim brake bike that I really like but there’s some issues with it that make want to not necessarily replace it but get another bike that can live alongside. The main issues being:
rim brakes; to be more precise in incompatibility of my love for riding aerodynamic carbon rims and adequate braking performance in the wet. I recently got caught in a big downpour and had to slow down to basically walking speed to feel safe
The fit seems to a bit too long and low for my liking especially since I like doing long rides, 12+ hours so comfort
For the third point I’ll be getting a bike fit soon but the first two necessitate an upgrade.
Here’s the requirements that I have for my new bike:
Available as a frame. For me part of the fun of riding bikes is working on them and so I want to buy a frame and build it up with used parts. Good for the budget and for the thrill of the hunt for parts.
No electronic shifting. I can barely keep my lights charged and I really dislike the idea of taking something as perfect as a bicycle and making electricity necessary for basic function
Outside cabling. I like to work on my bikes and after having to recently redo the shift cables on my CAAD12, I want them to run on the outside of the frame.
Tire clearance minimum 35mm. I want this bike to be a do-it-all kind of bike for mostly road riding but the occasional light gravel should be no issue. I grew up mountain biking as a kid so I like a little bit of under biking and I usually have a good idea of where the limits of my grip are.
Preferably metal. For durability reasons, I want this bike to be my everyday-do-everything bike so getting carbon would make me a little nervous
I’d like to keep it around or below 2000 Euros for the frame.
My current favorite is the Fairlight Strael (https://fairlightcycles.com/strael-4-0) which Fairlight calls their “all-road” bike. This bike ticks all of the boxes for me plus I like how it looks. Tire clearance wise they say up to 39mm so quite a lot more than my current 28mm but not truly gravel bike territory.
They also have the Secan (https://fairlightcycles.com/secan-3-0) which is their true gravel bike. This bike has 53mm tire clearance. The Secan would be the more versatile bike but I’m more of a roadie at heart and I like the feeling of a light and nimble bike so I think the Strael might be the better fit. On the other hand there’s nothing stopping me from throwing some fast road tires on the Secan and getting a second set of wheels with proper big gravel/mtb tires … In short, I’m a little torn. Alternatively I’ve also found Condor cycles to have some cool looking stuff, something like: Condor Bivio Gravel Frameset – Condor Cycles .
Has anyone had similar considerations, what did you end up going for? Maybe someone already has experience with Fairlight cycles possibly even the Strael or the Secan? Are there any other brands and models that I should look at?
Both of the Fairlights get glowing reviews, so you really can’t go wrong. Personally, I’d go with the Secan because I like the option of wider tires. The geometry is very similar to the Niner RLT RDO I’ve been riding for several years, and I’ve never felt it to be slow handling.
On the other hand, you absolutely can ride gravel with 35-38mm tires. Up until a couple of years ago, pros raced on those sizes. Perhaps not as fast or comfortable as going wider, but I logged a lot of fun dirt miles on 38s.
For mostly road, occasional light gravel, and one wheelset, I’d probably use the widest fast road tire I could fit. The Strael review says 39mm with 4mm clearance, so you could probably fit 40s. Adjusting pressures for the surface makes a big difference in feel.
I bought a Crux. It’s not really less robust than a lightweight steel bike as those dent easily particularly during transport. There is a carbon or aluminium version. Personally I’d buy the carbon version with GRX mechanical as a complete bike then sell and swap the bits as the groupset is then free compared to buying frame alone.
These are regularly available with large discount from IBK and bike24 online. IBK has a huge selection now.
Mason cycles seem to have a similar business model and range of bikes as Fairlight.
You might find similar offerings there, their lead times might be shorter too as they seem to contract their manufacturing in Italy rather than to Taiwan so shipping is less of a delay.
Enjoy the build, always fun picking all the components and how they will fit together.
Don’t limit yourself to fully external cabling. With a half-decent internal routing kit, the semi-internal frames are so much cleaner looking and still reasonably easy to work on.
Huh? Not to knock the Crux at all! But that statement about “lightweight steel” seems quite wrong to me. In my experience, well-made steel frames do not dent easily; the circumstances in which they do dent would typically be fatal to a carbon fiber or aluminum frame, because of the failure properties of the respective materials; whereas steel frames can often be ridden safely despite a dent, depending on the details.
I mean yes and no. Top tubes on any light bike can be pretty thin regardless of material. Steel is wonderful but it’s very possible to dent a top tube in a non-riding mishap. That said steel sounds like the best material for the OPs criteria.
It sounds like you are looking at the right bikes. I find the fairlight offerings quite beautiful personally.
I think the Secan is probably the right choice for you. I, like many people, found that once I went off road I want to access more terrain which necessitated purchasing a bike with more clearance. You CAN ride lots of off road terrain on 35 or 40 tires but it’s much more enjoyable on 50s.
If you are going to have a single bike, I’d consider running 2 wheelers (1 with some 50ish tires with light knobs mounted for off road and 1 with some 35 or 38 slicks for road). Swapping tires is a PITA with tubeless.
judging by your name, I suppose continental Europe?
I ride an Veloheld Iconx titanium Frame from the first generation and love it. It has 55mm tire clearance. The ride position is very comfortable yet feels fast and the handling is great. The newer generation has a bit more modern cable routing, but overall its exterior cables.
Im 182cm and ride an M frame. Price with Fork is 2350. In case you can Ride XS they have one on sale for quite cheap from the previous generation.
Veloheld is located in Dresden. They also provide Steel frames. Another brand from Dresden is Sour bicycles.
I’m not a Fan of Standert. In my mind, they are a marketing company first and a bike company second.
Never ridden one, but as long as you’re not in a rush I’d the Strael (in ochre ).
Would imagine that external cable routing was going to be the most difficult requirement to reach and tbh had thought the Strael was part-internal until you said otherwise. Would be interested to see how many other frames still have external (especially if they come in a 64cm size).
I am 100% biased but you might be interested in checking out our new Serk A40 titanium all-road frameset. We are a small brand based out of Beijing but also have a small shop in Prague for support in EU. The A40 has excellent mechanical shifting and you can choose internal or externally routed setups. We have our own unique adapter for the FD adjustor which is external and we spent a lot of time ensuring cable paths were smooth. It has 40mm clearance and mounts for mudguards too and is within your budget. http://www.serk.cc/a40
I’ve been very happy with my Enigma Escape. Although marketed as a gravel bike, it handles really well on the road with 700x32 tyres. Agile but very stable. I pop in 650b wheels with 50mm tyres for the occasional offroad adventure.
).