Fairlight Secan

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
Am I the only one! Had it about a year and just rode it this morning on the road for the first time since last September. Forgot what a comfortable bike it is, at the moment it has Hunt gravel wheels with 38mm tyres on. I originally had dynamo wheel on with 28mm tyres and both work well on mainly road rides. Had a few minor issues at the beginning with first the fit which I soon sorted. Seat post didn't last long, I was disapointed that it appeared to be a cheap one, but again I soon sorted it with a better quality one. On the whole I'm pleased with the bike and the main thing is it's comfortable, I think it helps that about three years ago I finally found a comfortable saddle. Hope this helps
 
Saddles are so personal, if you can find a comfortable one then stick with it. I went through several before I was recommened to try this one. It's a San Marco Rolls a 1980's design no cut outs. I have one on each of my bikes now.
 

John_S

Über Member
Hi olivertomberry,

I think that a Fairlight bike would be an excellent choice and there's some great reviews of their bikes in the media such as the below:-

Here's a review of the Fairlight Strael:-
https://road.cc/content/review/240016-fairlight-cycles-strael-20

And a review of the Failright Secan:-
https://road.cc/content/review/248008-fairlight-cycles-secan

But sometimes cycle media is not always totally reflective of the real world and long term ownership. Therefore perhaps one of the best tetimonies is the fact that David Arthur from Road.cc after reviewing this bike went out and spent his own money on a Farilight Secan. Bear in mind that he'll test hundreds of bikes including some exceeding expensive and nice bikes I think the fact that he wanted to spend his own money on a Fairlight Secan speaks volumes and I'll try and post below this some links so you can see what he has to say about the bike.

Depending on your priorities any one of the Fairlight bikes could work for you? Also their bikes are available as a frameset only as well as complete bikes. I might be doing them a massive disservice with this overly simplistic (and potentially inaccurate) summary of their bikes range but roughly you have the Faran which could be described as a tough, versatile bike capable of touring as well as much more. The Faran has a steel fork and although it is currently unavailable the Faran version 2 is due to be relased in perhaps July or August. There is the Strael which is I suppose what sometimes gets described these days as an "all road" Bike (whatever that means to people) but if you need an example of that bikes capabilities it has been ridden to victory by James Hayden in two editions of the Transcontinental across Europe unsupported race. Then there is the Secan which is capable of both road and off road gravel riding as well which includes being able to take wider tyres than the Strael and 650b wheels if you want.

One reason that I would highly recommend Fairlight bikes is from a bike fit and comfort perspective because unlike many other companies Fairlight make it easier and more likely that you'll be able to get a frame which fits you.

For me personally, and this is probably why my next bike will a Fairlight, one of the biggest appeals of their bikes is the fact that they provide two different sized versions of each frame offering both a regular and a tall version. Now although I've been cycling for a long time I've not had many bikes in that time and so I didn't know lots about bike fit and geometries when I bought one of my bikes. Despite the bike shop recommending the size to me I've never got on with it and discomfort problems are exacerbated the longer the ride.

I've since come to realise that for my body shape and style of riding (primarily everyday type riding with commuting, getting to shops and then occaisional longer rides including audax) I'm not personally a fan of a long stretched out 'race' riding position with a stem slammed low on a short top tube because I personally find it uncomfortable.

Fairlight have a principle called Fit Form Function ( https://fairlightcycles.com/why-fairlight/fit-function-form/?v=79cba1185463 ) but basically what the Fit part of it means is that they offer both a regular and tall version of each of their frames meaning that their bikes will provide a good fit to a greater number of people. The following video does a far better explanation of the idea than I ever could:-


View: https://vimeo.com/180866780


And you don't have to be an expert in order to figure out which frame size and version (regular or tall) is correct for you because all you do is select the model of bike that you want from the Fairlight website and then you can enter both your height and inside leg measurement and it will recommend which frame is best for you.

The reason that I've recommended their bikes is because for me personally rather than the particular specs of a bike including the groupset, finishing kit etc., or discount percentage available (which I know are also important considerations for everyone) the most important thing for me with a bike (which I've discovered over time) is the fit and geometry of a bike as well as the functionaility in terms of will it do what you want of it without being a hassle. For example is it easy to fit mudguards and racks to, does it take the tyre widths that I want to use etc..

When it comes to a saddle then this is so personal and it's impossible to recommend to somebody else what saddle might work for them. I personally use a Brooks Cambium C17 carved and I find that absolutely fantastic but with saddles what is right for one persona may not necessarily be right for the next one.

Good luck with your search for a new bike and if you get a Fairlight bike I hope that you enjoy it!

John
 
Last edited:

John_S

Über Member
Hi again Oliver,

Further to the above please see below some links to David Arthur's videos about the Fairlight Secan.

Hope that they're useful to you.

John


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx9BC9BD-Kc



View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHJEpUycmjQ



View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PA7JxR5_MU



View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFvsCDWbPN4



View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5UNh0RlAPU


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpneDhCUb5A

Also from Bike Radar featuring a Fairlight Secan:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_acrf8v8k2w

another from Bike Radar on the Strael Mark 1 but it's since been upgraded to a version 2:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlsIp0KyzXs

Info on the Farlight Strael Mk2 from the bike designer Dom Thomas:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0UbfFsAFDM

Also maybe of interest is James Hayden's Transcontinental Fairlight Strael:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIsuG8agZDI

And if you're interested in the Faran there are only reviews/info out there on the Mark 1 because the Mark 2 is not due until July or August I think:-

https://www.cyclist.co.uk/reviews/2117/fairlight-faran-review

https://www.bikeradar.com/news/fairlight-wants-one-of-its-new-bikes-to-be-your-next-adventure-wagon/

Re: the Faran if you look up #fairlightfaran on Instagram you'll see that it's a very versatile bike and if you look up darrenhunt on Instagram he has one and posts quite a lot of photos of his Faran.
 

goaf

New Member
Hi there - Ive just placed an order for a Secan 2 with GRX800 1x.
The plan was to then swap out the 40t chainring it comes with for a Wolftooth elliptical 46t
However Ive just spotted in the small print "Compatible with 50Tx34T max double or 44T max single"!
Is anyone out there running GRX 1x and have an idea if this limit can or can't be exceeded?
 
If you don't get an answer on here, maybe try the Fairlight facebook group?
 
Top Bottom