Fairlight Cycles Strael 2.0

This is Strael 2.0, Fairlight's updated and refined version of the original Strael which came second overall in the sportive category of the road.cc 2017/18 Bike of the Year awards and snuck into the top ten most impressive bikes that we tested over the year.

All of the great bits are still there. The phenomenal comfort, the high-performance ride and the near custom fit but they've also managed to make it lighter, better looking and all while still maintaining impressive value for money. Oooof!!

Buy it online here

Pros: Amazing comfort, incredible ride, quality finishing kit etc. etc

Cons: Na, I'm stuck...

Ride

The Strael 2.0 maintains a lot of the details and design of the original so I already knew how good the ride was likely to be (in fact maintaining the ride ride characteristics of the original Strael was one of the priorities when it came to designing the 2.0, but more on that in a bit) but going out for the first shakedown spin just brought back how truly awesome the Fairlight is to pilot.

The handling is an absolute masterclass thanks to the mix of geometry and tube selections that create a frame in which all the constituent parts work in perfect harmony. The tubes have been selected for their profiles and wall thicknesses which when welded together provides a taut and eager characteristic with plenty of comfort where it is needed.

The fork has been modified from Fairlight's original mould to accept the new 12mm Thru-axle and the tapered head tube, even though it's now running with a marginally thinner wall thickness for a bit of weight saving still provides a very stiff but direct front end.

This combination gives you a lot of confidence, and that grows the more you ride the Strael. The 72.5° head angle isn't as steep as that of a race bike but it has the really planted feel of a race machine and the fact that the Strael feels like a real extension of you means that you push the limits probably further than you normally would on other more performance orientated bikes.

Descending at high speed thrills me and I love to go into a bend, especially a chicane or a really twisty section right at the point where you aren't really sure if you are going to get the bike through it without a bit of line fettling or hauling on the anchors.

The amount of times I reached the bottom of my favourite test hills with a full on adrenaline giggle as the Strael just nailed it became addictive and I soon planned nearly every ride with a do-or-die descent in it.

Normally a bike with such great high speed handling has quite steep angles which can become twitchy at lower speeds or if you aren't gentle with it but you get none of that here with the Fairlight.

Even at slow speeds carving through the city traffic the steering is neutral and easy to live with so when you go long, five or six hours for me and fatigue starts to kick in the Strael remains an easy and controllable bike to ride.

This makes it a great sportive or long distance machine completely backed up by the comfort levels afforded by the various grade Reynolds tubing, especially the rear end.

Occasionally you glance back to check you haven't got a rear puncture due to the shock absorbancey of those seatstays and that's with the 28mm tyres pumped up to 110psi too (110psi! We need to talk about your tyre pressures - ed).

Stiffness is impressive too, it's exactly where it needs to be for the performance levels of the Strael without detracting from the comfort of the ride.

Under hard acceleration the Strael gets a shift on and never feels like it's lacking anywhere plus when it comes to climbing I didn't find the Fairlight wanting either.

The 73.5° seat angle and inline seatpost put me in my preferred forward saddle position which I found efficient for taking on the hills and even when you have to stand up the Strael never lets you down.

Literally for anything other than all out racing the Strael would be my go too choice for a fast, responsive, fun handling bike. The fact it delivers comfort by the bucket load is just the cherry on the cake.

What's new?

When Dom Thomas, the man behind the design of all Fairlight's creations started on the original Strael three years ago disc braked road bikes were still in the early stages of evolution and the whole thru-axle diameter standards debate hadn't really settled on a preferred size which is why they stuck with good old quick releases.

For the Strael 2.0 though things are brought firmly up to date with the inclusion of 12mm diameter Thru-axles front and rear.

The Anraed fork is created from Fairlight's own mould which makes tweaking things much easier than from a generic off the shelf model. Fairlight have redesigned the bottom of the legs to incorporate the Thru-axle but while they were at it they've also increased the steerer length from 300mm to 330mm which has allowed an extra 61cm Tall frameset to be added to the range.

At the rear the dropouts have come in for a complete redesign and judging by the comments on the aesthetics of the original model a lot of you will find that a welcome upgrade.

Most manufacturers braze threaded mounting points into the chainstay for the attachment of flat mount brake calipers but Fairlight have gone for an attachment design that you can see in the photos.

Dom's thoughts behind this (as you can see explained in the First Look video above ) are that Fairlight butted tubes for the rear triangle whereas a lot of manufacturers use plain gauge with thicker wall thicknesses.

He says that the wall thickness of the tube to accept the heat from brazing in the mounts needs to be 0.9mm. The Strael requires a lot less heat with their design which allows them to use a double butted tube of 0.6mm and 0.8mm which reduces weight plus allows for greater comfort.

It also reduces the risk of writing off a frame if the caliper bolt is cross threaded into the chainstay as a replacement adaptor would have it sorted.

The dropouts are also much smaller and Fairlight have gone with an asymmetric design to save even more weight, about 40g in total. The drive side dropout is much smaller than that of the braking side and for me that really demonstrates the attention to detail that you see throughout the frame.

I mentioned earlier about the new head tube and this latest version is machined from a single billet of Reynolds 631 in Birmingham. It's a minimal upgrade but drops a bit of weight while still allowing the Strael to fulfil the impact testing criteria.

My one criticism with the original was with the cable routing, especially the bosses on the head tube which if you were to run an electronic groupset would sit there all sad and neglected.

Fairlight have got rid of these and designed a new 3D printed cable guide that attached to the bottom of the down tube to deal with the routing of gear cables and the brake hose.

It utilises the Di2 plug for security to keep everything sturdy and in place plus if you do go Di2 for instance you remove the guide and to create a neat and tidy solution. It's a big improvement.

Why mess with it?

The original Strael had such a beautiful ride quality so I'm so glad they haven't changed anything in that department. Dom even mentions in the First Look video that he feels there is little more he could do with this setup to still achieve the overall ride quality or weight while still meeting the ISO testing procedure.

The front end, apart from that new head tube, uses Reynolds 853. In the previous review I mentioned that the top tube was my favourite and it still is. From an aesthetics point of view I think it still looks stunning with its 20x30mm ovalized shape as it blends into the head tube and seat tube.

The thinking behind this, according to Fairlight, is that the 30mm width resists the side to size forces while the 20mm direction allows some flex for comfort.

A similar approach has been applied to the down tube, with ovalising at each end but in opposite planes to resist twisty forces from the steering and pedalling.

The chainstays are Reynolds 631, and while most chainstays we see are oval to allow for heel and tyre clearance, the Strael uses round ones to increase stiffness. The seatstays follow a similar theme, remaining the same diameter from top to bottom, and are made specifically for Fairlight from Reynolds 725.

All of these tubes are joined together in Europe by smooth and tidy welding, giving the frames a top end look and feel, especially once finished off with the deep and very durable paintjob. You can still get the Putty option plus this new Deep Grey option with silver and copper decals, I think it's a beauty.

Bottom bracket wise the Strael uses a threaded option which I think just looks right on a steel bike regardless of the issues of water ingress issues found with various press fit alternatives.

This obviously wouldn't be a four-season machine without being able to take mudguards and you'll find the mounts in the usual places at the dropouts. With guards fitted the Strael will take 28mm tyres and 33mm without.

Fairlight have created a very sophisticated bike frameset here and if you really want to get inside the mind of the designer it's really worth taking a look at their Lookbook which you can download from their website here - https://www.dropbox.com/sh/txxoqyx1082wypz/AACdqtXg1SbSXaxTsXG7e8Gga?dl=0.

Proportional Geometry

We're all different shapes, right? Well, because of this Fairlight has decided to offer each frame size in two different geometries: Regular and Tall.

Basically it comes down to body proportions. I, for instance, have a long torso and short legs, so I was sent a 54cm Regular (54R); if I was the opposite way round – short torso, long legs – it would have been the 54cm Tall (54T).

The difference comes down to tube length. The Regular I tested has a shorter seat tube, longer top tube and shorter head tube than the Tall version. The longer top tube lets me stretch out my torso and get lower.

There are three ways to work out which size bike you need on Fairlight's website: by filling in your measurements, sending them your details from a professional bike fit, or just by sending in the measurements from your original bike.

Finishing kit

We've seen some big price increases in the cycling marketplace over the last year and the Strael hasn't been immune to them. The standard Ultegra mechanical version is £2,599 with our Hope upgraded test model coming in at £2,639, last years equivalent model was £2,399 or £2,439.

For that though you are getting the excellent frameset which you can also buy on its own for £999 which includes frame, fork, headset, seat clamp and cable guide. Not bad for such a quality bike.

Fairlight haven't scrimped on the build either. There is no mixing and matching of components here across the groupset as it's a full Ultegra R8000 setup including the hydraulic disc brakes and levers.

This latest groupset from Shimano is awesome with phenomenal shifting across the chainrings and cassette plus the braking really can't be faulted.

Loads of modulation and top end power from the levers and 140mm disc rotors, pretty much the maximum required for road use on a bike of this setup.

Gearing wise you get as expected a 50/34 compact chainset option but with a wide ranging 11-34 cassette that gives you a decent spread of ratios whether you are climbing or descending plus the cassette doesn't feel too gappy either.

It's good to see Fairlight haven't scrimped on the components either and that it's all from one manufacturer too for that complete and finished look.

You get an FSA SLK carbon seatpost matched to the same range stem although it's alloy rather than carbon plus you get the same brand's Gossamer compact handlebar.

I've seen lots of pricey bikes coming with really budget level components lately to keep the price down so it's great to see Fairlight haven't downgraded anything.

Fabric provide their Scoop Shallow Elite saddle and it's really good indeed with a shape that suits the style of riding the Strael is designed for.

Like a lot of brands lately Fairlight have chosen UK brand Hunt to provide the wheels for the Strael and it proves a good decision. Pretty much all of their range has scored highly in our testing offering great quality without breaking the bank.

The 4 Season Conti tyres specced here really do roll well and aren't heavy at all considering how robust they are. They spin up to speed quickly and certainly don't hamper acceleration or climbing.

Continental's GP4000 tyres were available as an upgrade on the original Strael and they were so popular that Fairlight have decided to make them the default choice and rightly so, I love them.

They are fast and thanks to their compound they are super grippy which really adds to the Strael's confidence inspiring handling.

It's not all speed though as the GP4000's are plenty durable and offer great levels of traction over this cold and wet test period.

Bang per buck

Some may smirk at paying over two grand for a metal bike but the engineering nous of the Fairlight team has resulted in a fantastic bike that surely takes steel towards its performance limit. All those tiny design ideas and minimal tweaks result in a steel masterpiece.

The price may have gone up £200 since we tested the original mainly because of exchange rates but I still think it represents great value for money.

Against the bikes I've personally tested its main competitor is still the Mason Resolution http://road.cc/content/review/152814-mason-resolution-105-hydro purely because of the level of detail that they both employ to push the boundaries of the material to, plus they offer those same four season qualities.

For me the Strael 2.0 takes it though with it's sublime ride, and by refining the aesthetics it has shrugged off its original workman-like persona and is now a rather beautiful bike indeed, in my eyes at least.

Not only that the Strael 2.0 in a standard Ultegra build is £796 cheaper than the Resolution Utegra Hydro (and £500 less than the Resolution 105 Hydro), that's a decent winter bike or a very bling set of wheels.

By taking a look through our bike buyers guide http://road.cc/content/buyers-guide/194720-18-best-steel-road-bikes-and-... you can really see the variation in prices of the steel bikes and frames and for such a small company Fairlight are really giving a lot of them a run for their money when it comes to price.

Conclusion

The Fairlight Strael is simply stunning. The ride is downright amazing and really smashes all the thinking behind various genres in the road cycling marketplaces. A long wheelbase, the ability to take mudguards and even that relaxed geometry doesn't have to mean a slow or unresponsive bike that you can't have fun on.

Verdict

Amazing comfort matched with impressive performance from what is one of the most confident handling bikes on the market.