Rob Borek

I’ve been after a disc brake road bike for ages, but wanted to wait for standards to calm down a bit and for somebody to release my ‘goldilocks’ bike before pulling the trigger on anything. This is supposed to be a bit of a ‘bike for life’ if such a thing exists… Having pretty much given up on road racing I was looking for something that will work for all kinds of rides and adventures, all year round, and last me a long time. Steel was the obvious material for this kind of job being smooth riding and repairable should the need arise. Other things on my must have list were mudguard mounts, a proper press in headset, a threaded BB, and not stupidly ‘endurance’ geometry. cables and hoses on the outside was a plus but not a dealbreaker. Oh and the Fairlight came in a sort of shiny goth purple which they call ‘plum’. I love it.

Honestly it amazes me that more manufacturers aren’t releasing bikes like this. Average Joe really doesnt need a fully aerodynamically optimised internally routed missile of a bike. This is the sort of bike that 80% of recreational riders would be best on. but they are all pushed towards some aerodynamic plastic spaceship which will leave them with PHAT service charges and headaches down the line, and probably end up in landfill some day. The Strael is so simple by comparison that it could be built and maintained by anyone capable of organising a cutlery drawer. This is a good thing. It’s just a bike that does its job well.

None of the build choices are particuarly out of the ordinary. I’m running Schawlbe tyres which are a bit of a deviation from the norm for me, they feel great in 30mm and I think this is a sweet spot size. Large enough to be super smooth and comfy, but not so big as to feel heavy or sluggish. I’m also using a funky little Wolf Tooth roadlink to run a short cage mech with a nice big casette. this works well, and saved me bothering to find a new mech. Full build specs are at the bottom of this post should anybody be interested. Come winter time it’s going to be fitted with a set of full mudguards with the longest flappiest flaps I can lay my hands on.

Frame	Fairlight Strael 56R Purple
Seatpost	USE Duro Carbon 27.2
Seat collar	Wolf Tooth 29.8
Saddle	Selle Italia SLR
Handlebars	ENVE 38 SES AR
Tape	VEL
Stem	USE 110mm
Headset	Chris King Inset 8 Black
Brakes/Shifters	Ultegra R8020
Brakes	Ultegra R8020
Brake Rotors	RT-MT800 ICE TECH 160mm
Front Derailleur	Ultegra R8000 Band on 28.6
Rear Derailleur	R8000, with Wt Roadlink
Crankset	Dura Ace 9100 52/36
Bottom Bracket	Dura Ace
Cassette	11-32 Ultegra
Chain	Ultegra R8000
Wheelset	ENVE SES 3.4 Disc / ENVE Alloy
Tyres	Schwalbe Pro One TLE 30mm
Pedals	Look Keo
Fenders	Kinesis Fend-Off
Bottle Cages	Arundel Mandible