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Ive just ordered one of their Strael 853 frames, wondered if anyone else in STWLand has one of their bikes given mtbers steel love-in. Thoughts and opinions of those who have one....
Nice looking frames. They seem to very deliberately not state the weight anywhere. Is it a case of 'if you have to ask, it's too much'?!
Virtually no one buying a steel frame is buying it for the weight...
My 853 is easily 3/4s of a kilo heavier than my (moderately) weighty carbon frame.
The steel rides *far* better though (and has still been built down to a bit over 7 kilos).
Old skool steel road bikes here, and even with high end (not weight weenie) kit they are about 9kg each overall.
Steel forks are about 900g, frame over 2kg, so you are looking at 1kg to 1.5kg weight penalty. Steel does ride like a magic carpet over crappy road surfaces though.
I have the Secan and keep looking at the Strael as I like the ride of the Secan and the fit is superb. The Strael always scores well in tests
Got one built up before Christmas. Very pleased so far.
Set up is Ultegra Mechanical, shallow carbon wheels and PDW guards. Not feeling like I'm being held back by the half kilo or so weight penalty over the carbon bike it replaced.
Lovely bike to look at too IMO - I went for the Iridescent Plum colour.
I have a Secan, it's lovely. Can't see the appeal of less tyre clearance, but if that's what you want, Ii'd say the Strael is lovely too
Must have some super lightweight bits to get near 7kg @mert! Like 1kg wheels and no pedals etc.
Old skool steel road bikes here, and even with high end (not weight weenie) kit they are about 9kg each overall.
Steel forks are about 900g, frame over 2kg, so you are looking at 1kg to 1.5kg weight penalty. Steel does ride like a magic carpet over crappy road surfaces though.
From their Strael tech PDF:
Strael 3.0 - Frameset
Painted frame without bolts, rear axle & dropout inserts:
54R frame - 1,922g
56R frame - 1,942g
56T frame - 1,962g
58R frame - 1,962g
Bolts, rear axle and dropout inserts = 208g
Anraed 3.0 Fork:
440g with paint but without axle.
490g with paint and axle.
Frame and fork weight - including paint, all bolts, dropout inserts etc. So as
pictured to the left but excluding headset and seatclamp.
54R - 2,620g
Strael 3.0 - Full build example
Weights of our most popular Strael build. Ultegra spec with Hope headset/seat
clamp upgrade. All other parts standard spec (e.g. Hunt 4 season wheels, Conti
GP5000 tyres, FSA SLK/Energy premium finishing kit, Fabric Scoop saddle).
54R - 8.88Kg
56R - 8.90Kg
56T - 8.92Kg
So they're being pretty up-front and stating you can manage a 8.8~9kg(ish) build with a ~2kg frame using Ultegra and nicer finishing kit...
It's a 1kg 'penalty' for steel basically.
If an ultralight build is your aim carbon is the obvious choice and you won't be looking at steel, but I'll admit I too like the idea of a sensible weight, nice, modern steel road bike. £1400 for the frameset isn't an insane price, but I'd pour over the geometry chart before picking one.
Also have a secan here, lovely bike.
They seem to very deliberately not state the weight anywhere.
As above all the information is there. In a 70 page book. The problem isn’t lack of information it’s an excess
Are they carbon forks ? £1400 sounds good considering it was £460 for a Columbus SLX frame I had built in 1990.
Yep, carbon forks
Secan owner here. What a bike! Would love a Strael.
Owned a Strael for about 2 years. Really great bike - you can just pile into corners and it will always grip. It's so good, you don't even notice it. Other bikes, you're always thinking 'Yea, but the headtube is a bit tall' or have some kind of reservations, but not this one.
You can build them up light enough for hills with 24 spoke wheels and carbon kit but I went for Hope RS4 wheels - super reliable and low maintenance. About 10.5kg all in. My tip would be dab some glue or tape over the vent holes on the seatstays, just to keep water out of the frame.
If the weight bothers you, though - stop eating pies!
I got my Strael in summer 2017. It’s great. Rode it to work. Rode it for fun. It’s great.
No idea about the current version but mine has a rear facing seat clamp. That’s the only thing I don’t like about it.
Never thought about the weight.
Steel bikes can be built light enough and have a wonderful ride quality. I use my old 531c bike for my longest rides as it's so comfortable
I have the Secan in plum. Its awesome and in time could see my having a Holt and Faran too! Already got an Enigma Etape road bike so the Strael is less likely!
Stuck my road wheels on the Secan for Ride to the Sun this year and it bombed along just as fast as my previous Canyon Ultimate.
Buy one, you won't be disappointed!
I've had a Strael 2 for approaching 5 years, and over 10k miles. Mechanical Ultegra, hand-built Hope / DT Swiss wheels (Orange Fox Bikes, Muir of Ord - good enough for Jenny Graham = good enough for me). No idea of the weight, but certainly doesn't feel heavy. Supremely comfortable, stable and forgiving enough to look after you when you've done too many big miles days in a row.... Also, the size range really does help to get a good fit.
Must have some super lightweight bits to get near 7kg @mert! Like 1kg wheels and no pedals etc.
Yes, almost. Well, it had pedals, i rode it like that for a couple of seasons.
Mostly D-A, nice light low profile carbon tubular rims and light tubs, full carbon forks and so on. It's not a large frame either and not a stock tube set.
From memory it was 7.2
It's current incarnation is more like 9-9.5 kilos with mech ultegra and clinchers.
Keep seeing the latest gen steel frames, English and so on, gives me the itch to get another nice light steel build...
I don't have a Strael, but in general praise of steel roadies I have a Ritchey Road Logic, and it is wonderful. The ride is just lovely.
Weight-wise it's about 9kg, with an Ultegra group, Fulcrum Racing 5 wheels and clinchers. Could knock a bit off with some carbon bars/seatpost but, then again, I can't really be bothered as it's fine how it is.
My steel paddy wagon is also a lovely ride. Even with carbon forks and handbuilt wheels, it's nine kilos. By contrast the titanium Enigma, sans guards and in a 54 not a 56, but otherwise same geometry and exactly the same wheels, is only 7.5 kilos. Bling carbon wheels and bits will take it sub-7 later this year. They both ride similarly and steel has that lovely springy compliance when standing (which you do a lot on 74" fixed).
In truth, any 531 steel bike with decent geometry will be a nice ride. I'm a titanium fan due to the weight-for-steel-like riding, but I like a nice steel road bike too. Weight penalty is basically a large 1L full water bottle, not so bad in context.
I have a Strael 3 with Force AXS. I am very happy with it. I live in the Cotswolds and it's perfect for the mix of roads found here. Previously had carbon race bikes.
It rides so nicely and is so comfortable that I really haven't been bothered about weighing it.
I hope you enjoy your new bike when it eventually arrives.
Absolutely love mine and have ridden it extensively all year round for 3 years mainly on hilly club rides...some very hilly and very long. There is a weight penalty but my best guess is that with light hunt wheels and sram red/force I am giving away 1 to 1.5kg to my mates on carbon giant and treks. But it is actually very good at climbing and it doesn't ever feel like a heavy bike, far from it. Handles like a dream and rides very very well....enjoy!
Does anyone who rides a nice steel bike like these, then adds carbon wheels, then find the additional road noise intrusive..?
I have lovely, roughly ten year old 725 Croix de Fer. The current wheels are quite hefty and I'm debating going lighter for summer sprightliness; it's currently on what are effectively 32 spoke xc wheels. However, I seem to be sensitive to the noise of passing roadies on carbon rimmed bikes and wonder if anyone has a view on noisy rims.
Why do you need carbon rims? My "other" non-carbon wheels are handbuilt Dura Ace and Mavic CXP33's with Sapim Race spokes. Reasonably light and ride much better than my carbon Giant PSLR wheels. There is some extra noise from the latex inner tubes over traditional butyl. As it happens, I had them made for my carbon Giant Defy Advanced SL, because I wanted some more robust but still light wheels. Handbuilt wheels can also be light, stiff and nice to ride too.
My HED Jet6/9 race wheel combo can be noisy, but these are carbon-fairings over traditional rims. Not that light either.
Yes, I know they can; all my wheels are handbuilt by a very good, local wheelbuilder who knows his trade. I'm looking for the views of those who have tried them. Your experience suggests that they may not offer enough to be worth the extra and that's useful to hear.
Just for balance... I own three road bikes - two carbon and one 853. The 853 is by far and away the least comfortable and the least enjoyable to ride (even with the same tyres).
Having said that, I would happily have bought a Strael, but the single exposed brake hose running all the way from the bars to the caliper just spoils it for me.
I have 7400 Dura Ace on CXP 33 rims on the 'best bike' - they are a strong and versatile wheelset, and at a reasonable weight (hubs aren't super light but are bomb proof). I still have some deep section carbon wheels that I used to time trial on, and they were noisy. I prefer the hiss from the alloy wheels/tyres.
Not purely road, but has anyone ridden a Richey Outback? Seems to have a very good reputation for comfort.
Dear god, I’ve just tried to navigate the Fairlight website to find out if I’d fancy one, and what it would cost me. Very much this:
As above all the information is there. In a 70 page book. The problem isn’t lack of information it’s an excess
I have a strael 2, built up with mechanical 105, some light hunt wheels comes out at high 8/low9 kilos with pedals and cages. Ride quality is simply wonderful: brilliant to push into a corner, beautifully comfortable. Is it as light as my racey carbon bike, no. Am I entering races/hill climbs on it, also no.
I've never regretted buying. You'll thank yourself if you do
The Strael is a very good bike. Not as stiff or as fast to accelerate as a carbon roadie but for uk roads it’s brilliant.
Very much this. Think my Strael is a great bike for broken road Britain. Then I jump on the Secan with 47mm rubber and I think that's even better!
I'd be surprised if anyone was disappointed in one. Do think of my two as workhorses not as a Sunday best type things though.
Am curious about the comfort claims, I had a custom 853 gravel bike built and although in general I love it, I didn't really notice much improvement in comfort compared to the aluminium CX frame it replaced.
What have Fairlight done to make it so comfortable? Flattened top tube or skinny stays?
I have one of Cotics True Temper S3 road bike frames, think there are only 2 ever built? Anyhow rides very nicely indeed.
This very frame:
https://road.cc/content/news/50589-sneak-peek-cotic-road-bike-protoype
To be fair to them I think it's beyond clever marketing as they get across the board good reviews. I think there is very good attention to detail in the design, custom tubesets mean they can tweak shapes and tube widths with butting in the right areas. Very much a build up of marginal gains from a design point of view.
Own both a Secan and a Strael. Both great bikes. Strael is my 4 season bike sitting along side my summer bikes a SS EVO HM rim brake and a Cervelo R3. The fact that I can change between bikes and don't feel short changed is the reason I like it - different, but still very good. My commuter is a Genesis Equilibrium which certainly feels a step down.