What Bike & Components Did A PRO Bike Reviewer Spend His OWN Money On? (Staff Bikes Ep.6) 

I lived in the Uk for years and you see a lot of very serious cyclist riding really practical and durable steel bikes like this. In the US, everyone is on carbon.

Nice to see a shift from racing inspired cycling to more leisurely and exploratory cycling. Forget your Strava and egos and materialism and just enjoy your cycling.

The best of cycling is the fun, the fitness, the exploring, the experience. An interest in equipment can also be a fun and rewarding thing, sometimes, but far too often it becomes empty consumerism in the negative sense imo. And I don’t mean simply cheap is better - this bike isn’t cheap - but bought to last more than a year or two. This kind of bike is what far more people should be riding.

I was set on Strael for my first project and I already got all the gear (with 48/32 and 11-36 along with alroad wheelset) except the frame and after watching this video I am starting to think about Secan. I will say thank you for now 🙂

I just ordered an iridescent plum Secan 2.5, super exited to ride this beauty next summer! I will install a 1X drivetrain because I like to ride more off road and to tackle the step climbs around the area, love the versatility that the bike offers and the attention to details. When someone so knowledgeable, who tests and rides dozens of bikes as a job and he decides to buy the same bike as I ordered makes feel confident about my choice. I’ll start looking for those orange bolts because I ordered orange headsets and seat clamp 😎 Thank you for the video

I have a 12 year old Genesis Equilibrium with Reynolds 725 steel, full mudguards and a narrow Tortec velocity rack, which sits close to the wheel. Absolute beauty to ride. Daily commuter but has also been on touring holidays and even the odd sportive

I've tried carbon, aluminum, titanium, and even magnesium framed bikes but steel is what I prefer. The ride quality of high quality steel frame bicycle is quite nice.

Very interesting and enjoyable discussion in a relaxed mood, more videos of this type please. Good choice of bike. Minus points for not knowing where Ritchey is from, surprisingly.

I’ve had a Secan for about 4 years now, one bike that does it all. It’s perfect 👌

I have a strael mk3. For gravel ive a 2021 Genesis Croix de Fer. Both lovely to ride.

Two guys having the crack about a lovely bike 😊 Nice vid thnx!

Latenight Scroller here, too, so much fun to find some finds on components and such, either used or new or new-old-stock. And thanks for this look at this bike, gorgeous build. 😀

Excellent choice 😊 ❤ I love steel framed bikes own 3 and a titanium.. mechanical to.. awesome dude Pete 🚴🏻😃👍

Love this Fairlight build! 😊

Fabulous setup 🥰

Thanks for posting. I have my eyes on a Fairlight Strael or Secan for my next bike!

Great choice! I've been a fan since their mark 1 Strael. I'm very very fortunate to have one of each of their bikes now 😊

"A really nice all-round wheel-set!" 🤣

I think my last bike would be the one made of steel (even though I’m riding one now). With proper gear ratio, it would be a perfect bike to decorate my later days.

Love the collie dog in the background 😂

Love that bike. Super practical and sporty geometry at the same time, with just enough slackness in the head tube and fork to make it work for cargo carrying for touring should you ever wish to do that. The principle of this regular model is a lot like a Litespeed Cherohala except with much more aero geometry in terms of stance due to the lower stack and shorter head tube (the tall models conversely are very much like the Cherohala to within about 5 millimeters as I'll explain in a moment). And a perfect choice of groupset too. I got my Cherohala with Ultegra-11 but would have happily gone for GRX-11 had that been available at the time. I think the Secan regular geometry is a bit severe for my back though even though it looks better! My size L Cherohala effectively has the reach of the Secan 56T with stack that splits the difference between the 56T and 58T and then the wheelbase of the 58T and 58R Secan frames.

I have just taken delivery of my new Fairlight Secan 2.5. I have already put over 150km in 5 days. I live rural UK and the beauty for me with the Secan is that this will be my all year round bike. Country lanes, bridal-ways, forrest and actual gravel will be my mainstay with this bike. Went for the Desert colourway which is actually amazing in the flesh.

i have built myself during the lockdown a genesis equilibrium rim brake. running a tubeless conti 5000 stl it is soo incredible comfy. i can sit in the saddle for over 8hrs with no problems. i think for the „normal“ consumer, a steel frame is more than enough and it’s more comfortable than a super stiff carbon frame

I have the panaracers GKs too (32c)..genuinely amazing tyres that can take a lot of abuse.

I must be getting closer to that lotto win by now and when I do, that Secan is the first thing I’m buying Can’t wait

Beautiful bike! I bought a 2022 Kona Rove DL and though it’s a bit heavy but it rides very nice and it’s steel. And the shifters… I say let’s go back to frame mounted shifters like I had in my teens and 20s😉

I prefer a steel frame with sockets, 140kg frame load capacity, 2x11 and Gravel tires. I need a bike for everyday riding, road, gravel and multi day trips. I want to own one bike for life.

My drooling over the Secan continues…

Love the steel - the only thing I might have done differently is replace the disc brakes with rim brakes to enhance the "retro" look. Another touch would be to acquire a high quality, raked steel fork. Ihave an old Raleigh Team 753 Technium with those characteristics.

I have had two Fairlights over the years. Current one is the Secan 2.5. Currently haven't a pure road bike and been using this. Mainly in commute mode at the moment with 700c wheels and 32mm GP 5000 but early in the year it was wearing 650b and 2.25 Racing Ralphs! It does everything well! My only only disagreement is i am a Sram AXS fan! I am running 1 X as well! Road or offroad and its great! Rival/ Force mix.

Absolutely love my Secan 2.5 for bikepacking. But when I'm not bikepacking, I'm not a fan of the dampened steel feel. I much prefer the agile, and fast feeling of a good carbon bicycle.

King cage water bottles would compliment the frame very well.

Minoura bottle cages look lovely on steel bikes - cost about a tenner and less than 50g

I was thinking of getting a secan for a few month, but the shipping to the EU is so expensive. I am looking at sour frames now. Also no custom paint on fairlight.

In Canada the Norco Search XR S2 is very much like this bike , it rides nice , .. awesome infact , it's 1.5 pounds heavier than Carbon fiber bikes in the same category and price , infact was $1000. cheaper than carbon fiber last year but with recent sales I just bought a Trek Checkpoint for the same price even though I don't think it will be better than the steel bike , 1.5 pounds might be noticible .. Tom Ritchey was one of the guys who'de buy beer for the friend with the truck who would drive them up the mountain in marin county California . They would then ride Schwinn Cruisers down the mountain with single speed drum brakes , They would burn the grease out of their hubs each time and need to repack the hub with grease , ... I don't know if that's why , but it's called repack mountain ... Ritchey was 17 years old and began flllet glazing his own frames by hand one by one , .. and then started building bikes for his friends including Gary Fisher and the guy who still owns Specialized . it's where mass production of mountain bikes began although there's a debate about whether or not they invented the mountain bike ? And by the way , the Norco Search which looks alot like the fairlight Secan is designed in the Mountains of the Pacific Northwest , Canada , .. It's not as fast as a suspension hardtail MTB on singletrack but it seems like a very unique bike , and has a ride quality , capability , go fast geometry and pack mounts .. I don't have the new carbon fiber bike yet so I don't know how they compare but I think they'll be different bikes .

are Fairlight Secan 2.5's...available in Canada?....looks like a Proper kind of all around Bike for my 'Riding' Needs!!!! cheers!

Nice to see he got a more main stream bike than is sold is most places , Great review thanks

Awesome Bike :)

I have a Secan 2.5 and love it! Oddly It was thanks to David Arthur many years ago that I got mine. On road and off road it's fantastic.There's just something special about steel. Switched out my DI2 for 1x mechanical with Paul Components Klammper brakes.

I just think that is a lovely bike and it feels like it takes all the pressure off trying to get the max performance from your carbon bike

Ritchey is an mtb/gravel pioneer from Northern California. A total legend in bikes. FYI with the SK+ since they are thicker than the regular you can run them 2psi less to gain back a little smoothness without loosing performance.

You're not going to get pinchs flats at 45-55 psi, so tubeless is superfluous. Thx for the video. Have a great ride.

Lovely bike , no points for not knowing where Ritchey is from, you are reviewing bike for living and don't know Ritchey?? Is like saying you have never heard of Shimano or Campagnolo, Colnago or any other giant of the industry

smart choice indeed !!!

Standert also makes great steel bikes.

I hate how on the lower spec GRX crank, like I have, they but the GRX logo down close to where the pedal attaches. My foot rubs there and it's wearing off the logo.

I bout a 2022 Kona Rove DL and though it’s a bit heavy it rides very nice and it’s steel.

Yes I use BananaWax Bike Bearing Moly Grease Wax.

Minoura bottle cages. Cheap, light, metal and available in a few colours. Cheap like under £10

At the end of the day, it’s just hard to beat a high quality Steel bike- timeless beauty and maximum durability and comfort- I don’t need that fancy over engineered Carbon Fiber-

Stu is going the David Arthur-route, testing a Secan and loving it so much that he ends up buying one with his own money...

Fairlight... why not? Looks like a great bike.

50x11 on 25mm tires has the same gear inch measurement as 48x11 on a 38mm tire.

Sweet bike.

Tom Ritchey, American Badass Moustache

Nice - though I'd go for the Strael.....

Now this is my kind of bike. Love it!

Rad bike!

Aesthetically I'm not really a big fan of svelte steel frames spoiled with those wide blade carbon forks and fat headtubes - looks unbalanced to me. Apart from that, and the huge saddle to bar drop, it's not a bad looking bike :)

Nice video but omg the ever repeating muzak. Next time, use it for the intro and outro and any scene breaks, but give our ears a rest, please!

The only thing I'd change is to ride the thing till wheels drop off !

We are getting bike performance advice from someone who "Doesn't drink on the bike". LOL

he should get a king cage iris!

Why no bottle cages

Someone's nicked your Carradice bag mate. It's a grovel bike dressed up as an Audax. It's everything you want that is. Bought a steel Spa Elan last year, then another in titanium. Prettier than a carbon aero offering to my mamil mind. Orange Hope seat clamp please and matching orange headset, there is no excuse....and Hope orange bar ends.

I have had those Fend off guards for a while. They are great but the rear one has developed a squeak from the rear brake mount bracket. I recommend fitting some foam tape in between the bracket and guard.

Where is there gravel in the UK?

Blackburn Chicane stainless bottle cage...20 bucks USD and looks right on a slim, steel. bike.

Beautiful. Despite that it sounds like the goal was appearance over function, this is a very practical and functional bike. Except for the slammed stem. Thanks for sharing.

9:23 pleeeeeeaaase cut those wires.....

Where do I find out what kind of steel?

Nothing against carporn fiber, but there’s no denial we’ve become too spoiled focused on technicalities instead of just riding. Give me any bike, any day. That’ll be a fabulous day 💜

What the hell have Panaracer done to their lovely branding, oh dear!

👌👍

Steel & sc gravel kings all day

Wouldn't a Strael be better for 80% road riding?

Its good but it's not a Cotic!

It's Steel the best, there's a Dad joke for ya

A gravel bike makes more sense on the road for everyone but people entering races. You give up very little speed for a whole lot of comfort and control.

“Is it better than anything carbon or titanium?!” No. By his own admission, Stu just has a thing for steel bikes.

Seems like the industry is going back to steel again. Bike manufacturers are going to price their steel bikes higher.

Ritchey is Central California - it's not a German flag, it's a UCI champion flag.

The fork is carbon tho'.....

Kind of hilarious and poignant that someone who reviews dozens of bikes per year chooses: - Steel - External cabling - Normal headset - Mechanical gears - 2x front chainrings AND adds mudguards WITH extra mud flaps And might have added inner tubes if he'd had them at building time :D This is like the polar opposite of what the high tech bike world image looks like.

It sounds like the reviewer doesn’t really ride much. His bike is a closet queen.

When they do these videos, and if I believe they like bikes like this, then I know all their other reviews are pretty much unreliable shilling.

I would never in a million years put a customer on a bike 2 sizes too small due to dangerous handling and bad position. This bike is a 54 and the rider looks like he needs a 60

Very nice.....Shame they cheap-out on production costs with those horrible carbon forks....If that had steel forks it'd look the bees!

This "I never really work on bikes" genius is awarding pass/fail on companies' products? Haha.

Skip the music next time, very annoying

Surprise, surprise - when it's your own money you go for the simple, robust and failsafe gear you can fix yourself.

Panaracer GravelKing are so bad, they puncture so easily!! For commuting a disaster… get the Grand Prix URBAN in 35c or the STRADA BIANCA PRO in 36c soooooooo much better! On every level

I jave the Strael and find it one of the worst handling bikes ive ever ridden. Way more twitchy than the Scott Foil it replaced or the Cannondale Supersix i test rode recently, which will likely be the replacment. It was meant to be my long-term 'retirement' from (amateur)racing bike but it was such a bad purchase . I did fit a angled headset which did calm it down significantly though.

Ritchey with the German flag printed on the stem would probably make it German

Lush accent.

There sure is a lot of carbon on your steel bike.

Carbon fork. Doesn't count as a steel bike imo.

if im able to buy UK made bikes, Fairlight for steel & Mason for aluminum🤌