UK bike maker Fairlight has updated its Faran, an all-steel bike designed for loaded touring, gravel, and anything else you might fancy.
The Faran 2.0 comes in a choice of regular and tall geometries and it will be available as a frameset costing £899 or in a range of builds starting at £1,999 with Shimano RX600 GRX components.
It features numerous practical touches including mounts for just about everything you could conceivably bolt to a bike.
In anticipation of the Faran 2.0 shipping, Fairlight has supplied a gorgeous collection of photos of a raw, unpainted frame fitted with various components.
Whether a bike like this is your sort of thing or not, I’m sure you’ll appreciate how lovely the Faran looks in the nude.
Croix de Faran?
If the Faran seems strongly reminiscent of the evergreen Genesis Croix de Fer, that’s not a coincidence.
Fairlight co-founder Dom Thomas designed one of the earlier versions of the CdF – a bike with a loyal fanbase – and the latest Faran ticks many of the same boxes in a very up-to-date package, offering a versatile steel frameset that can be specced up as a gravel bike, commuter, heavy-duty tourer, audaxer or any number of other things.
The Faran 2.0 frameset accepts both 700c and 650b wheels and has an eminently practical spec list, with no unusual standards.
The fork steerer is untapered and the cable routing will work with any drivetrain configuration.
There’s a straightforward threaded bottom bracket, plus flat-mount disc brakes and 12mm thru-axles front and rear.
The Faran has mounts to accept all manner of luggage racks at both ends, mudguards, up to three conventional bottle cages, cargo cages on the fork, lights and more.
It will come in a choice of two geometries for each size, called regular and tall. As you might imagine, the regular option is longer and lower while the tall is shorter in reach and higher in stack. For example, a size 54R has reach and stack figures of 386mm and 559mm respectively, while the 54T’s numbers are 378mm and 590mm.
According to Fairlight, the Faran 2.0’s geometry is designed to offer a fast and agile feel when unloaded (like the brand’s Strael road bike), and a more stable ride with a front load (like the Secan gravel bike).
If you want to geek-out on every detail of the bike, Fairlight has put together a beautiful set of design notes, which you can view here (opens a .pdf).
The Faran 2.0 will be available in a choice of two earthy colours called Winter Bracken and Woodland Green.
Framesets will cost £899 (£749.17 outside the EU, minus VAT), while complete bikes start at £1,999 for a Shimano GRX RX600 build with WTB KOM Light I21 rims on 105 hubs.
Even if you opt for a standard build, there’s huge scope for customisation, with numerous cost upgrades available including wheelsets, tyres, dynamo hubs, posh finishing kit and more.
Fairlight is taking deposits for the Faran 2.0 now, with the first bikes expected to ship this month.
