From Impact Sun Valley in Idaho, Hannah brings us a look at the prototype Cairn E-Adventure bike, hitting the trails near you soon.
It might seem odd to go all the way to the USA to chat to some folks from England, but that’s often the way of the bike world. We’re all busy rushing around and doing our thing, and it’s trade shows and events like Outerbike and Impact Sun Valley that give us the chance to actually stop and chat about what’s new and exciting. And I think this bike is pretty damned exciting – and it’s so new that the one on display was still a prototype.
Why am I so excited about this? Basically, there’s all the ingredients there for what I think is good about bikes. It’s for adventure, it’s for taking the long way round to work, it’s for doing the shopping, it’s for leaving the car behind, or just choosing the car less often.
With the Fazua e-assist system, it’s an e-bike, or it’s not. You can forget to charge it and still ride to work. You can ride to work every day without being worn out. You can ride to work every day and rip your legs off. It’s a do a load of everything bike, and that gets me excited.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that the bike is well thought out and versatile, as it’s been developed by a group of people who collectively have had their fingers in some very successful bike pies. This bikes draws on experience from Bombtrack Bikes and the Pinnacle Arkose, and Cairn is part of The Rider Firm‘s brands, which includes Hunt Wheels and Dissent 133, a clothing brand for all weather riders.
This is a Fat Creations paint job, incorporating the contour lines of the South Downs. Fenders. So American. Moar tyre clearance.
The bike is equipped with plenty of mounts for bottles, racks, mudguards and luggage, and the new carbon fork will come ready for dynamo routing. The Praxis carbon crank has been specifically designed for this bike, as the feeling was the the Fazua compatible FSA option wasn’t attractive enough – or carbon.
The claimed weight of the bike with the battery and motor is just 14.1kg. Take that off and replace it with the downtube cover (which gives you storage space for a baguette, or maybe some sleeping gear) and it’s just 11.2kg. Combined with the resistance free pedal action of the Fazua, that makes for an entirely respectable unassisted ride.
Full carbon fork Dynamo routing to be included.
Dropper post ready and able to take tyres of 700x45C or 27.5×2.2in, it’s a bike that shouldn’t turn its nose up at much. Certainly it’s turned my head. The first delivery of the Cairn E-Adventure lands at the end of July for those who placed pre-orders. If you like the look of it, you can order one now for an Autumn delivery date, at £3,489. It’s tempting…
Cairn E-Adventure 1.0 Features
- 6061-T6 Alloy Frame
- Anything Cage Mount on down tube and fork
- Bottle Cage Mounts on seat tube and top tube
- Full Mudguard Mounts front and rear
- FAZUA Battery Lock feature
- Double-walled down tube for increased durability.
- Full internal dropper post routing option.
- Full Carbon Fork (Including steerer)
- Internal Dynamo Routing
Very very tempting Use the power, or not. You decide.
Cairn E-Adventure 1.0 Specification
- Wheels: HUNT 4 Season Gravel Disc (Can fit both 700C and 650B wheels)
- Tyres: WTB Venture
- Handlebars: Ritchey Comp EvoMax
- Stem: Ritchey Comp 4-Axis | 84 deg
- Crankset: Praxis Fazua-specific | 42 t
- Cassette: SRAM PG-1150 | 10-42 t
- Shifters: SRAM Rival 1x
- Rear Mech: SRAM Rival 1x Long Cage
- Saddle: Fabric Scoop Elite Shallow
- Seat post: Kalloy Uno with carbon shaft | 27.2⌀ | 350mm
- Electric Motor: Fazua Evation 1.0
- Included: FAZUA Motor, Battery, Battery Charger, Remote Control & Mobile App.
- Weight:
- With motor and battery (no pedals) – ±14.1kg (31lbs)
- Without motor and battery, with downtube cover (no pedals) – ±11.2kg (24.7lbs)
Disclosure
Hannah’s travel and accommodation was provided by CrankTank/Impact Sun Valley.
