NBD ~ Fairlight Secan 2.5

New bike day!!!
Fairlight Secan 2.5 with GRX800 2X.

Original order was end of January 20 with an original delivery date of the beginning August. The order was for the 2.0 which was updated to the 2.5 when they launched it and they honoured the price. The bike was delayed to September, then October….. then problems with TNT delivery meant it was the end of October when it arrived. There were 5 delivery attempts that failed to materialise over 3wks.

Anyway….. the bike. This replaces my Planet X Full Monty (small)which was basically too small for me and causing problems with my shoulders/neck. This geometry (54 tall) is significantly higher front end than the PX and on its initial shakedown ride this morning that shoulder/neck issues look to be resolved. It’s beautiful to ride, a very comfortable, smooth ride, significantly quieter than the PX. The higher geometry felt odd initially, but it works. I’ve given it some stick down some descents and it handles nicely. I’m not completely sold on the flared bars and they may well be changed, but I’ll give them a couple of more rides before deciding and the bar tape will then be changed for lizard skins.

Overall, I’m exceptionally happy.

Spec:

Secan 2.5 54tall in orange.

GRX800 2X.

Hope Rs4 wheels, Peaty valves in King mango

Chris King headset upgrade.

King bottle cages – first time I’ve used them, very nice, solid engagement with the bottle.

And with @ahsat Niner RLT steel. We do like steel……

Looks great… mine is due next week, frame only, also orange. Got myself a king cage too, glad to hear they’re up to scratch. And have DSP tape to go on ot too. Great minds, eh? I might pick up some tarty orange valves too, like those 😄

@honourablegeorge, first time I’ve bought branded valves and they are much better made than the cheaper ones. Don’t know if they are worth the difference, but shiny!

Ill be interested to see how yours turns out

Lovely looking bike.
Mine is due next June!
Unfortunately wrote off my MK1 a couple of months ago.
At least it gives me a chance to get some upgrades!
Max

Lovely looking bike.
Mine is due next June!
Unfortunately wrote off my MK1 a couple of months ago.
At least it gives me a chance to get some upgrades!
Max

😮 What happened?

June seems a long way off, though bizarrely, mine didn’t seem too long until the tnt debacle

@P20 – that’s lovely. Nice colour coordination with your jersey too.

😎

Oh yes. 👌

@elshalimo that’s what Rapha had in stock that I liked! 😆

P20

Ill be interested to see how yours turns out

Me too 😄 I’ve got a big box of bits in the shed, the long wait has seen it evolve from just a frame swap to almost a whole new bike, have even been buying tools like carbon saw blade and saw guide ‘cos I’ve been thinking through the details of the build so long.

Someone decided to pull over and park up on a main dual carriage way road.
Went into the back of him at 25mph.
Ripped the headtube of the bike and smashed some teeth.
Pretty battered and bruised but could have been a lot worse!
Didn’t break any bones at least!
Strange thing was nothing was damaged on the bike apart from the frame!
Shame though it was one of the slate grey ones with purple Hope bits.
Sadly no longer made so have gone for a black one with purple bits instead!
Max.

@Turnerfan1 that sounds nasty. I really liked the putty colour and would have ordered that with the purple bits but they discontinued the colour just before I ordered mine

One of my mates wrote his Secan 2.0 off after 18 miles. A car pull across the front of him and he went OTB. Frame didn’t like it!
New orange frame arriving at the end of then month for him with purple ano kit. Been a long wait!
Another mate took delivery of a blue frame and forks this week too.
I’m on a putty original with purple ano kit 😁

Looks good it was on my shortlist but went with a ti Sonder in the end partly because it was in stock and I have no patience. The orange looks great that the one I was thinking of.

That is a lovely looking bike!

Dead same as mine,bar the painted forks.Its quite an amazing bike.

Thanks 😊

@pnik I’ve looked at the sonders over the years and still have a titanium itch that needs scratching…..

Upgraded Frame order turned up a few days ago, replacing an mk1 ATR Tripster. Obviously not a straight swap of components so going to be a bit of a frankenbuild until parts are easier to come buy. Time poor at the moment so will take a while, arrrgh. Got bars and seat post on though…..!

@birdage. I thought about frame only and rob the bits from the PX, but the brakes wouldn’t fit, the hoses too short and post mount instead of flat, wheels needed changing for through axles…..…. The idea of the lower gearing on the GRX appealed for bike packing. Full new bike then!

Yep I get that. Most stuff is fine, its mainly the brakes that are the headache. Flat mount mechanicals or post mount to flat mount adaptors for hydraulics. Both look a bit crap but not paying silly money for GRX right now.

Argh – Everyone has got a new Secan, it seems. Fairlight’s IG stories are full of more NBD stories too. Not helping my patience much.

Woohoo…. DHL just texted me, seems my New Bike Day is Friday… or more realistically, Saturday is “New Build Day”.

@birdage – brakes not fitting a perfect excuse to treat yourself to some RX4 calipers

That’s why @ahsat has RX4 on her Niner RLT build! I asked Fairlight if they could supply RX4 but they said no.

darn you @honourablegeorge …..

😊

Just paid my VAT bill to DHL…. still had faint hopes I might slip through the net, but no such luck

2nd ride in it today, the bars are going. I don’t get on with them. Prime carbons and lizard skin bar tape ordered!

Fancy selling the bars chum?

So the new bars feel much better when mocked up. I say mocked up as the front brake hose is too short ☹️. I’m going in to  a run of shifts so won’t be riding it for a few days anyway. Hopefully the hose arrives and I can get it done between nights over the weekend.

@h4muf if you’re interested, the bars are fsa adventure 420/480 12deg flare. How does £20 to your local mountain rescue and they’re yours sound?

Won’t be riding mine for a bit either. DHL have opened an investigation to try to figure out where they’ve put it. I’m not stressed. YOU’RE stressed.

@honourablegeorge 😱

I really hope that gets resolved and they find it. I was getting annoyed when I knew it existed but TNT were failing to collect. Yours is a whole different level of sh1t

I think it’s probably just in a stack of boxes on an over busy warehouse and will be along in a day or two, but I’m being impatient/paranoid and phoning them. (in their defence, it’s surprisingly quick to get through on the phone, theyre very keen to help, and it’il probably show up on Monday).

I’ll just have to spend my weekend riding the bikes I already have. First World problems, eb?

Right… DHL update… my frame made it to Dublin, then turned right around and got back on a plane, and according to tracking, is now in Helsinki, waiting to be sent back again. WTF?

At least they know where it is. Sounds like it should still turn up

It sounds like your adventure bike is having its own adventure

😉

Yeah, I’d love to go to Finland. It’s a bit more reassuring that they seem to know where it is now, at least. Would rather rit spent a bit less time being chucked on and off vans though.

So, it has now departed Finland, and is hopefully om the way to me and not off on another leg of a European tour.

Fingers crossed 🤞🏻

Seems I was premature – it had departed Helsinki, and travelled to another DHL airport location in Finland, and has left there overnight to fly somewhere else. Which may be here, or could be Brussels.

So…over the course of a week and a half the frame has been to Dublin->Helsinki->Tampere Pikkala (no, me neither) -> Eindhoven ->Brussels ->Dublin and I just had a text to say its out for delivery.

Fingers crossed it’s still in one piece.

Fingers crossed for you. I love mine a little bit more every ride. Just had a week abroad using a high end carbon Trek rental bike and it was a joy to be back on the Secan (and a Brooks C17!)

Really hope Fairlight don’t start to suffer in the same manner as Bowman with supply chain issues, as I’m really tempted by a Strael too. Must be an absolute nightmare for smaller manufacturers.