Rides bikes, paddles sea kayaks, takes pictures. Life on the road & my home in Cornwall.
That Fairlight Faran
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It took me a while but here's a quick look at what I did with my friend's used Fairlight Faran frameset ahead of a spot of touring in, hopefully, sunnier climes...
The last time I wrote, I was mucking about with, amongst other bits, the crank spider on my old Cross Check with a view to swapping some parts across to the used Fairlight Faran frame I’d acquired from a mate. The weeks of intervening time without words are not that it took me ages to get the Faran on the road, so much as a persistent lack of inspiration to spend any more time at a keyboard than was really necessary in my day to day life… It did however take me a little while to get it all together, given that the frame arrived in November, and the first pedal strokes happened some time around mid-February. Since then I’ve been bonding with it on local trails and over some longer days, and given its intended purpose as what you might call a mid-fat touring bike, I’ve decided it’s perfect, and it’s well on the way to “favourite of all time” status, along with all the other favourites of all time.
I figured I’d spend a few days trundling east from Faro for a catch-up, before riding home – via a somewhat circuitous route, heading to the empty highlands east of Madrid, before turning northwest to catch the ferry from Santander
I’d wanted something less heavy duty, less ‘fat’ than my trusty old ECR for the sorts of mixed-surface journeys that tend to feature in western Europe, but still capable of handling some fun singletrack and rougher mountain stretches, and it has proven to be a super comfortable, yet fun, all-day cruiser well able to handle a spot of singletrack provided I’m not being silly about it. Lots has already been written about the Faran elsewhere (for example), so I see no need to repeat any of that beyond confirming that all the great words that have been said about it, are indeed true.
Ive been enjoying the Faran very much… more drop-bar mountain bike than fat-tyred road bike, which is exactly what I needed it to be, without being “too mountain bike”.
In terms of component choices, much of it was dictated by what was in my parts box, as well as a preference for rugged, long lasting parts that won’t be destroyed by a single wet weekend in Wales for example (I’m looking at you external BB..). I did have to make a few concessions with respect to my original plan for the build – primarily because when the 110/58bcd spider from the Cross Check turned out to be scrap I didn’t have a lot of options other than settling for a 94bcd setup with 30/42 rings and a larger 11-40 cassette to compensate for the larger inner ring than than the 22T I had in mind. It also meant the rear mech needed a Goatlink to accommodate a larger cassette, and of course I had to buy new rings instead of make use of the lovely stainless steel rings from my bits box.
Anyway, as this is all a bit dry, I’ll bung a parts table below with some snaps and instead mention the plan for an initial shake-down ride. Some Montreal friends, whom I don’t get to see very often, will be in southern Spain next month, so as it’s far easier, and cheaper for me to get to Spain than it is Canada, I figured I’d spend a few days trundling east from Faro (I know… Portugal, but the closest I could easily reach) for a catch-up, before riding home – via a somewhat circuitous route, heading to the empty highlands east of Madrid, before turning northwest to catch the ferry from Santander. Should be fun. Hopefully the trails will even be dusty… the last time I went riding in southern Spain the mud was so thick it essentially killed my bike – not just the gears… ghastly, sticky clay clogged everything so badly even the wheels couldn’t turn in the frame.. and then set like concrete; I needed to borrow a screwdriver to chip it off once dry.
If you go down to the woods today… first spin out. The frame is used but, bar a few small chips, you’d never know. It will have a lot more chips and scrapes by the time I’m done with it, which judging by how happy I am with it, might be a very long time in the future. The Brooks B17, from my parts bin, has since been swapped for a Brooks Cambium C17. I’m a big fan of the B17, and it’s perfect on my ECR, but eventually, after a few weeks of riding it, I decided I prefer the shape of the C17 for the riding position on this bike. The blue anodised Hope headset came with the frame.. black might have been my preferred choice but I’m not complaining.I was lucky also in that the frame is {subjectively} the ‘best’ colour of the choices available, certainly the colour I would have chosen. It’s named “winter bracken”, couldn’t be more British really beyond calling it “too stewed tea”. The former probably sounds better. The bars are 52cm wide Ritchey Beacon XL, I like them very much, the very short reach and shallow drop makes transitioning from hoods to drops comfortable, and despite the width they’re comfortable while cruising on the hoods. I found them, as well as the lovely Thomson X4 stem they’re hanging off, used but mint on eBay.I haven’t yet had time to make all the bags I want for it. This frame bag was put together entirely using leftovers, about which I felt quite smug, with the main body being X-Pac x-10 – it’s a waterproof laminate with a cotton canvas face that ages beautifully. I also made some matching stem pods, or “feed bags”, also from scrap.Rear mech – a 10spd clutched SLX from my parts bin. Brand new, I bought it a few years ago when I saw it on clearance for £25.. figured it would be a handy spare for the ECR, or for a future project. I like 10spd stuff, it seems to hit the sweet spot for durability, tolerance to muck and mis-adjustment, combined with loads of options for gear ratios, mechanical shifters and so-on without spending loads. It’s paired with some Microshift bar-end shifters, also from my parts box, and also beautifully rugged, simple, and reliable. I did need to fit a Goat Link to accommodate a larger cassette than than the 36T it was designed for. In this case I’m running a Microshift 11-40 cassette.Shimano CX-70 front mech… another older part from my bin that matches a smaller ring setup perfectly. I still think a double ring setup is relevant, especially for touring, despite the trend towards single ring setups with mahoosive cassettes. I aim for a bottom gear of around 20-21″, it’s low enough to let me spin all day, on a loaded bike up a huge mountain, without having to kill myself. I’m really not a fan of the huge, 50T+cassettes are that are increasingly the norm, combined with a single ring – I find huge jumps between ratios unsettling to my rhythm, and they’re certainly not cheap given it’s a consumable item… I can’t imagine there’s any weight saving either. Rings are Specialites TA.. they’re good… despite saying ‘9 speed’ you can run a 10spd chain on them just fine.I used Bitex hubs for the first time in a wheel build; with a growing reputation for durability in the touring and MTB world, they feel like a “stealthy” premium option without the high profile, and price tag, of the likes of Hope, Chris King, DT Swiss etc. Clearly I can’t report on the durability yet but they certainly feel nicely made, and in my case these are the heavy duty versions, which essentially means reassuringly thick flanges, an extra set of bearings, and for the rear a steel axle and freehub body. The evocatively named BX207R rear hub is also blessed with a wonderfully quiet freehub; I really don’t like the disconcertingly loud buzz characteristic of many modern hubs. The hubs are laced to DT Swiss G540 rims, which at about £40 each, are an insanely good value, high quality medium width disc rim with a pinned and sleeved joint rather than the welded joint of their high-priced sibling GR531. There are probably other, minor, differences, but the weight limit for the rims is identical, and there are only a few grams difference in weight. For a bike like this the G540 feels ideal.TRP Spyre brakes are not fancy in the pantheon of cable discs.. at least, not in the league of, say, Paul Klampers or the Growtac Equal, but they are a really very good brake with fine modulation, loads of power, and simple setup – perfect for touring. They are also very good value. I paid £100 for the pair in an OEM blister pack.They are paired with some TRP RRL levers from the parts bin.. this is the right hand one, the left hand is quite scuffed, a spot of ready-baked patina for the bike. I did fit new hoods, the originals were pretty scabby. I’ve got these levers on a couple of bikes and am of the opinion they are the best of the standalone drop bar levers on the market for feel and modulation. The blue thing is a roll-entry expandable, with side pockets, bag, of about 18 litres, for the front rack. I made it a couple of weeks ago. I figure I’ll mention it a bit more from the road when I can bore you all to death with my gear/packing choices. I think at this point in my life, my sewing machine is one of the best things I have ever bought.. along with bicycles of course. It is certainly my favourite tool.Evergreen Middleburn R01 crank running on a UN55 sealed cartridge BB (square taper). Happily I had a brand new BB of the right axle length in the workshop – given their reputation for durability, and my experience with them on other bikes, I imagine I’ll long be dust before it stops spinning smoothly, regardless of the conditions I subject it to. Having destroyed brand new external BBs in a single weekend before, albeit a horrifically wet and muddy weekend, I saw no other choice. I’m sure the engineers that make manufacturing decisions for Shimano, SRAM etc all live in the desert, where it never, ever rains and the trails are permanently dusty.
For anyone that cares, and I know lots do ;-) Here’s the full build list:
Frame & Fork Fairlight Faran 2.5, 54T
Headset Hope
Cranks Middleburn R01 + 94BCD spider
Chainrings Specialites TA 30/42
BB Shimano UN55
Rear Derailleur Shimano SLX 10spd + Wolf Tooth Components GoatLink
Front Derailleur Shimano Ultegra CX70
Shifters Microshift 10spd bar end
Cassette Microshift 11-40, 10spd
Hubs Bitex BX207F Heavy Duty front. BX207R Heavy Duty rear
Rims DT Swiss G540 650B, 32h
Spokes Sapim Race + brass DT Squorx nipples
Tyres Vittoria Mezcal 27.5 x 2.25, tubeless
Brakes TTRP Spyre + TRP RRL levers
Seatpost Genetic
Saddle Brooks Cambium C17 All Weather
Handlebars Ritchey Beacon XL, 52cm
Stem Thomson X4, 90mm
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6 thoughts on “That Fairlight Faran”
Hope to see you in Spain! Oh, and nice bike, (despite the drop bars ;-))
Hi Mike,
West Australian Dave here. Loving the look of the bike Mike and I absolutely love that winter bracken – ‘too stewed tea’ colour. Wish I could find an old frame like that too that I could bring back to Australia with me. I’m over in Switzerland in April and then Yorkshire from beginning until mid May. Lots of Dales cycling planned not too mention the odd climb or two in the Alps :-)
Be well Mike and thanks for keeping us posted with all these interesting happenings.
Cheers
Dave
Hi Dave, good to hear from you. Sounds like you have some nice plans going on, have a great time.
I was insanely lucky with the frame.. that my friend wanted to sell it, that it was the right size, and he was being sensible about price. A huge win :-)
Hope to see you in Spain! Oh, and nice bike, (despite the drop bars ;-))
hope so too! I’ve got a rough route planned to get to Teruel, after that need to get to Santander.. got some route idea making use of Montañia Vacias route notes.. I’ll msg when I know more, probably leaving Jaén around the 11th, probably Teruel around the 16th depending on weather (how sticky the mud is….)
re the bike, haha cheers.. as for the drops, I’m still a roadie at heart I suppose :-)
Mike – get to Teruel for easter if you can – it is mind-blowing at that time> we were there by accident one year.
yep that’s the plan, a mate from the Basque country is meeting me in Jaén for the ride northeast to Teruel, probably need 5 days for that on dirt, depending on the weather.
Hi Mike,
West Australian Dave here. Loving the look of the bike Mike and I absolutely love that winter bracken – ‘too stewed tea’ colour. Wish I could find an old frame like that too that I could bring back to Australia with me. I’m over in Switzerland in April and then Yorkshire from beginning until mid May. Lots of Dales cycling planned not too mention the odd climb or two in the Alps :-)
Be well Mike and thanks for keeping us posted with all these interesting happenings.
Cheers
Dave
Hi Dave, good to hear from you. Sounds like you have some nice plans going on, have a great time.
I was insanely lucky with the frame.. that my friend wanted to sell it, that it was the right size, and he was being sensible about price. A huge win :-)