Fairlight Strael 4.0
Verdict
While it may lack the racing prowess of a carbon race bike, I think the Fairlight Strael 4.0 is perfect. It handles beautifully, it’s as adaptable as you could ever wish for, it’s incredibly comfortable, easy to live with, and good looking too, all without costing an arm and a leg compared to the competition.
For
Beautiful looks
Delightful handling characteristics
Smooth comfort even over rough roads
All-road capabilities
Sensible standards everywhere
Against
Doesn’t have the stiffness of a carbon bike
Score
100%
This may be a slightly more indulgent review than usual, so get ready. I spent a solid 18 months riding the old Fairlight Strael 3.0 and came to the conclusion that it was about as good as an off-the-peg steel bike could be, and well deserving of a place in our list of the best road bikes on the market today. I rode it on beautiful, long summer miles in dusty sunshine, and through the gloom of winter decked out in lights and mudguards, and sort of wondered where the brand could take the bike next.
I’ll go into the build later, but the top line is that this new model is an improvement on the last, and fortunately without taking away any of what made the outgoing model so good, and so popular amongst my colleagues across the cycling media.
I’ve done over 1500km on it so far and, all being well, I’ll keep on with it and eventually bring you a long-term review as I did with the Fairlight Secan 2.5 gravel bike. Ultimately though, I think it’s close to perfect. In fact, it might even be perfect, once you take into account the fact that all bike design involves some degree of compromise.
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