Fairlight cycles - any opinions?

Check out Arkane Wheelworks current story on IG...

Its a difficult one. A club mate has Hunt wheels on his bike and believes them to be the best money can buy. I think the haters resent the heavy marketing which makes them out to be more than what they are: Cheaper components, hand built to a high standard backed by really good customer service.

Personally I would chose Hope because they are slightly better components (my oldest Pr02 hubs are still fine after 15 years) backed by excellent CS, and they are manufactured in the UK which matters to me.

the classic case of 'have you google hope hub fail?'

all components fail at diff rates under diff people

Judgements based on social media are meaningless, but I guess thats what some base their expertise on.

Aside from the hubs above my "gravel" wheels are 12 year old Pro2's on Stans 355 (which you will of course know were the pre-cursor to Crests). All my MTBs are on Hopes and the only issue I have had is a 10 year old axle breaking and a freehub cracking after 6 years that was replaced by Hope FOC.

Big fan of the Kinlin TL29s on my hardtail though.

HOPE just don’t seem to nail that 1500g ish climbing road wheel set though, they are all a lot heavier and slower, though very reliable.

they are all a lot heavier and slower, though very reliable

thats hope in a nutshell.

strael 3.0 announced tomorrow according to their insta

bit gutted considering waiting 5 months and counting for my 2.0.... will see what the differences are :-)

PDFs at the ready

I’m in a similar boat. ETA was December but who knows these days. Difficult to think what improvements they would make for this iteration and feels a little odd to announce it when they must have so many in the queue for a 2.0.

Anyway, it’ll be a longer wait for a 3.0…

i replied to their insta about my 2.0 and they said "looks like you'll be getting the 3.0 then ;-)". maybe this was the plan all along!

That’s positive. I’m in the same boat, due to arrive sometime this summer. And made worse by the fact that I likely won’t be able to get back to pick it up until October at any rate.

Nice. Now looking forward to getting my grubby little mitts on that pdf!

Couple things :

1. Hunt is ok. The first versions were basic novatecs on oem rims where a large numbers failed. If I offered that option for the same money as Hunt(without the cracking and better labour) people would not buy them because it doesn't say microprecision rim tape and ultratensile bearings. The current models are better apart from the MTB rims where the sidewalls fail in use for no reason. But all is well because their marketing is cool and consumers want be associated with the right brand
   
2. Hope hubs - larger bearings, stainless vs oem randoms in Hunt, better sealing, more robust freehub mechanism with larger leaf springs, cool colors and made in EU. Weight of a hub is not rotational so ultimately means fuck all for "performance"
   
3. Whoever is getting v3 Strael, it's so much better than v2.
   

Good news swedish

Got my deposit in for a Strael today, so pumped for 9am tomorrow! Bring on the pdf!

the announcement video looks like they're playing at Dekmantel

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQJtSE_oOi0/

This. I remember many cracked and buckled Hunts when they started out, which I reckon is due to build quality abs methods, but latest stuff is no worse than any other brand. They’re very good bang for buck.

Tbh, I’ve had to rebuild more Zipp, Reynolds and DT hubs than any Hunt ones. Rims didn’t need much work either.
I think you can’t really go ‘wrong’ with components these days, there’s a fine limit to the quality and weight of what you’re getting unless you splash the cash.

Spend the money on the builder.

Just got an email from Fairlight with the PDFs through for the 3.0 but not read them yet. Relieved that my order for a 2.0 placed in March has been upgraded. That’s top notch customer service that is.

Lol

I can't believe they built 7 "example" bikes and non of them have mudguards fitted

You can't feature everything on a concise 154 pages lookbook.

That’s top notch customer service that is.

agreed. stoked tbh. those chainstays look pretty crazy - must be good? a touch more tyre clearance is cool too

My only doubt is I went all orange because I don't like non-matching forks. But now they do the fork matched to the putty colour ...

Fairlight b2b Reynolds in the UFO Tent

First review I've read too ... (Road.cc)