Check out the super-versatile Fairlight Secan

What is it about the Fairlight Secan that has made our last two reviewers buy one for themselves?

We told you about the updated Fairlight Strael earlier in the month and a lot of you were very complimentary about this fourth-generation design, so we thought we’d tell you about another Fairlight model that has recently been overhauled: the Secan 3.0 gravel bike.

> “A new benchmark for steel all-road bikes”: Fairlight Strael gets a huge redesign

To set the scene, we’ve always got on extremely well with the Secan. We gave it a glowing 9/10 review back in 2018, saying, “The Secan may not be the lightest option – steel never will be – but it doesn't lack the performance that makes it a really fun and exciting bike to ride… The handling of the Secan is pretty close to perfect.”

> Check out our original Fairlight Cycles Secan review 

Dave Arthur wrote the review and liked the Secan so much that he decided to put his hand in his pocket and buy a frame.

Then our senior reviewer Stu Kerton reviewed the Fairlight Secan 2.5 GRX 820 2x in 2023.

Stu described it as: “Simply stunning from every aspect and hugely versatile for all kinds of gravel riding, and even road.”

> Read our Fairlight Secan 2.5 GRX 820 2x review here 

We made the Fairlight Secan 2.5 GRX 820 the road.cc Recommends Gravel and Adventure Bike of the Year award for 2023/24… and Stu bought one too. Believe us, getting Stu to part with his cash is a massive seal of approval. 

> Staff Bikes: Why the heck has our senior reviewer just bought a steel bike and is it really better than anything carbon or titanium? 

The Secan 2.5 was Fairlight’s best-selling bike, but it has now been superseded by the 3.0 model.

“The focus has been on careful, thoughtful evolution, refining ride quality, enhancing real-world functionality, and improving utility,” says Fairlight’s co-founder and bike designer Dom Thomas. “Every decision has been made with intention, treading carefully to ensure meaningful progress.”

As we always point out when talking about Fairlight, Dom does detail well. That's very much his thing. Every aspect of the design is done for a reason – a well-considered reason. So what’s new this time around?

Well, first of all, here are a couple of things that haven’t changed: the Secan still uses custom Reynolds 853 tubing and it’s still a gravel bike that’s designed for versatility.

“The design of the Secan revolves around the simple idea that you can transition between road and off-road, and ride fast everywhere,” says Fairlight. “It can transform your local riding, as you begin to link up all the best lanes with byways, farm tracks, bridleways and even woodland singletrack. To us, this is what gravel bikes are all about.”

The updated Secan comes with new chainstays and seatstays. Using technology first introduced on the Strael 3.0, Fairlight has heavily curved and flattened the stays with the aim of maximising compliance. Post-forming heat treatment is said to add strength.

You also get Increased tyre clearance. The Secan 3.0 is compatible with tyres up to a whopping 77C x 53mm if you go for a 1x build, and you can fit tyres up to 62mm wide on 650B wheels.

The distinctive Fairlight x Bentley Mk3 dropouts feature a removable cable stop, so whether you’re using mechanical gearing, Shimano Di2 or SRAM AXS, the frame looks like it was designed specifically for that groupset. 

Up front, you get a new Cempa 3.0 carbon fork that’s compatible with a rando rack, Fairlight having designed a load-bearing machined aluminium insert that’s bonded into the crown. The fork layup has been updated to provide 10% more compliance than the previous generation, says Fairlight. 

The down tube brake hose clips are now CNC-machined modular parts, designed in-house by Fairlight to be as light and stylish as possible.  

We could go on and on about the Secan 3.0’s features but you’d be better off checking out the ‘Detailed Design Notes’ Fairlight has put together. Never mind arming yourself with a cup of coffee, you might want a flask and a packed lunch here. We’re talking about 147 pages. Okay, there are a lot of pictures in there, but you get stacks of information on every aspect of the design, from tube shaping to dropout design to bottle cage placement. 

In terms of price, you’re looking at £1,499 for a Fairlight Secan 3.0 frameset with complete bikes starting at £2,649. A build with a 2x Shimano GRX RX825 Di2 groupset costs from £3,949 and lots of upgrade options are available.

Check out loads more Bikes at Bedtime here. 

fairlightcycles.com