I Rebuilt my Fairlight Secan with a Mechanical Groupset!

[@theobserver844]

I recommended Fairlight to a friend. She turned into a cycling addict from owning this. Thousand and thousands of kms and is still very much in love with it

[@dangoertz8030]

Amazing bike with external cable routing. Easy to work on as a DIY mechanic. Its a keeper!

[@sonyvaioboy]

Secan 2.5 owner here. I have many bikes from Carbon to custom made steel. The Secan off the shelf is the best bike I own by far.

[@charlesblithfield6182]

Repainting a steel bike and giving it new life is a very satisfying process. I did it with a 1986 Rockhopper a few years ago and still ride it regularly.

[@joshuarebennack68]

I ride a Microshift group (ADVENT x) set and TRP Spyke (off-road version of the Spyre) brakes on my fat bike. (Winter ride made for 0 C to -30 C riding.) Here is what you are going to find, I think: Microshift shifters aren't as "short click" refined as higher end Shimano or SRAM. But, they do work and work well. The derailleur, however, is basically bombproof and very high quality. Shifts in 'clunk' gear changes like older SRAMs. TRP brakes are very good, maybe the best cable brakes around, but highly dependent on rotors and pad compounds. Running TRP's own rotors and popping in a more "bitey" pad will do wonders.

[@hippo71124]

Thanks for the insights! Would you say those brakes are a good middle ground between rim brakes and hydraulic discs then? Especially in the wet, if you have tried?

[@joshuarebennack68]

@@hippo71124 The perfect middle ground is TRP's own Hy/Rds which are a cable hydraulic brakes. I would say of the pure cable brakes, Spyres/Spykes are among the best. Some people gush about Paul Klampers, but they have some issues that don't get talked about and they are expensive.

[@barrydimelow822]

Nicest bike you’ve had on for a while 👍

[@gerlachsieders4578]

As a Secan owner with a new Cempa fork myself, I have to hand it to you David, it looks great 👍 Many happy adventures with it David!

[@jonpoon3896]

Got a pretty fancy Time ADHX 45 earlier this year and mostly been riding that. But man, my Secan is still my favorite bike ever

[@Intoccib]

Looks great, agree on the fork color

[@andreipadure5341]

amazing repaint! All the best to you and keep up the good work!

[@olkenn]

In 2019 I was wavering between a Bokeh and a Secan and after you got yours I jumped on it. Amazing bike, still gives me smiles for miles

[@walcottav]

Well done Dave. The color is simply amazing and the new fork looks great! Nothing like a refresh for a deserving reliable steed. Looking forward to an update on the performance of the tires and brifters. Enjoy that 600k adventure.

[@florianwienhold9307]

Great Build Choice! I am on the Same Sword Groupset, but 1x with the same brakes. Very happy so far!

[@stevekelly6544]

Looks fantastic, Dave!

[@gearsofmedicine]

Awesome Video - nice of you to be able to shift between top of the range and pure Mechanical bikes with reliable components

[@davidarthur]

Thanks 👍

[@SergioCristancho]

take my money David! ... looks amazing!

[@ThePsychodo]

Love the color.

[@Cyclist-o6e]

Great to see the steel Secan! Great choice of groupset too! A much better value than an electronic groupset. Yes, Paul Klampers are great mechanical disc bakes, as are Growtac Equals. Both are likely superior to the Spyres. I've been considering the Fairlight Faran as a possible future purchase. I prefer steel and titanium bikes to carbon fibre personally.

[@youloveulises]

Check out the Growtac Equal mechanical brakes. They're said to be comparable to the Paul Klampers in terms of performance, but at significantly lower price.

[@jonathangreen7111]

Firstly, the bike looks fantastic. I'm a real fan of steel. We recently had my wife's lightweight road bike resprayed at Atlantic Boulevard. Great job for £400. We run TRP Spyres on our winter road bikes. MUCH easier to live with than the hydraulics on our gravel bikes. Obviously the brake pads make a lot of difference - we use ceramics from Noah & Theo. Not as powerful as hydraulics (perhaps somewhere between them and good road calipers) but brilliant on a winter road bike mainly ridden in the Peak District....MUCH better than calipers in the wet. Great to see you talking about less exotic groupsets. Thanks.

[@candystink]

Since i’m partial to steel bikes it’s refreshing to see you going in that direction and bringing this one new life with the beautiful paint. Ditch the cable disc’s and go rim brakes!

[@africanwidow]

Stunning! Beautiful. Everything about it!

[@lazarosnikolaidis256]

Happy 'new' bike David! Really staggering result! Hope you will enjoy it!

[@ginnel_snicket]

Very nice setup and paintwork. I'm extremely simplicity focused, prefer mechanical and a late adopter to say the least. Strongly considering the Strael with a nice set of carbon wheels, with 24f/28r spoke count preferably. For the rest I'm planning TRP Spyres which I like and have on a Ti. gravel bike, and transfering a Sram 10 Red/Force groupset over (50/34, 27/12) from a carbon frame I plan to part with. Ti. gravel is 1x10 Rival (40, 28/11), hunt all season gravel wheels, panaracer gravelking 35mm. Frame is unbranded and bought new from Asia in 2011. Current setup I've been enjoying for 5+ yrs and works well even on steep MTB climbs and drops, singletrack (minor rocks/roots) grass, woodchips. I'm very average skill wise mechanically (slow, make mistakes), but prefer to do as much as I can without constantly going to a bike shop.

[@r.davies2702]

Nice to see it back. Those TRP calipers are top notch, I have the same and have had no problems with stopping power. Just keep on top of the adjustment. Remember, when the pads wear down you need to wind them in a bit (unlike hydro's). I also looked at the Paul calipers, but at the time they were a single sided piston. Unlike the TRP's. Although I'm not sure if they've changed now.

[@earlyapex911]

Thanks!

[@davidarthur]

Welcome!

[@hansbeumer7236]

Lovely paintjob. I have been looking lately to re-spray my own black Secan coming fall. This confirms my plans. Love the color you chose!

[@robertwyland7770]

I'm happy to see you groupset selection. I prefer cable actuated stuff for servicing. In regards to disc brakes, I absolutely love my Juin Tech GT-F cable actuated hydraulic calipers. Way better than all my hydraulic systems ( Deore and Rival). Pricey, but awesome.

[@Daniel-yf9iy]

Beautiful frame. I love steel and titanium. I have the TRP “Hyroad.” I like em and they’re cable activated hydraulic brakes.

[@lesand5484]

Nice to feature the Sword group set! Looking forward to your impressions!

[@davidarthur]

Coming soon!

[@carstengaard]

​ I'm planning on using the sword group for my coming secan 2.5 build. Your thoughts please. So happy to hear your experience smile 😊 Best Carsten

[@cityslacker6221]

what a beautiful paint job! gorgeous bike. Good luck and enjoy!

[@LTCrozier]

Love this practical build. The Spyre is fine, I have it on one bike but the Growtac brakes are gold. Even better in fact than my older GRX to Hope four piston caliper brakes. Obviously a lot better than simple Shimano ones. Only Campy comes close but nothing is better than a well set up good mechanical brake. Enjoy the build.

[@jordiw3692]

Mentioned a couple of places here, but both juintechs and growtacs are fantastic. I have used both with the sword levers and they’re as close as I’ve seen to hydraulic. Both are a huge, huge step up from the spyres, which I’ve also tried. I ended up sticking with the growtacs bc they’re fully mechanical and super easy to maintain (as would be the klampers). As a bonus they’re quite a bit lighter than the klampers.

[@omare_biketonature]

Love my Secan 2.5! I installed a 1X GRX 820 and 48cm wide handlebars and 40 mm tires for bikepacking.

[@petrpospisil1127]

My gravel bike came with avid BB 5s and as I wanted some upgrade, I went for TRP Spyres. And I was very underwhelmed with the quality of the bolts. I am using WERA tools and I managed to strip both brake pads retention screws when removing them. The bolds were made of very soft metal. Than I replaced them with TRP HY/RD and they performed very well. You just need a good compressionless housing to make the levers feel good.

[@peterjohnson9243]

Looks ace mate, bargain on the paint job❤

[@markpirrone4394]

Great looking bike. Well done on the color. In terms of the mechanical brakes, TRP makes a hydraulic caliper, HYRD that can be a used with a mechanical setup. Never tried them, but I understand they work very well.

[@reinholdachleitner2069]

Have an awesome trip on your new and improved Fairlight Secan across Wales.Safe riding.💯👌🏻💪🏻🚴‍♂️

[@move177]

I had a Cube Crossrace with the exact same TRP Spyre-C's and Rival 11x mechanical "Brifters". If you have true rotors, you can setup the brakes incredible aggresseive and powerful. I upgrades recently to hydraulic levers and brakes from the same Rival lineup (used with new hoses, pads an discs). Its a little better feeling and power wise, but iam not able to get the same initial bite i could with the mechanical TRP's. Now it is to late, but i would not spend the money again if i have the choice. The maintenance is or the ease of it is in another dimension.

[@sherab2078]

Great bike and great changes. Advent-X before and Sword now are great groups for their price range.

[@CarlinTran]

I've had 0 problems and really enjoy my Paul Klampers. I've not use any other disc brakes before so I don't really have a comparison.

[@rogercmerriman]

Fantastic looking frame! I did have those brakes, as cable disk seem to have largely frozen in time about a decade or more ago? I’d bought them as upgrade but for me still didn’t cut it and my gravel bike is a Tiagra/GRX mix but I suspect I’m quite a bit heavier so our experience may well vary! And to be fair they were largely okay on road.

[@decoherence926]

Digging that oil slick look David. Reminds me of the much more expensive Cinelli Nemo Tig colors.

[@charliecook6909]

I do have a soft spot for the classic steel bike shape 👌

[@RicardoRocha-lg1xo]

I own both the Spyres and the Klampers. The latter are far more powerful and more appropriate for the gravel bike they’re on then the former, which are on my road bike. Spyres kinda feel like rim brakes, so if you want that old school feel, I’d recommend them.

[@chrisscott8362]

Nice paintjob

[@lancescarborough1]

Juin tech f1 my friend!

[@davy_grvl]

I own a Kona Rove with a 2x9 Shimano Sora groupset, which is also mechanical and budget friendly. When I need something serviced, it’s always very cheap compared to what friends pay for their high end materials. And I’m not sure if a better groupset would improve my cycling life.

[@Rabbitx360]

Looks super nice 😍 in terms of brakes you could go trp high road basically mechanical with hydro resovoir easy to bleed and maintain :)

[@mattkavanaugh5623]

The frame paint looks great! And long live mechanical groupsets... very interested to hear how you think the mechanical disc brakes compare to rim brakes and full hydraulic disc brakes.

[@Jon_Drew]

comparison between the Fairlight Secan and Specailized Crux in both carbon and aluminum . I looking for a single bike that will fit my needs. Riding on mostly tarmac but occasional gravel, dirt trails. This will eventually become my mode of transportation to and from work.

[@timradelt9630]

Dig the bike and build. Just an idea: Campagnolo still makes top end rim brake versions of their groupset. Maybe you could build a bike with a modern rim brake campy groupset and then test it? 😊

[@philipmitchell3497]

TRP cable disc are fine. Better than rims when loaded with bags, easy to set-up and adjust. I think mech disc got a bad name with single piston kit. dual piston is great and way less hassle than hydro

[@n22pdf]

Wow what a beautiful build David looks fabulous wow.. I’m glad that you’ve gone mechanical that’s what I ride to, it’ll be great to see your thoughts on this group set, brakes etc.. check out growtac and Paul clamper, also trp hydraulic cable.. I remember when you first got the bike.. Pete 😊🚴🏻👍

[@stevekelly6544]

Paul Component and Growtac Equal are the best mechanical brakes as far as I’ve heard. Neither are cheap, but supposedly very good performance.

[@gerlachsieders4578]

For more and better braking options, I personally run a hybrid system on my Secan: a cable actuated mechanical hydraulic piston brake system by Juintech... I highly recommend them, the excellent braking power of hydraulics without the hassle of oils and the ugly phallic like brakelevers...

[@moobaz8675]

I bought my Secan following your review all those years ago. Absolutely love it. I've gone the same way with cable 1x GRX and Paul Components Klamper brakes, which are bonkersly brilliant! . Had some paint and corrosion issues and Fairlight replaced my frame under warranty with no hassle. Great service and now have a new bike with the new forks. Can't recommend this bike enough. 👍

[@davidarthur]

Amazing glad you like it thanks for sharing

[@carstengaard]

Hey - thanks for the comment. I'm planning the Klampers for my coming build of a secan 2.5 Could you share some thoughts and observations please. Thanks

[@moobaz8675]

@@carstengaard They are really good. Great modulation, very powerful and easy to maintain. I just don't think of them as cable brakes. Only downside is cost but then you're buying a high quality product that will last for years. High;y recommended.

[@universe-juice]

Curious about modulation quality on those brakes

[@danielfoster3798]

You can still get a Campagnolo Congress 12 speed group mechanical.

[@robbijay]

Can always upgrade the brakes with Hy/Rds if the Spyres aren’t up to much.

[@kippen64]

I hear on giving a bike a refresh. My bike has also had a refresh.

[@samhd9275]

Juin Tech F1 are the best road/gravel mechanical disk brakes. That said, spyres are good and I see no need for hydraulic. For me, the real advantage of disc brakes is that discs are more suitible for carbon wheels.

[@nickbeauchamp1039]

Love the new frame colour. Looking at a new steel framed gravel bike. Narrowed it down to a secan, mason exposure or building up a ritchy outback. Wondered what your thoughts are?

[@musicman5075]

How do you find those gear shift buttons work with thick winter gloves? Look a bit fiddly to me.

[@biamarconchi]

Next winters build project is converting my work commuter into a Gravel build with Microshift Sword. As far as brakes go, I'd rather recommend hybrid hydraulic. Cable pull but the caliber uses hydraulics to push the pads. Juin Tech (Yokozuna) or TRP Hy/Rd. simple to install and offers better modulation than pure mechanical.

[@maxlloyd3740]

Great paint! Looks as good as the factory Fairlight finish! My Secan is currently left unbuilt after stealing the parts to build a road bike up. I have plans for winter and planning on a more offroad build ( 1 X,650b wheels and new 12 speed GRX). Also going with a wider flare bar( looking at PNW 48cm). What width are you running by the way? Used a flare before but was never quite happy but gonna try a wider one which will hopefully do the trick!

[@p49N]

If you tune and clean the brakes, they'll perform better than Tiagra Hydrolic, and close to GRX

[@vidal2502]

Great bike ! Happy to own one myself 😊 Nice looking colour, very much similar to the « plum » offered by Fairlight itself isn’t it?

[@oliverburke3743]

Hi David. Can I ask how tall you are and what size frame you are riding. Also what width bars are you running.

[@2001MBKBooster]

David. You might want to try a pair of Juin Tech cable actuated mechanical disc brakes. They’re a Taiwanese company and their products do seem to garner decent reviews. A pair costs approximately £150. And I run MicroSHIFT’s Advent X on my mountain bike. It shifts well and is dead easy to maintain and adjust.

[@owenanstey436]

Could you tell us the weight of this bike David?

[@jonathansapier7574]

I run pathfinder pros and they last for thousands of miles. They run fast on smooth tarmac too.

[@perjensen1962]

I agree, they are great

[@roa5359]

Nice job. Who did the spraying and are they near Dorset? Thanks 👍🏿

[@davidmurphy9151]

I have Pauls on a bike - they are at least as strong as the GRX brakes.

[@andrewwolfenden908]

I’m wondering about sizing for one of these. Is this a 56r? What is the BB to saddle height? Looks great!

[@vbnxt]

Are short saddles better for long rides?

[@RAP4EVERMRC96]

Have you ever been applying any pressure near the nose of the saddle?... No, so it can be left away. Shorter saddles tend to be a little wider even throughout the nose. The idea is to give the rider the possibility to sit further forward for high intensive sections in addition to the normal riding position. I don't see how a longer saddle will do any better because you shouldn't be using that long thin nose. if you are sitting there then you need to adjust bike fit.

[@mynameisntbobbybob]

Lovely paint job, but what witchcraft is holding the bike up

[@martinhayman532]

£600 cost of the repaint is pretty stiff money I thought. About half of that would be my target price for a good-quality finish here in the UK.

[@mellissanash7517]

Why not go with Growtac Equal or Juin Tech F1?

[@JasonWorswick]

Fairlight Secan or Giant Revolt Advanced?

[@RAP4EVERMRC96]

sry either prices are different in UK or you got scammed. here a powder coating costed me 120€ inkcl. VAT with all RAL colors available. 20€ up-charge for all chameleon and/or glitter colors. Update: And it includes the sandblasting.

[@AJackal]

Including a vital clear coat?

[@RAP4EVERMRC96]

@@AJackal what do you mean with vital clear coat? I did it Matt so I think with powder coating you don't need a matte clear coat. But yh if I would have decided for glossy I would have gotten a clear coat on top

[@wwgg1139]

bottom bracket?

[@curtisgoodwin8962]

Great video David and the paint job is wicked!! The TRP HY/RD cable actuated hydraulic brake calipers are money! I’ve owned them and put a several thousand kilometres on them year round. I never should have sold them but a new build required some parts liquidation 😂. If you do switch your calipers out you won’t ever regret the HY/RD’s.

[@markcowen9538]

Agreed. Got the trp hy/rd calipers and can’t fault them.

[@BoomsRiddico4868]

did you have to strip and rebuild the bike

[@davidarthur]

sure did

[@reinerfranke5436]

Cable pull ratio equal to Shimano 8-10 speed? Not the 4700/5800 new pull ratio? Cassette MTB 10 speed or Road 10 Speed. Plz make a list.

[@jonamcc]

doesn’t matter road or mtb cassette spacing is the same for shimano (aside from CUES). it’s the derailleur x shifter that has the math built in.

[@wrcompositi]

microShift Sword shifters pull the same amount of cable as Shimano 10-speed MTB shifters, which means they can be paired with any Shimano 10 or 11-speed mountain rear derailleurs but not RD-4700/5800 ... etc. 8-10s road and 8-9s mountain derailleurs have 1.58 ratio, again not compatible with Sword shifters (they need derailleurs with 1.05 ratio. If you're looking for cheap 10-speed road shifters, you may consider Sensah Team Pro (RD-4700 compatible) or Phi (for Shimano 1.58 ratio). There's also L-Twoo R7 that is compatible with RD-4700. microShift have 2x10 road shifters that are compatible with Shimano road: Centos SB-R502E & SB-R502B, but they're old models and not commonly available.

[@campervanhelsing]

Very nice

[@roadventures4750]

What size is your Bike? How tall are you??

[@davidarthur]

This is a 56R and I'm 181cm

[@roadventures4750]

@@davidarthur have tou tried weighing the whole bike? What’d you get?? 😊

[@BikeLife154]

Looks are very subjective, but I preferred the original paint job. Thought it looked sweet even with the black fork.

[@NewPolishScientist]

Trp brakes are quite poor with stock pads Change pads for metalic for better performance or get Paul Klamper or Growtac

[@dankspain]

Anyone has tried both the Faran and Secan? Not sure which to choose. 🤔

[@QuoPacto]

29-38 looks like an awesome lowest gear - Im jealous...

[@reinerfranke5436]

I understand and guessing from the vid 46/29. It is little wider than Shimano 46/30.

[@huym6171]

cable on a disc is crazy

[@pandapv]

klampers are good, better than spyres, but not as good as hydraulic. very well made and easy to adjust though.

[@notpablo8369]

true, the only downside is the price but youre paying for the quality of the set and the braking performance

[@tariqkamil7853]

Growtec Equal…I think is king right now

[@pandapv]

@@tariqkamil7853 not as easy to adjust or rebuild

[@andyedwards7800]

Trp spares are underwhelming. You can stop but they need a lot of attention. I have replaced them on two bikes with Juin Tech F1's, cable operated hydro's they are soooo much better. Not as good as full hydro but much better than full cable.

[@rickheasman8547]

Would love to see an in depth review of the Microshift Sword 2x10 groupset and the spyres . I've had my eye on both for when I rebuild my bike , so would value your opinion .

[@frankboyer1490]

The growing emphasis on electronic is so bizarre to me and goes against what bikes were meant to be. Not a problem having electronic but Shimano and SRAM thinking less and less about mechanical is ridiculous.

[@oliverburke3743]

Love that. Can I ask what colour that is and where you got it re-sprayed as looking to do the same with mine Is it a 56r?

[@iRusiko]

Wow! How to re-paint the carbon fork?

[@tomskalninsh108]

Omg,again that secan,i wish that i could afford it.

[@Goodman-4525]

When the group set and brakes are bad but the frameset and wheels still costs more than my full carbon hydraulic Revolt with carbon wheels 😂

[@laillosidgar]

I'd rather have affordable grx400 than that groupset.

[@joelv4495]

@@laillosidgar Personally I'm really glad to see new mechanical brake options. Keeps my older cantilever monstercross bike relevant.

[@laillosidgar]

@@joelv4495 i have 90s rimbrake mtb too. For fun and giggles. But honestly i will took my gravelbike with hydraulic disc on serious bikepacking/fondo

[@jonamcc]

I’ve just starting using a Sword 1x10 groupset on my cx/all-road bike. It’s actually quite nice. One thing people overlook is how forgiving 10speed is to wear, setup and any imperfections in the system (like say a slightly off derailleur hanger). Just before this I was running Force AXS 1x12 and could never get it to index properly. Potentially because of a slightly misaligned hanger. But it’s way too expensive of a groupset to perform as poorly as it did. Sword is much nicer and easier to live with in that way, tbh.

[@kellrockets101]

​@jonamcc I dont understand how you couldn't index it properly. It's such an easy group to set up so well. Def had to be that der hanger. I've set up so many 12 speed axs setups. Works great