Hi all,
I’m stuck between a few bikes and wondered what this community thought. I’m looking for a hardtail mountain bike primarily for lightweight fast(ish) bike packing. The end goal is to complete the Alps Divide route in September (1000km with 32,000m of climbing over a week), but I have several shorter trips and lots of training rides planned before then. I’m reasonably bike fit, but 32,000m of climbing is still very intimidating to weight and climbing dynamics are important. So is cost, I would ideally like to keep the price under £4000.
I currently have a Trek Top Fuel 8 (short travel down country dual sus) which is a bit heavy 14kg ish and limited frame pack space and a Trek Stache 9.7 carbon hardtail trail bike with 3inch wheels as standard, super fun to ride and reasonably light at 13.5kg but I’ve convinced myself the geometry is all wrong for bike packing.
I’ve been reading about a few options (below) I would be interested to see what you all thought, or if I would just be better getting a grip and putting some XC wheels and luggage on the Stache.
Thanks!
Short list:
Fairlight Holt 2:
https://fairlightcycles.com/holt-2-0/?v=7885444af42e
Pros: looks cool, steel (very cool), UK company, currently being used by Alex McCormack to demolish lots of bikepacking events. Steel is a big attraction as I can see myself keeping the frame for a long time. I love Surly bikes but the weight puts me off.
Cons: heavier than carbon, wait time (June for base spec or March for £4200 Di2 or similar), included wheels are heavy and would probably need upgrading at extra cost
Canyon Exceed 8
Pros: excellent spec for cost, light under 11kg, carbon wheels included
Cons: Is it a MTB or a gravel bike with suspension? Carbon frame (concerns about longevity of loaded up carbon, roof racks etc), don’t like the blue colour, less cool than steel
Mason Raw
https://masoncycles.cc/shop/categories/raw-bikes
Pros: UK company (based in Scotland near me), steel (very cool), wider use case, better trail bike? Could potentially replace something else
Cons: expensive, heavier, would need upgrade wheels
by -Redfrog-
2 Comments
Personally I’ve lusted for a Fairlight so that’s my vote based purely on the 100 page deep dive into the beautiful machining and details. Aside from lust, I do find the deliberate thought and adaptability of all the mount options, swappable dropouts (future proofing-ish), etc to be attractive features. Supporting a small brand is cool too.
Canyon bores me, but I’m sure it’s a fine bike. It feels so close to your Top Fuel I’d just use the Top Fuel. Yes, it’s FS but it’s so minimal in terms of interruption of the front triangle you might as well benefit from the comfort (lots of ultra riders employ FS for races).
The Masons have always been an attractive choice from the perspective of feeling like a bit of an outsider brand, but I still think the Fairlight has all the same options and more for similar cost.
You seem to be in the UK, but the Neuhaus Hummingbird (CA, USA) is a nice semi-stock or Custom bike that suits the light and fast style of the Fairlight, but not as obsessive over modularity. One more I love just aesthetically and has similar Geo to the Fairlight is the Sour Pasta Party. Probably heavyish, not sure cheap, but the company’s for a cool vibe. There so many cool bikes out there these days, an embarrassment of nice options!
Fairlight definitely appeal for exactly the reasons you mention. The 6-monthish wait for the non-electric group set is the main catch. There does seem to be more people using electronic shifting on these sorts of events in recent years, but since I’ve never had it I’m instinctively wary.
Holy shit that Sour Pasty is good looking. I had seen them on some of the dotwatcher write ups, but always assumed they were American. Sadly being based in Germany they don’t seem to support the work cycle scheme I can access here. Essentially the scheme buys the bike (up to £3500) you then pay it off over 12/18 months pre-tax (around 40% saving) as a salary sacrifice. It’s a pretty amazing deal really.
Thanks for the advice!