Comfort & Speed Combined:
My new bike for the season is the Fara Cycling F/All-Road in shiny Fjord Green.
Fara is a young, innovative brand from Norway that caught my attention with their fully integrated bikepacking bags system. The F/AR has an endurance geometry similar to bikes like the Trek Domane, with short reach, longer wheelbase and flatter headtube-angle.
Comfort on the bike:
Another big factor for me coming from a gravel bike was no compromise on comfort for the long days in the saddle and Fara uses a 27.2mm, straight seatpost in combination with curved, dropped chainstays and ample of tyre clearance, resulting in a plushy ride with 30 or 32mm wide tyres.
Total integration for adventure cycling:
Fara offers total integration with their own bikepacking bags with a clever magnetic attachment system and plenty of mounting options on the frame and fork for integrated fenders, bottle cages, lights etc.
Groupset:
SRAM Red etap AXS 2by 12 speed for the bike as it offers the largest gear range, is very light and has removable spare batteries. The whole group is wireless, which means no cables that can break in races.
Wheelset:
Black Inc Thirty medium-high and light 1475g ideal for the alpine passes coming up in Transcontinental this year. I will ride Continental tubeless tyres in 28 to 32mm width depending on the event but the frame also takes up to 35mm knobby tyres and 38mm slick tyres for more adventure riding
Oversized Derailleur Cage:
Kogel Kolossos Sram Red eTap AXS Oversized Derailleur Cage for drive train efficiency with ceramic bearings. Marginal gains by reducing chain articulation, allowing lower chain tension when running small chainrings for ultra-distance rides.
Bike build:
The saddle I swapped to my tried and tested Power Mimic saddle and pedals are Garmin Rally powermeter pedals that I also use for road as I like having a walking thread on my shoes.
First impressions:
I put my first few thousand kilometres on it during Race Around Denmark and several Brevets. So far what impressed me the most is the handling and the comfort. The bike is agile, nimble but still feels super stable. For a roadbike it absorbs a lot of roadbuzz, and with plenty of tyre clearance is perfect for light gravel, I even tested it during my first UCI Gravel World Series Race in Blaavand.
You can use Fara's bike builder to customize your bike like mine or buy a ride ready Fara bike.
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