In the spirit of this forum (learning from each other), the idea of this thread is to collect links to bikes/frames whose design is particularly well documented with details about:
- intended use case,
- concept,
- design choices incl. tube diameters and wall thicknesses, butting and the reasoning behind those decisions,
- types of heat treatment
- geometry,
- detailed pictures
- etc.
I have not seen this done better than by Fairlight Cycles:
Their All Road bike: https://fairlightcycles.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Fairlight-Strael-3.0-Design-Notes.pdf
Their Gravel/Touring bike: https://fairlightcycles.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Fairlight-Secan-2.5-Design-Notes-V1.1.pdf
Their low trail Gravel/Touring bike designed for front loaded luggage: https://fairlightcycles.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Fairlight-Faran-2.5-Design-Notes-Live.pdf
Their XC MTB: https://fairlightcycles.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Fairlight-Holt-Design-Notes-v1.3-web.pdf
Particularly noteworthy are their dropouts which allow for flatmount and post mount calipers.
4 Likes
Thanks for the post. I am new to frame building and was looking out for some guidance about geometries and tubing spec. I am from India and currently manufacturing Bicycle components mainly Handle Lugs, Stems & Eyebolts mainly in steel…
1 Like
If you specify what exactly you are looking for (geometry for what kind of bike, steering vs size geometry; what specifically about tubing) maybe someone can help.
2 Likes
Fairlight are about the only brand I know that do this to any degree of decency - but they are sort of giving away their secrets! My personal favourite is the bare-metal photoshoot, so you can fully appreciate the tube shapes, braze-ons etc with being distracted by paint and graphics.
1 Like
They are giving away their secrets to a degree. But is it net negative from a purely financial point of view? I’m not sure. I would guess it’s net positive.
I’m sure it’s net positive - it’s a big part of the reason why I bought one!
2 Likes
…and the reason why I recommend Fairlight to anyone who asks me for recommendations for a non custom steel bike 
2 Likes