You have one right? How are you liking it
Love it
Thereās not really any one thing that is amazing about it. Like, it isnāt crazy light or aero or stiff. But it just feels very nice to ride and very nice to look at. I love being back on a road bike after so many years on a gravel bike.
I wish the powder blue color had been out when I bought mine. Got the black one. A little monochrome with the black wheels and dark grey group. But it still looks nice.
I got it over things like the Ritchey because it has road-ish geometry and will take 32s with fenders. Another option I looked at was Chumba. Would have been a similar price after all the tarrifs.
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This helps in deciding what i want to choose. At first I wanted the Blackheart Road AL but it can only take an electric groupset, I have a mechanical dura ace group that works fine so I donāt want to spend the extra $$$$ for electric gears. I cam across the Strael and really love the attention to detail.
The thing I am stuck on is if I buy the Strael to use as my main bike instead of the Chinese carbon frame I use now (too harsh and aggressive geometry for long term use aka Iām old) will I āfeel slowā? I like the feel of a snappy bike I just want a little more comfort which has me leaning towards the Ritchey.
I think it will ultimately come down to what colors are available when Iām ready to purchase.
I wish I could fit long and low bikes. Iāve yet to find anything that comes close to my Black Mountain Road+ and even thatās a bit long for me.
That said my body is weird Iām on a zero offset post with the saddle slammed all the way forward and it makes my pedal stroke so much nicer.
The strael will probably be heavier and slightly more laid back than your current frame. Itās right in between road geo and gravel, so for me it feels more snappy and quick than my old bike. I havenāt ridden my Giant TCR in years, but the strael feels close enough to what I remember that bike being.
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I donāt have a Strael but the Ritchey is way springier than my Secan
do you think thatās a tubing choice factor? Secan probably is a little burlier than Strael
I think iām honestly leaning more heavily to the Strael, the Ritchey isnāt in stock and who knows when it will be. I also like the function long term of the Strael.
@Timarchylime do yo have the 3.0 or the 4.0?
Iāve got the 4.0.
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Probably, but I havenāt scoured their pdfs to know
I wish I had a Strael 4 vs Secan 2.5. Total overkill for me, though Mezcals on a road bike are fun
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Thatās why I like the idea of the Strael, 98% of my riding right now is on the road but if I am ever feeling gravel-curious or feel like doing some bike camping I can do that with a tire change.
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Be careful with that though. Itās road geo, not gravel. Putting 38s and some bags on it is definitely under-biking, even on smooth gravel.
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also not sure what the update on this project is but is very considered and looks to be in that category you want ETERNA (Jan 2026) ā ARTEFACT
I reached out to Daniel (the builder/designer) about fork specs and he sent this:
āThe fork is 370a2c 47mm offset. It is designed to clear 700x35mm tires. Right now, my focus is on getting the fork through production and onto my production Artefact frames. I am still figuring out the pricing and availability for other builders.ā
Unique in that it is 47mm offset at that a2c. Everything else is 43/45/50
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Daniel has an agreeable approach to bikes
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Look Iāve talked about this before
And this is definitely the wrong thread
But modern road bikes need a 380-385 AC with an elliptical chip to adjust offset.
This gives room for 700x40 if designed right - maybe more.
It doesnāt look bad with 28s and will fit 650x52. Aesthetics are an important thing in bike designery.
No6 road fork fits a 700x38 and is 370ac but is 9/8 to 1.5 taper.
Pegoretti geometry is actually really fantastic and close to the ideal - but CS needs to be adjusted for overall size. Grant does this on his bikes.
Modern steel road bikes should be in the range of 415-423 CS length based on a few things but for folks in the 54.5 to 58 size 420 is not only a cool number objectively but will fit a lot of tire with the right chainstays and be perfectly fine.
Carbon forks are fat compared to a steel wiggle fork
43-51 is the general range for 72-74 HTA. For folks in the 545 to 580 range every road bike currently is this.
Flip chip is such a no brainer - since weāre in the year 2000 post those fugn dxfs and let folks print their own or circulate on the forums after your fledgling bike company falls into oblivion.
What is the weight penalty for making the lower tangs 5mm wider? Get me into a 60mm offset and low trail dreams for the ril nerds start coming tru
It would be real nice if there were 2-3 zits on the sides and fender mounts/center hole. Room for 180 rotors would really round out this homercar fantasy for fatties like me.
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47mm offset is a weird choice honestly but itās the only one
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one frame for one wheel size
LET ME CONTINUE
SOMETHING YOU ALL MAY HAVE MISSED
homie specd the bikes with EC37 headtubes to work with 10/8 forks.
Pegoretti is EC38
CK quit making devolution EC37 a few years ago
Finding deadstock 10/8 headsets is tough
WI is the only one making them now
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