The Fhain has long been a popular bike from Berlin-based 8bar bikes, with fixed gear & criterium racing roots. It’s hard to argue with the practicality and affordability of a simple singlespeed bike for getting around town. But now, with new framesets in either steel or aluminum, the latest Fhains get a practical overhaul with high-volume tire clearance and more mounts to make them both better urban commuters and more fun when you take a detour off the smooth tarmac….
8bar FHAIN alloy, steel urban singlespeed bikes
A lot of the popularity of 8bar’s Fhain singlespeeds has always been that you can get a complete bike with high quality alloy components for as little as 800€. Or framesets for less than half that. Which is actually lower pricing than the previous generation. Like all 8bar bikes, these get named after a district in Berlin – here a reference to modern city center Friedrichshain.
Another big selling point is customization. No one really wants a cookie cutter bike, and 8bar offers the Fhain with plenty of options through their online configuration tool: pick flat bar or drop bar builds, light aluminum or classic steel, 2 or 3 color options for each, plus a couple different component spec options too.
What’s new for the Fhain?
The big change in the fourth generation alloy (Fhain v4) and second generation steel (Fhain Steel v2) frames is more versatility. What started as a classic track bike, grew into a crit racer then urban fixie commuter, now the Fhain embraces more life on the city streets – and even into the forest cobblestones roads & dirt paths that surround the city.
With that, these new Fhains add clearance for high-volume road tires for improved comfort and grip, no matter the road surface.
Plus, they newly get water bottle bosses to extend your ride, then mounts for full coverage fenders and even front rack mounting possibilities. Or 8bar says you can also run a rear rack like the Tubus Fly, designed to mount behind your brakes on the brake bridge.
Both new bikes stick with rim brakes, but with long reach brake calipers (like those included on all complete bike builds) you can run up to 32mm wide tires, or 28mm with mudguards.
With bigger tire clearance also comes slightly longer wheelbases, and generally more comfortable geometry. The Fhain still keeps its racing roots, so geometry remains snappy and crit race friendly – the same geo for both alloy or steel framesets.
8bar FHAIN v4 aluminum urban singlespeed
The lightweight double-butted 6061 aluminum Fhain v4 frame gets updated with a tapered 1.5″ steerer tube and internal routing for the rear brake cable, plus a threaded BB & 27.2mm seatpost. It now comes standard with a tapered steerer aluminum fork with rack & fender tabs (no carbon fork option – that is reserved for the more race-oriented TMPLHOF).
For the finish of the new alloy bike, 8bar lets you choose between matte black, polished raw aluminum, or a glossy deep sea blue metallic. Matte & raw framesets sell for 350€ or 400€ for metallic.
Flat bar Urban complete builds start at 800€, and drop bar crit builds start at 850€ with bar top brakes – both 28mm tires on alloy wheels with flip/flop rear hubs and fixed & freewheel cogs included.
8bar FHAIN Steel v2 Reynolds 520 urban singlespeed
The Reynolds 520 chromoly steel version of the Fhain is meant to be a bit more comfortable with the more classic looks of small diameter steel tubing, a straight 1 1/8″ headtube and a lugged crown, curved steel fork.
For the steel bike color choice is simpler, between understated matte black & matte silver paint jobs – 350€ for a frameset in either color.
Flat bar Urban completes are available from 800€. Drop bar Crit complete bikes also start at 800€, with the same build spec and component options as the alloy bikes.
All of the new alloy & steel Fhain framesets & complete bikes are available now direct from 8bar.
