8bar’s classic steel Neukln singlespeed has returned in a lighter, more modern update that retains all the simplicity you could hope for in an urban fixie, but with a few upgraded touches that make it a more versatile bike, able to go from city commuter to tracklocross racer. Fixed gear bikes are an exercise in stripped-back minimalism, but 8bar’s affordable Neukln manages to keep all of that while improving usability too.
8bar Neukln steel singlespeed bike
We reviewed the original Neukln frameset as a skinny tire city fixie when it debuted as 8bar’s first steel bike all the way back in 2016. But only two years later 8bar lumped it in with their other urban track bikes, dropping its individual name, but eventually;;y giving it bigger tire clearances too.
Now though, the Neukln is back as v2.0 in a rebirth that does everything the original did, only better…
What’s new?
The biggest functional update vs. the original Neukln is about 1/3 bigger tire clearance. Now with room for up to 700c x 35mm tires, the new Neukln will fit any real cyclocross tires (with plenty of mud clearance) for your singlespeed tracklocross racing dreams. Or push those limits with small volume gravel tires and explore roads of all surfaces.
But the big update over its previous Fhain Steel generation is just a move to lighter, more modern construction. It now gets an oversized straight 44mm headtube to fit 1.5″ tapered steerer or classic 1 1/8″ steerer forks. With that, you can now pick from a segmented steel fork or a couple of carbon fork options.
And the double-butted chromoly steel lighter tubeset drops a couple of hundred grams to a claimed 1700g now, while retaining the indestructible nature of the original. Steel forks add 920g, while 8bar’s two carbon fork options range from 400-420g for the Neukln.
Tech details
The new frame also now gets mounts for full-coverage fenders, or even a porteur rack on the steel fork, plus it now adds a single set of bottle cage mounts on the seattube for better usability. Plus, it adds internal cable routing ports in the toptube so you can get a cleaner setup with brakes.
The 8bar Neukln sticks with classic standards like the 68mm threaded BSA bottom bracket, 27.2mm seatpost with new integrated clamp, stainless steel horizontal track end dropouts, 9x100mm QR & 12x120mm bolt-on axle spacing, and brake drilling for modern long-reach dual-pivot rim brake calipers.
The Neukln now comes in just 4 sizes (S-XL) with slightly tweaked geometry to give for a racy ride feel to the versatile bike. Frame Stack numbers come down more than 2cm, and Reach increases just a bit, while the frame gets a steeper 73° head angle, a bit less BB drop, and the same short 410mm chainstays as before.
8bar Neukln steel – Pricing, availability & options
The beauty of the 8bar Neukln steel frameset was always low-cost and simplicity. Now it adds more modern versatility, too. Frames start at just 450€ in matte black, 50€ more for shiny red, or an extra 200€ for a custom color. Steel forks add 150€, while two 8bar carbon forks add 250€. (A few of the older, but similar Fhain Steel v3 frames are still available from just 200€, too!)
Like all 8bar bikes, the Neukln steel frame can be customized into many different build configurations via their online configuration tool.
Build up a bare bones drop bar fixie crit of gravel racer for as little as 1201€ with brakes (or more with fancy wheels).
Or maybe opt for a more sensible freewheeling singlespeed flat bar commuter for around 1400€, but you’ll need to add the rack & renders separately as 8bar doesn’t have them available in the bike builder tool at the moment.
