The new carbon Fara F/GR gravel bike is the almost obvious extension of the Norwegian bike company’s adventure bikepacking line-up. Their third bike to feature magnetic quick-release, integrated bikepacking bags, the new F/GR gravel road bike is meant to open up any remaining hard surface track for exploration with 50mm tire clearance and quick all-terrain handling.
Fara F/GR carbon adventure gravel road bike
First, there was the Fara Cycling F/AR all-road bike that was kind of ‘gravel light’ with room for 35mm knobby tires. Then, their next bike surprisingly went smaller, channeling the road riding background of founder and ex-pro Jeff Webb. That aero endurance F/RD road bike dialed it back slightly to 32mm to focus more on riding fast, but was still kinda ‘all-road’.
Now, the new F/GR gravel bike does pretty much exactly the same thing, but bigger.
Adventure capability
With clearance for a full 700 x 50mm gravel tire, this is the dropbar bikepacking adventure bike many were hoping for after getting teased by the first integrated all-road bike almost a year ago. You don’t actually need to go that big to get the most out of this new bike. Fara says their sweet spot is actually around a 43mm tire for the best blend of speed and mixed-surface versatility.
Fara’s bikes are all about going further and include IBS (Integrated Bikepacking System) direct mounts inside the main triangle for magnetic Fidloc posts that let you quickly install or remove the F/GR’s integrated Roswheel bikepacking frame bag without the need for straps. The frameset also includes a set of toptube bosses for a direct mount bento bag, bosses under the downtube, and 3-pack anything cage mounts on each fork leg.
New for the F/GR, the regular set of bottle bosses on the downtube also conceal a new In-Frame Stash Hatch, a small port that opens up to allow you to store small spares and a tool for example low inside the frame.
Mixed-surface gravel geometry
Now 1° slacker than the all-road bike, 2° slacker than the road version, the new gravel bike gets a longer wheelbase, longer chainstays, and longer front center & frame reach to add more stability over rougher terrain and with heavier loads.
Tech details
Like the other two Fara Cycling bikes, the F/GR is a made-in-Taiwan carbon frameset built for adventure riding. That means versatility, comfort, and accessory mounting takes precedence over absolute lightweight – yet it still comes in at a competitive 1050g claimed weight (53cm).
To deliver big on comfort, the F/GR features curved seatstays for extra give, dropped & combined with a subtle rear wheel cutout to allow the seattube to flex as well.
Like the other bikes, it features fully internal cable touring through the Token S-Box headset system, 12mm thru-axles, flat mount disc brakes (direct, no adapter 160mm front brake mount), 1x or 2x compatibility, a universal derailleur hanger (UDH), a threaded T47 bottom bracket, hidden full-coverage fender mounts, plus a round 27.2mm seatpost with a conventional external clamp.
Fara F/GR all-road gravel bike – Pricing & current availability
Being sold direct-to-consumer globally, Fara says they’ll ship their new F/GR gravel bike starting in April 2022.
The new bikes are being sold in four sizes (S 49cm, M 53cm, L 56cm & L 59cm) in Fara’s four standard colors – Fjord Green, Winter Sky Blue, Wet Asphalt & Morell Red. A special Signature series frameset is also available in limited numbers during this pre-order phase only, in metallic Phyllite silver/gray with Rust graphics.
For now, fully refundable 1000€ pre-orders are being offered with framesets ultimately selling for 2500€ or complete bikes starting from 3300€ built up with Shimano GRX 810 1×11 (including free fenders for pre-orders).
Each buyer can use Fara’s online customizer to customize their build, with drivetrain options available from Shimano Campagnolo (add 600€ for Ekar or 800€ for Di2) plus plenty of other options to make your gravel bike unique.
