Fairdale Bikes teased their prototype 29er hardtail almost exactly a year ago and this week we got a chance to see the (finished?) bike on display at Sea Otter. The Fairdale Elevator, like other bikes from the brand, is BMX-inspired and ready to roll with the punches. With mega-short chainstays and a solid 2130 4130 chromoly steel frame, this is clearly a bike that likes to party down on your jankiest, in-town trails.
Looking at the geometry of the Fairdale Elevator, the chainstay length is the first thing that stands out. At just 406mm long, the Elevator has one of the shortest rear ends you’ll find on a 29er. The mega short chainstays promise to make the Elevator a manual machine, and also ensures nimble handling through tight trails. Looking closely at the frame you can see the seat tube intersects the downtube above the bottom bracket, leaving space for tires up to 2.5″ wide.
Rounding out the geometry picture the Elevator has a 65.5° head tube angle, 76° seat tube angle, and a 50mm bottom bracket drop. The bike is being offered in two sizes with the larger size having a short-for-now 482mm reach and 1200mm wheelbase. Designed around a 130mm suspension fork the Elevator also boasts a long, straight seat tube for maximum dropper post clearance. Fairdale calls this “BMX-inspired geometry” that “lets you feel like a rider again instead of a passenger.”
Fairdale was founded in 2010 by BMX World Champion rider Taj Mihelich with the goal of “making ‘adult’ bikes that will give you the same sense of joy that you had when riding as child.” We’re told Mihelich still creates the cartoon graphics for the bikes himself, contrasting nicely with the otherwise clean and simple color scheme.
Elevator frame features include bottle and accessory mounts, external cable and brake hose routing, and UDH dropouts.
Fairdale is not skimping on the Elevator build, with a Rock Shox Pike Select Fork, Maxxis Minion DHF and DHR II tires, SRAM GX Eagle drivetrain, and SRAM DB8 brakes. Final pricing for complete bikes was not available as of press time but it’s expected to be around $3,500. We’re told standalone frames will likely be available for sale eventually, following the release of the complete bikes.
Look for the Elevator hardtail at fairdalebikes.com soon.
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