News / r+d

Our Swan BadgeSearching through some old drawing books I found some original sketches for our Swan badge. Fairdale is 5 years old now and we’ve done lots of growing and changing since then. One item that has stayed consistent is our headtube badge.

Research and Design series coming soon…Even after spending half my life as a professional bike rider I still feel overwhelmed when I walk into a bicycle shop. Such an overload of technology, sizes, springy things I don’t understand, and a dizzying array of prices. On one level I think it’s all pretty amazing. I can nerd out with the best […]

Pannier Skaterack – Video how to CH4D Treanor helped us out with a little promo for the Skaterack. Gives a little insight into our intense R+D program too.

fairdalebikes

Our Rockitship will officially launch on Friday. B

Our Rockitship will officially launch on Friday. Bike shops are getting their orders in starting today.

Pre-orders starting soon for bike shops to bring i

Pre-orders starting soon for bike shops to bring in our all new Rockitship. Hit up @fullfactory. Complete bikes will begin shipping soon after. Frames will be available too. Check in Monday for all the details!

Rider (Taj) says he’s not high enough, and photo

Rider (Taj) says he’s not high enough, and photographer (Josh Root @evilphotoeye ) says he should have used a flash to make things pop, but we like seeing our Hareraiser DJ in action.

New shirts have arrived! The first shirt I drew (O

New shirts have arrived! The first shirt I drew (Out of Step) has a clear message. It leans into Minor Threat’s famous words of wisdom, ‘Bow your head in submission to your phone like the rest of us.’ …Or, something like that.

The second shirt (Iron Fairdale) also has a clear message. I drew the word “Fairdale.”

Enjoy some new torso covers!

Summer Bike Launch: the Weekender Archer in new Le

Summer Bike Launch: the Weekender Archer in new Lemon Grass. The Weekender’s chromoly steel frame can be adapted in so many ways. Here it is set up for a little bit of everything in its base model form. Ride some trails, urban commute, long haul rides… yes to all. Add bags, bottles, racks, fenders, and/or our Skatetack. On sale now via your favorite bike shop.

Summer Bike Launch continues with the Lookfar mode

Summer Bike Launch continues with the Lookfar model in Matte Coral Red. This color is now available in a full size run from XS-L and in a step-thru version (which fits in our line as a S/M size). $649

“Look true, and look far, but don’t forget where you are.”

Summer Launch’s new Taj bike. A special one to m

Summer Launch’s new Taj bike. A special one to me, not just because it has my name on it. I first started making ‘zine’s back in the late 80s. Later I even had a ‘zine store where I would collect assorted ‘zines from around the world. Eventually, I graduated to helping make real magazines, and books with the help of computers, but the high-contrast art of ‘zine making holds such an important place in my memory.

I love the feeling of being able to tell my own stories and see them in print. You’ll hear people say ‘zines were a way to communicate ideas before the internet… home made magazines at a time when everything topical came from real magazines. That’s true I suppose, but I fell in love with the making of them. The trips to Kinko’s at 3:30 am. The stoned guy who worked there would let me make copies for free if I fixed his bike. A sea of Xerox machines to play around on. At least one of them probably had good toner in it. Creating different techniques and cool looking effects with nothing but copy machines was a lot of fun.

For this bike’s graphics I went back to those old techniques. Copying art, crumpling it up and recopying, tearing it and copying again, dragging it along the path of the copy head to stretch the art, and bunch of other trial and error tricks I was pleased to remember. I eventually had to get this art into the computer so it could end up as decals on the bike, but I did make it all in the old school way.

As far as the bike itself goes, the Taj is chromoly 27.5” BMX bike that looks a lot like the “BMX cruiser” my buddy at Kinko’s rode to work. You can jump it and have BMX thrills on it, but its real purpose is to be a fun, timeless, and tough bike that you can “just pedal around on”. That might sound like we are downplaying the bike, but “just pedaling around” is what it’s all about! And, a simple bike that keeps working is often the most enjoyable one to ride.

Check out the new Taj in Xerox White along with the rest of our Summer Launch Bikes via your modem on the www.

Summer Bike Launch continues with the Dark Metalli

Summer Bike Launch continues with the Dark Metallic Silver Weekender Nomad. We are extra pleased with how this color came out–it has a soft glow to it without being too loud. We all know the color of a bike doesn’t technically matter, but we also know that the bike that looks the coolest is the one you’ll want to ride. This Nomad model dresses our versatile Weekender frame with crispy 1x11 mechanical shifting, 700c wheels, and shallow drop bars.

Check out our whole Summer Bike Launch on the ‘net.

Summer Bike Launch continues with new Hareraisers!

Summer Bike Launch continues with new Hareraisers! The Classic White Hareraiser with a rigid fork is shown at the bottom. The steel fork gives the bike a more BMX feel thanks to its non-squishy-ness, and a slightly shorter axle to crown (which steepens the head angle of the bike). Odyssey lever and a mechanical brake without a liquid inside the cable will also make sense to a BMX brain.

The Hareraiser FX (top), uses the same frame and comes with upgraded cranks, a hydraulic brake, and a tough Manitou DJ fork.

Check them out and the rest of our summer launch out there on the internet.

Summer Bike Launch. New Ridgemont in Cool Mint.

Summer Bike Launch. New Ridgemont in Cool Mint.

You won’t find any wind tunnel tested electronics here, just a simple and practical bike. 8 speeds, MTB tires, and a comfy/ casual riding position that will put a smile on your face. Ride a Ridgemont through the city and out to some bike trails.

Summer Bike Launch: Our versatile and much-loved W

Summer Bike Launch: Our versatile and much-loved Weekender platform shows the quality of its stripes again. The touring-inspired Weekender was designed with the idea that a bike that you can ride on epic adventures would also be comfortable for daily rides. Weekenders have quite literally ridden around the world, and are also happy to enjoy everyday rides (even on the weekdays). This Weekender Nomad MX build loves to monster truck its way over a wide variety of terrain. 2.1” wide Maxxis tires, 4” tall BMX bars, and crisp SRAM 11-speed shifting all married to the stout Weekender frame is a simple recipe for fun riding!

The Weekender Nomad MX in Gloss White is available now as part of our Summer Bike Launch.

We just launched a bunch of new bikes! Scroll arou

We just launched a bunch of new bikes! Scroll around our site (on the internet) to check them out, or stay glued to this feed as we post about the new models this week.