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EB14: Caterham Introduces Beautiful Duo Cali Carbon and Fairspear Steel Road Bikes, Plus Prototype Flat Bar Shifter for Campy EPS!

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Caterham Duo Cali Fairspear bicycles carbon steel (19)

The last time we heard from Caterham in the bike space it had to do with some wild looking E-bikes. In a move that should please many of the commenters on said article, Caterham is back with a line of bikes that are all human powered and all beautiful. Called the Duo Cali (Caterham Advanced Lightweight Innovations, the carbon road bikes will be offered in three models, the Duo Cali Record, Chorus, and Urban EPS. All of the carbon bikes are produced in Europe with the composites team based in Cologne and design, engineering, production, paint, and assembly completed in Germany.

The line is not all carbon though, as Caterham is also introducing the Fairspear steel bike that is said to be linked to the Super 7 race car. While the company is busy putting out bikes, they’re also working on unique stems and even custom flat bar shifters for Campagnolo EPS.

Details next…

Caterham Duo Cali Fairspear bicycles carbon steel (2)

Caterham Duo Cali Fairspear bicycles carbon steel (3) Caterham Duo Cali Fairspear bicycles carbon steel (4)

Caterham Duo Cali Fairspear bicycles carbon steel (5) Caterham Duo Cali Fairspear bicycles carbon steel (9)

At the top of the range is the Duo Cali Record which will be limited to just 73 pieces. The frame uses a monocoque carbon frame design that is tuned for an even balance of aerodynamics, speed, comfort, and stiffness.

Caterham Duo Cali Fairspear bicycles carbon steel (6)

Caterham Duo Cali Fairspear bicycles carbon steel (8) Caterham Duo Cali Fairspear bicycles carbon steel (7)

Caterham Duo Cali Fairspear bicycles carbon steel (21) Caterham Duo Cali Fairspear bicycles carbon steel (20)

Caterham designed their own stem for the bike which is pretty slick. Incorporating the steerer tube compression cap and a Garmin mount, the stem is taken a step further with a locking collet system to hold the bar in place. The design is super clean, but it does look like you will have to remove the tape and shifter on one side to swap out the stem or bar.

Caterham Duo Cali Fairspear bicycles carbon steel (23) Caterham Duo Cali Fairspear bicycles carbon steel (10)

The frame also uses its own integrated seat post design that clamps the saddle with 3T internals. Offered in just 4 sizes (48, 52, 56, and 60cm) the Limited Edition bike will be speced with the highest end components including Super Record EPS. Pricing is TBA.

Caterham Duo Cali Fairspear bicycles carbon steel (11)

Using the same frame as the Duo Cali Limited Edition, Caterham will be selling the Duo Cali Record EPS, and Chorus EPS (above) in drop bar configurations.

Caterham Duo Cali Fairspear bicycles carbon steel (1)

The final carbon bike is the Duo Cali Urban EPS which uses a different stem and a flat bar for one hell of a nice townie. Again using the same CC-DC-01 frameset, the Urban EPS uses a Chorus EPS group and some high end parts for a gorgeous commuter or fitness bike.

Caterham Duo Cali Fairspear bicycles carbon steel (27)

Caterham Duo Cali Fairspear bicycles carbon steel (25) Caterham Duo Cali Fairspear bicycles carbon steel (26)

In addition to the stem with an integrated Garmin mount (this one with a split clamp), the very finished looking EPS flat bar shifters caught our eye.

Caterham buttons

Caterham Duo Cali Fairspear bicycles carbon steel (29) Caterham Duo Cali Fairspear bicycles carbon steel (28)

While the flat bar shifters on the bike look like a finished piece worth of Campagnolo, they’re actually prototypes made by Caterham. They 3D printed the button pods, playing with a number of shapes and designs to get to this point, which isn’t necessarily the final iteration. When Tyler swung by the booth later in the show, two Campy employees were chatting them up with keen interest.

The challenge, as explained by Caterham’s folks wasn’t the electronics -those were pretty simple. It was getting the ergonomics correct for intuitive thumb use and easy reach without intruding into the grip area. They also spent considerable time developing the button feel, going so far as to test virtually every cycling computer on the market until they found buttons they liked, then tore those apart to see how they worked. Whether or not these make it to a production bike remains to be seen, but judging by the interest, we’re betting either Caterham or Campy will do something.

Caterham Duo Cali Fairspear bicycles carbon steel (14)

If you’re not into carbon then the Fairspear might catch your attention. The classically shaped steel frame hides a number of modern touches all wrapped up in a beautiful green package.

Caterham Duo Cali Fairspear bicycles carbon steel (18) Caterham Duo Cali Fairspear bicycles carbon steel (15)

Caterham Duo Cali Fairspear bicycles carbon steel (16) Caterham Duo Cali Fairspear bicycles carbon steel (17)

Smooth internal cable routing meets a seat post with a hidden internal frame wedge for some serious clean lines. Details were pretty limited on the Fairspear, other than what you see here. Stay up on the latest at caterham-cycling.com.

 

 

 

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Ryan
Ryan
9 years ago

These bikes have more technology than their F1 cars. Fascinating.

Ventruck
Ventruck
9 years ago

Fairspear>>>>>everything else

Dat seatpost wedge system. Dem junctions. Dat color.

What_the_****
What_the_****
9 years ago

Fairspear>>>>>everything else
What a beautiful frame!

Gillis
Gillis
9 years ago

Looks better than their current F1 rig and than any of the road cars.

Psi Squared
Psi Squared
9 years ago

I’m not hip to the aesthetics of the CF bike, the Fairspear is definitely a looker. Let’s hope their seat post wedge works better than that which was used on my old Schwinn 974.

Rico
Rico
9 years ago

Woah those are funky. I don’t see how there can be much strength at the tube junctions. The paint on the top one is hot though!

Megatherium
Megatherium
9 years ago

Although not a carbon fan, I love the look of these. Beautiful!
There’s a curious disconnect with the Fairspear though. Over-designed seatpost retention (albeit lust worthy), passable internal routing (do they need that much material protruding from the frame?) and a rather elegant quill stem with what looks like a 26.0 clamp for the handlebar. We’ve got lovely joints, an interestingly interpreted mix of old and new…but to top it all off, like a centipede skittering across a birthday cake…the most horrendous of unicrown forks!

Ricky
Ricky
9 years ago

Anyone else notice how good that new campy crank looks mounted on a bike?

R0b0tAt0ms
R0b0tAt0ms
9 years ago

Gorgeous bikes. Wow

Kark
Kark
9 years ago

I’m not terribly excited about road bikes these days but these are frikken stunning.

I wonder if the steel uses the same seat binder as Casati. ..which is fantastic and which I believe is patented but may have expired.

PR
PR
9 years ago

It’s super cool that a legit auto racing company like Caterham is taking a solid stab at bikes rather than an awkward re-labeling.
I think KTM has also started making real MTBs rather than just badge-engineering them.

It’s always nice to see what the truly professional big-budget designers and manufacturers can do with our little industry. That Honda DH bike was a cool experiment too.

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