Back in 2020 as the first Covid lockdown loomed I contacted the owner of Fustle Bikes, It was a speculative move on my part. UKGRAVELCO up to that point was mainly based around instagram, reviews were on this website, including a couple of bikes but it was small potatoes really and reviews were mainly via contacts i’d made working in bike shops. I wanted to expand this but not review a bike from the mainstream big manufacturers as every website or magazine did this. instead i looked for more interesting brands who, even though the gravel scene was just beginning to gain momentum, were doing something different and putting their own design ideas into a bike rather than just rehashing a road frame with more clearance but sticking with traditional road bike geometry.
Fustle Bikes stood out as they were a fledgling bike company based in Northern Ireland and were designing their frames from scratch and using the experience of riding on the very same sort of terrain as we do in the UK rather than Californina or Wisconsin. That bike was the original Fustle Causeway G1 and I got to test it in the spring of 2020, you can read the original review here it’s worth reading the review to get a backround on this new version but if you don’t have the time the spoiler is this….I liked the bike so much i bought a frameset myself and it’s been my main bike for the last five years.
So to say i was intrigued by this latest iteration of the Causeway frameset would be a great understatement. Fustle in the meatime had brought out another frame, the Lakelander, which leans slightly more towards racing but has had a great reception. it was also Fustle’s first forary into carbon fibre and I was hoping for a version of the Causeway I love but in a lighter plastic package.
Alistair, the owner and designer at Fustle bikes sent me a bike that he had ridden at a local gravel sportive in Ireland. It was built with a basic 11 speed groupset and finishing kit and He was apologetic that it wasn’t the 12 speed Shimano GRX kit that all the production bikes get, this was down to the bike having launched a month or so before and all the available 12 sp stuff was going on bikes being sent out to customers. It was ideal for me though as my original bike has the very same groupset so comparing the two frames and how they ride would be much easier.
Side by side the two frames look very different. Alistair has taken feedback from customers and his own experience and added features to the new frame. the first is the front triangle. the G2 has much more space inside the frame for bottles or bags than the previous frame. it’s true that two large bottles would reduce the carrying capacity and size of any frame bag you decided to fit on the G1. the new frame manages to add more room without losing much of the standover. the top tube still slopes from headset to seatpost giving ample crotch clearance.
Talking of mounts and bike packing, the G2 has bolt mounts on the top tube, two sets inside the front triangle (one set that has three bolts so you can alter the position of a bottle cage up and down) mounts underneath the down tube, with rack and mudguard mounts on the rear end. The fork also gets three mounts per leg/blade too.
The next big difference on the new frame is tyre clearance. Officially the G2 will take a 50mm tyre with loads of mud room between that tyre and the frame. unofficially, and I’ve tried it, a 2.1″ (53mm) tyre will also fit. So the new trend of big tyres on gravel bikes is covered.
The frame features a T47 bottom bracket. You don’t need to know what that is just know that it is a threaded system and 100% less hassle to maintain and replace than a press-fit bottom bracket would be and thanks should go to Fustle for using this. they also use a Rideworks T47 BB which is a UK company making parts in the UK so applause for that too.
The seatpost clamp and adjustment is accessed from under the rear of the top tube and can be a bit fiddly to adjust as it’s hard to see but this is a minor thing because (especially if using a dropper post) you’ll set the height and not have to adjust it again other than for maintenance.
FIT and sizing The original G1 frame came in only 3 sizes, S/M M/L and L/XL and some riders found this limiting when trying to get a good fit. The new G2 frame is avaliable XS, S,M,L,XL so should make the frame accessable to more riders. the geometry of the new bike has been tweaked and the reach is slightly shorter and the head angle a tiny bit slacker. the wheelbase remains the same. Like for like the new frame is around 700g (1.5lb) lighter than the original
The cable routing is all internal including the dropper post. It looks amazing but does mean all those cables run through the inside of the headset bearings making changing those bearings at best a pain if you have the skills and tools or at worst expensive if you are paying a mechanic to dismantle the bike and rebleed the hydraulic system to change what in effect is a £10 part. Most carbon bikes now have this internal hose/cable routing so it’s nothing unique to Fustle. All that said though the bearings on my G1 are 5 years old and have suffered all sorts of abuse in all weathers and are still as smooth as the day I got the bike so not too much of a worry as Fustle clearly use quality components.
Finally on frame differences is the Fustle branding logo. It’s in the normal place you’d expect on the side of the down tube. I know this seems a weird thing to point out but on the G1 the logo hides under the top tube, gets covered in mud from the front wheel and you can’t see it. just a tiny thing but it’s always annoyed me!
i must also mention the paint on the frame too, the colour is “Dunseverick Dingleberry” and is a lucious deep colour that has a lovely pearl fleck to it if seen in the sun. The other paint option is “Bushfoot Dune” which i’ve not seen in the flesh.
HOW DOES IT RIDE So no matter how the frame looks or how many features it has had added it always comes down to how it rides. Quite frankly it’s got big shoes to fill as the G1 rides superbly and in my case definately flatters my riding style. Carbon bikes are often described as being able to dampen fibrations and give a more comfortable ride. Well yes that can be the case but they can also be as stiff as hell and give the harshest feel. It all comes down to how the sheets of carbon are layered into the mould and where stiffness is added or compliance dialled in. Alistair the designer has vast experience of bike design and has put all that knowledge into the G2 and it shows
Tarmac, yes the T word, I know some of you spend a lot of time on the black top on your gravel bike so i need to tell you that the G2 bowls along very efficiently on tarmac and yes on our current rough ass roads it does feel smoother than the G1. it also turns into corners well with no flex at the head tube and despite the slacker head angle compared to a road bike it doesn’t feel sluggish or slow to turn. It does feel like the bike wants to propel you forward when you stamp on the pedals, the side to side flex of the frame is miniscule and you feel like non of your energy is wasted. It doesn’t though batter you, it’d be perfect for a cobbled sportive ride. if you are intending to ride it more on the road or with a road club i’d get the double chainset version to try and match any of your buddies using road groupsets as although the 1 x range of gears is perfectly adequate the quick changes of pace in a group ride are better suited to the double set up. One other thing to note if using as a road or winter bike is that because of the massive tyre clearance you’d be able to run a wider tyre and still fit full mudguards.
With full mudguards and a double chainset set up this bike would make a stunning long distance mile eater, perfect for Audax in fact.
Off road is where the pressure to perform was highest for me, I set the bike up to be as close as possible to my original G1, reach, handlebar and saddle height etc so I’d be feeling at home straight away and able to concentrate on how the frame and fork felt in comparison and get over the “new bike” feel. this took a couple of rides to get right. Then I took the bike on familiar trails where I knew exactly how the old bike felt. All in all I think I’ve ridden around 300 miles during the time I had the bike to test.
There’s a video below that’ll show you the sort of stuff I was riding and if you have time please take a look as it does give an insight on how the bike handled.
Riding the new frame felt different to the alloy version as soon as I started the first climb, yes, the lighter weight does make a difference. I swapped wheels and bags between the two and the new bike was just under 4lbs (1.8kg) lighter. The aforementioned feeling of all your effort being used to move the bike on tarmac applies here too. the bike is agile and you can pick a line on techy climbs with confidence. It’s easy to lift the front wheel over roots and fallen branches but it still tracks well in ruts and loose gravel. Riding along flat chunky gravel feels different too, this is no suspension bike, you can still feel the terrain under the wheels and you’re not isolated from anything but you do get a floaty feeling that combined with the pedalling efficiency makes you want to go faster! Downhill on gravel/fireroad and the typical cross country trails near my house I found myself using the brakes less and just letting the bike flow and do the work. Its lack of weight doesn’t mean it bounces off every hump or stone like a pinball like some light weight bikes do. I’m no engineer but I guess this the the slightly slacker head angle of the new bike helping here. the G1 is a fun and engaging descender helped by the length of it’s wheel base keeping things balanced and non twitchy, this is exactly the same on the new G2 and is confidence inspiring. there’s a set of steps you’ll see in the video which on a MTB i’ll usually drop off the last step of to maintain speed. On a gravel bike I’ll be slower and roll down them. After riding them once and going back a few times to film different angles I also dropped off the last step on the G2! Add the dropper post into the equation too and the bike becomes a little ripper down steep techy XC trails. Sit with your hands on the drops and you feel in control and stable.
The Fustle Causeway G2, and I hesitate to say this as it’s a bit of a cliché is a great all-rounder. It’ll scoot along quite nicely on tarmac, It’s forgiving enough to be a long distance bikepacking bike but having said all that where this bike shines for me is off road and that’s where it excels. if you are a beginner or coming from a road bike backround to gravel the G2 will flatter you and help you gain confidence, if you are an MTBer at heart you’ll feel at home as soon as you hit the dirt.
So i guess as I own the original Causeway i should say which of the bikes I prefer. I do love the aluminium G1 it handles great and we’ve had some top adventures together but if i had the money i’d definately go for the G2, same great handling in a lighter package and all that tyre and front triangle clearance, what’s not to like!
This Fustle Causeway G2 is like the person your mom warned you about but you ignored her, met up with that person and had the most incredible summer that you’ll remember forever!
here’s the video of my few weeks riding the G2, please take a look and please subscribe to my youtube channel, it costs nothing but really helps me grow this website.
you can find more information on Fustle Bikes here
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