Estrella Bikes: The History of the Fangoso

Great insights from Darren Kenny into how new models are created and developed as we look at the Fangoso range of bikes released by Estrella Bikes and a new one on the way, the Fangoso Adventure. 

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Estrella Bikes: The History of the Fangoso

Fangoso means ‘Muddy Star’ and if we go back to the days when Beth Crumpton was winning cyclocross races on hers, that is generally how she finished a race in ‘proper’ wet and muddy cross events.

Beth Crumpton and the original Fangoso

Former World and Paralympian champion Darren Kenny says of that beginning “In 2016, we were lucky enough to have CX and MTB star Beth Crumpton riding our bikes on the road. I was wanting to support her for the cycle cross season and that prompted us to bring out a cyclo-cross frameset and the Fangoso was born!”

“Initially, the main focus for the Fangoso was cyclo-cross with gravel riding a possibility. After a couple of years of great cycle cross success, with Beth and Margriet Kloppenburg, Estrella Bikes found the demand for bikes was switching more to gravel and people were wanting clearance for bigger and bigger tyres and the option to use 650B wheels as well. So we answered these calls by bringing out the Fangoso V2”.

“We did away with the wishbone seat stays in favour of widely set standard stays. At the front was a newly designed fork and the geometry was tweaked slightly to be more “gravel” Darren explained.

The Fangoso V2 soon became one of Estrella Bikes most popular models. Darren added some slicks to his wheels and chose it to take part in the “Pedal the Premiership” in 2019 to demonstrate its capabilities on the road.

Fangoso V2

Customer’s needs in the bike world can move very fast and gravel racing/riding soon started to boom but at the same time the needs for a gravel bike started going in different directions. There are now some amazing gravel races now, like Dirty Kanza or the Rift in Iceland which are 200 kilometres of smashing it on gravel tracks where speed and agility on the loose gravel is everything. On the other side, you have those that are in it for the adventure where they want to pack the bike with everything bar the kitchen sink and head out into the wilderness to explore.

Which brings us to why Estrella Bikes are going to keep both types of riders happy by splitting the Fangoso in two. Earlier this year, Estrella Bikes released the Fangoso Pro, a bike for gravel races, cycle-cross riders and for people who want something that keeps up on the road but can handle the off road too. You can find out more about the Fangoso Pro here:

Fangoso Pro

But now, to cater for those who like to explore, whether for a few hours or a few weeks, Estrella Bikes are releasing the ‘Fangoso Adventure’. A more standard looking gravel bike, built from the more robust T800 carbon and kitted out with all the mounts you will need to leave the rat race for a few weeks.

The bike is not just for gravel though. This will be the ideal bike for ultra-endurance events and of course, touring. It will have big clearances all round helped by the dropped chain stay. This means it can handle some pretty rough stuff (especially with the 650B option).

Mounts include two standard bottle cages, a top box/bag behind the stem, another bottle cage below the down tube, rear rack mounts, mud guard mounts, front and rear, and 3 additional mounts on each front fork leg. Frames are due in August and Estrella Bikes are taking advanced orders now.

Darren says of the new bike, “we have a limited number on the way with the chameleon paint scheme shown on the Pro (normally £250.00 extra)” and it will be available in full builds starting from £1,995.00

Learn more by contacting: info@estrella-bikes.com

Website: https://www.estrella-bikes.com/

 

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