Firefly's $7,200 Rim Brake Frame Fits 40mm Tires — Here's How
Firefly's $7,200 titanium rim brake frame clears 40mm tires using 3D-printed dropouts and a custom Cane Creek brake. Modern engineering, retro stopping power.
$7,200 for a rim brake frame in 2026. Firefly Bicycles isn't trolling — they're answering a question most brands stopped asking years ago: what happens when you apply a decade of titanium fabrication and 3D printing advances to a braking system the industry abandoned?
The engineering problem is more interesting than the nostalgia angle. Modern all-road bikes need 40mm tire clearance. Rim brakes need the caliper positioned at a specific distance from the hub. Those two requirements fight each other hard. Firefly's solution: a custom titanium fork with a 3D-printed crown, paired with a modified Cane Creek eeBrake originally designed for Bromptons. At the rear, 3D-printed chainstay yokes and seat tube knuckles create the clearance without pushing the drivetrain into awkward territory. It's a lot of custom fabrication to resurrect something disc brakes solved more simply.
The through-bolt dropout design is the detail that actually matters for daily use. Quick releases are increasingly hard to source in quality versions, and they've always been finicky with titanium fork blades. Firefly's 3D-printed through-bolt system claims better stiffness and security than traditional plate dropouts — and it sidesteps the supply chain problem entirely. Whether that matters to you depends on how often you swap wheels. If you're running one wheelset year-round, it's elegant. If you travel with the bike or switch between training and race wheels, you're adding a step.
Drivetrain compatibility covers the modern options: SRAM AXS (via Growtac Control brake levers), Shimano Di2, or Campagnolo mechanical. No friction shifting required to make this work. The wishbone seat stays are pure aesthetics — Firefly admits this openly — designed to echo the caliper's shape. You can spec traditional stays if you prefer function over form.
Complete builds run $10,000–$14,000. That's Specialized Aethos or Cervélo Caledonia money, bikes with disc brakes and carbon frames half the weight. Firefly's pitch isn't performance parity — it's the tactile simplicity of rim brakes on a chassis that doesn't force you back to 25mm tires and cramped geometry. If you've never missed the direct feel of a well-tuned caliper, this won't convert you. But if you've kept a rim-brake bike in the stable specifically because you like how it rides, this is the first new option in years that doesn't ask you to compromise on tire size.
