Cycling UK Forum

There are rave reviews on the interweb about Fuji Touring bikes.

Comments such as "a blast to ride" "fun" "can withstand anything" "comfortable on long rides" abound on the internet and really piqued my interest.

With a Deore derailler and steel frame - it seems like a bargain but I very worried about two comments on the review section of evanscycles.com

"...the first time I pedalled hard to get away from the lights the wheel shifted over"


and from a different user

"I bought it in January this year and the back wheel has popped out three times now while riding it -- all very scary occasions, once in the middle of a busy intersection"

This is a shame because, this touring bike nearly ticked all the boxes for me. Would this be a show stopper for you?


(Kudos to evancycles.com for having an honest and uncensored reviews section - bought from them online before and always found them excellent)

No - it just means that the users did not know how to use the quick-release skewer properly, so that the wheel was loose in the dropouts.

LollyKat wrote:No - it just means that the users did not know how to use the quick-release skewer properly, so that the wheel was loose in the dropouts.

Indeed - it's surprising how many times you see a QR that has been used like a "nut with lever" to wind up the QR side on the axle - rather than the over-centre cam which is what QRs are all about.

... the "wheel moving across" issue would seem unlikely in a vertical dropout frame ... horizontal dropouts perhaps (I've pulled the wheel on my fixie a couple of times when stamping on the power - and that has a nutted axle - now fitted with some home-made chaintugs!)

Rob

guilty as charged m'lud re QR... having said that ignorance is bliss.
Go for it if you think its perfect.

My concern would be that a 'supposed' bike shop let the machines leave the store without having the Q/r's checked. Black mark for the shop, not the bike

biscaystorm wrote:There are rave reviews on the interweb about Fuji Touring bikes.
Comments such as "a blast to ride" "fun" "can withstand anything" "comfortable on long rides" abound on the internet and really piqued my interest.
With a Deore derailler and steel frame - it seems like a bargain but I very worried about two comments on the review section of evanscycles.com

There's touring and there's touring. There is no ideal touring bike for all kinds of touring. Which is why I have two very different touring bikes, one for lightly-loaded touring on paved roads only, the other for heavily loaded touring including unpaved roads. These aren't even extreme spec touring bikes, there's much more extreme at both ends of the range, both faster and sturdier. You need to decide whether this touring bike is perfect for the kind of or range of touring you do.

Looking at it, this particular bike doesn't seem to know what it is. They have put 25mm tyres on it, which is fast and light touring on tarmac. But it has low-rider fittings on it. An 11-34T 9sp rear and triple at the front gives you a gear range to get a heavily loaded bike up the side of a house - you don't really even need a triple with that range at the back, or in fact, some would say, even a double. It's got a sloping top tube, which is typical of the heavier kind of tourer, but it's got no mudguards. Is there clearance to actually fit the 37mm tyres and mudguards you might want for a bike with that gear range, sloping top tube and full pannier carrying ability? How does it handle so heavily loaded - my fast tourer is terrible heavily loaded.

My suggestion is that the reason it is cheap is because it has been put together by someone who has observed the fashionable features of good touring bikes and created a Frankenstein's monster of a bike because they don't really understand what those features are for. The same reason that cheap not-quite-copies of Hilleberg tents are never anywhere near as good as Hilleberg tents (although I have just bought such a cheap not-quite-copy, but understanding what I was doing given the light use I am going to give it). Maybe it is a bargain in the sense that you can buy it, change/add a few things and turn it into something really good and internally consistent, or because it can be flexible by swapping a few things about for different purposes. But you'd need a degree of intimacy with it to evaluate that.

Any touring bike that is "a blast to ride" is getting above its station

I think the Fuji touring bikes look like good value for money. Some, however, come in 54 cm as the smallest size, so if you are below average height, or merely female and and average height, you may not be able to get one in your size.

If they carry your size & you like it, go for it.

But it's always best to try before you buy, if you can.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/fuj ... 94#reviews

They just don't seem like very bright people. They should check the QR and learn how to use it correctly.
Can't blame the shop if the customer is a numpty

iviehoff wrote:..............Looking at it, this particular bike doesn't seem to know what it is. They have put 25mm tyres on it,...............

My suggestion is that the reason it is cheap is because it has been put together by someone who has observed the fashionable features of good touring bikes and created a Frankenstein's monster of a bike because they don't really understand what those features are for. ...............

Iviehoff, did you by any chance read the bike spec. on Evan's website? The fourth item down lists Deore shifters, a fairly obvious error.
Perhaps you should read the spec. on Fuji website before you wade in with the heavy sarcasm.

I have no connection with Fuji, but I used to work at Spa, who have sold Fuji in the past, and may have some now, I really don't know.
I am still responsible for the frame design of the Spa tourers and audax bikes.

Great diverse range of opinions.

531colin wrote:

iviehoff wrote:I have no connection with Fuji, but I used to work at Spa, who have sold Fuji in the past, and may have some now, I really don't know.
I am still responsible for the frame design of the Spa tourers and audax bikes.

So, as a touring bike designer - should touring bikes be a "blast to ride" or would that be "going above their station"?

According to the Fuji spec (not Evans') it comes with 32c tyres. There is mounting and clearance for mudguards. And the gear range, Deore from 20.6 to 117.8 gear inches looks quite good for touring, and better, IMO, than many off-the-shelf tourers currently available.

Any bike should be a blast to ride.

biscaystorm wrote:............So, as a touring bike designer - should touring bikes be a "blast to ride" or would that be "going above their station"?

I suppose that depends what you mean it to mean. I have had tremendous fun on all sorts of bikes......but if Si is thinking of a bike that accelerates quickly for your pedalling input, then thats not a particular quality associated with touring bikes.
Letting the brakes off down a rough-surfaced lane is also a "blast" to me, and a stable touring bike with good brakes and decent tyres makes that sort of fun readily available.

531colin wrote:but I used to work at Spa, who have sold Fuji in the past,

And what was the feedback like about Fuji tourers?

and how would a Fuji compare with an entry-level own-brand Spa tourer?

Well, I'm certainly biased on your second question, so I'll just quote Chris Juden who wrote "this is probably the best touring bike you can buy for under a grand.".....if you don't know who CJ. is, have a look round this forum, or google him.
I don't remember getting any feedback about the Fuji, I don't think they were a big part of the business.