Fuji Bicycles Touring

Price Paid:  $850.00

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
Fuji touring 2007

Summary:
With a heavy load this bike needs to be a little heavier. This bike would not be the same otherwise. Lighter is not always better, especially when carrying a heavy load. I love the steel frame and the geometry but the headset is a little week. With a loaded front rack the threadless headset is not able to support the weight while making a sharp turn and the weight troughs the handle bars out of alignment. So I would suggest not over loading the front rack. It could also be the small 1 inch headset tubing that causes this. I have a 2007 and i have put thousands of miles on it and taken it through hell and back. The bike is well worth the money and does have a smooth ride. In the future I would like to see Fuji upgrade the headset and tubing, add a little more clearance for bigger tires, and disk brakes would be pretty sweet. All in all this is an awesome bike and definitely has my recommendation.

Strengths:
Durable Frame, awesome geometry and a very smooth ride.

Weaknesses:
Headset and headset tubing needs improvment.

Similar Products Used:
Cannondale T800 and Specialized tarmac.

Price Paid:  $800.00 at Swann Cycles

Model Year:
2006

Favorite Ride:
Fuji Touring

Bike Setup:
Std + lights, fenders, trailer.

Summary:
I've really enjoyed this bike. I've ridden it around 2000 miles, maybe more. I was using it to commute year round until this winter. I've ridden it with studded tires and a trailer. It's a beast. It's comfortable.

For the money it's a good bike. The front and rear brakes need to be adjusted constantly. I broke at 4 spokes before getting the wheel rebuilt.

For touring this bike needs better brakes, and the lowest gear isn't quite low enough for tugging a 70 pound trailer up steeps. Actually, when it's loaded, the brakes are almost comical when trying to stop the bike.

Strengths:
Good value, some nice components, comfortable ride, awesome cruising bike.

Weaknesses:
Broken spokes, weak brakes.

Similar Products Used:
Did > 2000 miles touring on an old diamondback ascent mtn bike. This bike is a lot more comfortable, but that bike could slow down while loaded.

Price Paid:  $800.00 at petrie's

Model Year:
2007

Bike Setup:
jandd racks and panniers, full fenders.

Summary:
This is a great bike. have it built properly by a good mechanic and it will give you no problems. i've ridden mine on tours, on epic rides, on trail,and random crazy adventures totally thousands upon thousands of kilometer and it is perfect.

Strengths:
frame. the details. the ride. the price.

Weaknesses:
can i have it for free?

Similar Products Used:
tested a variety of touring bikes as a mechanic. in 5 years, i found this one to be the best price/performance/dependability compromise.

Price Paid:  $699.00 at Performance Bikes

Model Year:
2007

Bike Setup:
Shimano Deore rear derailleur, Tiagra front derailleur, Tiagra shifters, Tektro Oryx Cantilever brakes

Summary:
I absolutely love this bike! It's been a while since I rode steel and I forgot how smooth and forgiving it can be. Add to that 700x32 tires and it barely feels the bumps of the road. So far I have about 600 trouble free miles on it and am getting ready to head out on a 600 mile tour soon. The components on the bike function smoothly are not the totally cheesy stuff you might expect at this price. Great bike!

Strengths:
Good Components
Smooth ride
Tough as nails

Weaknesses:
Heavy

Similar Products Used:
Cannondale Six/13
Rocky Mountain Solo 50

Price Paid:  $0.00 at Bluebonnet Bicycles

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
Fuji Touring

Bike Setup:
Stock except: Mr Tuffy Liners, Denatti 5W flood, Dual Rear Planet Bike Superflashers, Planet bike fenders, PINK Speedplay Zero Pedals I inherited (my wife went to pink light actions), Arkel rear panniers. Soon to be xtracycled with a rear disc.

Summary:
Just got back on the road commuting after taking a few horrible years off since I moved to Texas. Finally got sick of the cage and this bike made it possible to reliably commute my meager 11 miles on fast hilly roads. My bike e was just too darn hard to get up to and hold any speed. Plus it couldn't handle the weight.

Strengths:
Smooth ride, strong frame, comfortable at speed, wife loves the paint job, nice wide bars. No broken spokes yet (knock on wood) I had constant spoke problems with my Schwinn Hybrid Disc.

Weaknesses:
Slow off the line I really hate to stop now unlike any of my other bikes. (yes it is pretty loaded but so were my other bikes. Lower end components. 1" Stem/Fork is custom fuji and looks nearly impossible to replace.

Similar Products Used:
BikeE, Schwinn Le Tour, Schwinn Hybrid with Discs 2005 vintage, Diamond back cross campus