Bike Setup: Full Sram Rival, Shimano 500 wheels, Victoria Rubaix Tires, Terry Buzz-off seat
Summary: Overall, and incredible value for the money. I really wanted to go all carbon again after riding alum/carbon combo bikes for the past 7 years. I really loved my Kestrel 200sc back in the day and and gave Fuji the nod here. It a great in the climbs, nimble handling and the quality is quite good.
Favorite Ride: Early morning when stoplights are optional
Bike Setup: 2006 Fuji Team carbon, 105 shifters and front D, ultegra rear D, FSA kforce 53/39, Alex something wheel set, Selle San Marco saddle.
Summary: Going on 1.5 years, 6,000 mi and some change. Great experience for my first road bike. Orig. truvative cranks had a bolt issue ( would not stay tight) regardless of of all the usual remedies being tried. Eventually left arm was stripped to the point of being useless. Replaced at 1500 mi. w FSA kforce. Got a great deal online and had my lbs mec install. It has performed flawlessly for 3500 miles with no issues. AleK wheels are supposedly junk, but I don't know any better other than to lust vicariously through the experience of others for some american c's and mavics. X mas is comming! Test road every bike in the shop and could not tell any difference between 105 and ultegra. The cane creek sr3's get a bad rap as well, but I have not had any issues despite doing hill work and riding hard; again I just may not know better. Carbon felt a little strange when I compared it a quality alu frame when test riding. Not in a bad way. Stiffness seemed to be about the same, but it had a more muted feel as far as "road feedback" goes. Almost went with the alu, as it felt a little zippier despite the same weight. The bike shop guru convinced me that my body would thank me as the carbon has about the same effective stiffness/ power transfer and the feel is a result of vibration dampening, which is a good thing. Look sprint pedals have been great. I've got the roadie bug!
Strengths: Price point
Ride quality in relation to above
vibration dampening
Takes a beating ((several hard crashes)
Weaknesses: Orig tru v crank was junk.. Lots of slippage as well and did not shift well despite tuning. New fsa kforce works flawlessly w orig 105 front d.
Bike orig came out of tune relatively quickly, but I was 30 lbs heavier then.
Wheelset ?
Similar Products Used: Test road several alu frames, and motobecane carbon before selecting the fuji.
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Bike Setup: stock team rival with rival shift package and crank, avenir gel seat, dura ace 7800 brakes, mavic open pro wheels, michelin road tires, XTR mtb pedals
Summary: the fuji team rival is my first carbon fiber bike and it is really fast! handles great too...but the stock rims(shimano 500) were mushy and went out of true almost immediately...total crap! i replaced with a set of mavic open pros and they are still true...the seat was too hard so i replaced with an avenir gel seat from dicks sporting goods....the seatpost is now a ritchey...i just replaced the horrible cane creek scr-3s with a set of dura-ace 7800 on sale at performance for about $150(with sale discount and member discount) i use shimano XTR mtb pedals and they are truly the best pedals made... THIS BIKE IS SUPER COOL LOOKING AND I HAVE HAD ALL KINDS OF REACTIONS ON IT! it is effortless to power up hills with this puppy...however it is CREAKING at the mainstay so it is going back to FUJI for evaluation...im going to miss it! great, fast, light, sexy, nimble, comfortable(and it doesnt talk back)...this bike is mine forever!
Strengths: nice graphics, super light, really fast, handles awesome
Weaknesses: crappy stock wheels, crappy stock brakes, super hard stock seat
Similar Products Used: none
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Bike Setup: Changed Brakes and shifter to the Ultegra from old bike. Aksium wheels.
Summary: Haven't put many miles on the bike yet but from the few rides I have this was a steal. Very responsive, smooth machine. absorbs road vibe much better than my old Al ride. Much more stable in wind. Will be changing to a compact crank, many hills where I live.
Strengths: Solid rigidity. Good components for price point. Great Carbon
Weaknesses: Brakes. Wheelset, changed for all riding.
Similar Products Used: Scattante 660 '05. Alum with carbon fork and stays. Major cross wind instability with Aksiums
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