Schmoovie

Hey Yall! First post here. I've been diving more and more deeply into cycling here lately and am ready to buy my first "big boy" bike. I typically ride on paved trails but there are a bunch of gravel trails near me that I would like to ride on but feel completely uncomfortable on my current bike. I have test driven a few adventure bike and narrowed the search down to the fuji Jari 2.1 and the Specialized Diverge E5. The Diverge is $200 more and I was wondering if it was worth the extra money. I'm pretty sure it's lighter but it seems the Jari has better components? What do yall think?

I would have posted links but I'm not allowed yet.

jfoobar

A few concerns with the Diverge E5. The tire width capacity is actually kind of limited for bikes in its class. You cannot go to 40s and may not even be able to fit a knobby 38. This is only an issue with the E5 model. Some people also have concerns that its BB height might actually be too low, increasing the risk of pedal strikes. If you are talking about the bottom end E5 Diverge, it also doesn't have the future shock feature, which is kind of the main selling point of the Diverge that separates it from its peers. Lastly, $1100 MSRP for a bike with Claris and rather ho-hum brakes really isn't a very good deal at all, IMHO.

Re: the Jari, I do notice it is pretty heavy. Tiagra is nice but also not wonderful brakes either. It is a much, much better deal based on components though, yes.

Have you looked at Jamis Renegades? $1200 for the Expat model gets you the same Tiagra plus better brakes on a nice steel frame with great geometry that weighs three pounds less than the steel Fuji. The trick with Expats is finding one in stock as they sell the crap out of them. Your odds go up substantially if you don't need one of the largest or smallest sizes, however.

Schmoovie

Ah, fair point about the future shock. Turns out there is a Jamis dealer near me. I'll check them out. Thanks for the advice.

tclong03

There is something about them fuji's. But when I road one it was wow. I'd go with better components on fuji. That future shok is getting mixed reviews for time being.

mstateglfr 

The fuji has higher level shifting and a better drivetrain gear range.
the 46/30 crank with 11/34 cassette gives excellent overall range for paved riding as well as dirt/gravel.

the downside is the weight- that thing isnt light. The double butted steel is almost certainly thick gauge to error on the safe side.
the wheelset wont be light because wheelsets ar e a common place to save $ so a bike can hit a pricepoint.
and the oval components wont be light.


the specialized does have thru axle. Jari is QR.
just fyi there in case you care.


I couldnt bring myself to pay $1100 forna claris bike. And the fuji is a better deal, but has some drawbacks.

perhaps consider diamondback and Raleigh. Google corporate discount codes for both and go to the corporate partner sites to set up free accounts. Both typically have good options in the $900-1100 range when the discount is taken into account.

mstateglfr 

Examples to compare to current considerations.

https://www.raleighusa.com/willard-150882 Willard 4 for $1140.
105 shifting, Praxis alba crank(32 small ring!), thru axle wheels, and better quality disc brakes than the fuji or specialized.
higher spec than either bike and no drawback of either.

https://www.raleighusa.com/willard-150868 Willard 1 for $900.
Sora drivetrain, thru axle wheels, better quality brakes than either the fuji or specialized, and lighter than the fuji for sure(and most likely same as the diverge).

these both have post mount instead of flat mount brales. They work fine.

jfoobar

To me, the "best buy" of the current Fuji Jari lineup is the 1.3. 105, TRP Spyres. FSA 46/30 rings for $1699:

Fuji Bikes | Jari 1.3

But yeah, more or less equivalent in componentry to the Willard 4, which is quite a bit cheaper.

Schmoovie

I was pretty close to getting the James Renegade but ended up going with the Jari 2.1 for $400 less. It was the perfect balance of price, components and convenience. LOVING it so far. Thanks for the advice!