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Fuji Touring Disc

Old 12-26-20, 07:57 AM
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Fuji Touring Disc

I have been considering upgrading to a modern touring frame. I have looked at the Trek 520, Surly LHT, and Salsa Marikesh, but the Fuji Touring bike popped up on a list and it seems to have a better level of components and at a better price point. One difference, however, is that it uses bar end shifters versus brifters on the other two. Not sure how much that matters as I have never used brifters before. All my bikes are C&V. I also noticed it is 10 sp versus 9 sp for the other two, giving me an extra cog in the rear. Any thoughts on the Fuji from a component and ride standpoint?

Thanks in advance! Chris
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Old 12-26-20, 08:41 AM
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Originally Posted by crandress
I have been considering upgrading to a modern touring frame. I have looked at the Trek 520, Surly LHT, and Salsa Marikesh, but the Fuji Touring bike popped up on a list and it seems to have a better level of components and at a better price point. One difference, however, is that it uses bar end shifters versus brifters on the other two. Not sure how much that matters as I have never used brifters before. All my bikes are C&V. I also noticed it is 10 sp versus 9 sp for the other two, giving me an extra cog in the rear. Any thoughts on the Fuji from a component and ride standpoint?

Thanks in advance! Chris
its an excellent choice, with gearing and parts that are perfectly suited to touring. In our household we only have one 10 speed bike but chain life is similar to 9 spd, and the crankset, derailleurs and cassette are identical to the 10 spd my wife uses, and for touring, its a great setup.

you can't go wrong considering this bike, I haven't ridden it, and we don't see them up here in Canada for some reason, must be a distribution issue, so unless you have more specific questions, it seems that it comes down to preference using bar ends or brifters. The explanation for the brifters being with 9 speed is that 10 spd brifters dont work with the more mountain bike leaning rear derailleurs, cable pull and all that. /this is why the others use 9 spd.

Brifters are really nice to use though, I personally ride all kinds of bikes with all kinds of shifters, everything except bar end shifters. Ive ridden bar ends, but decided not to use them on my recent touring bike, but that is personal.

ask other specific questions re tech stuff, but shifter preference is just that, preference.
do you like bar end shifters?

ps, the 10 spd 11-36 is a nice cassette, I have a 11-34 on my 9 spd bike, and the ten speed has slightly closer jumps in shifts while at the same time having the larger 36, so a win win.
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Old 12-26-20, 12:01 PM
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I had a rim brake Fuji touring bike and liked it a lot. It's a real touring bike but not as extreme as a Surly LHT. The max tire size on the rim brake Fuji was 700x36, good enough, but not the biggest. I find bar end shifters to work great and these are probably more robust than STI "brifters". One question I would have is the use of quick release axles on a disc brake bike. Thru-axles are better, IMO. Also, hydraulic disc brakes are a big improvement over mechanical. An aluminum gravel bike with eyes for racks would include hydraulic brakes and thru-axles, this might be the best option.
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Old 12-26-20, 01:42 PM
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Originally Posted by Barrettscv
I had a rim brake Fuji touring bike and liked it a lot. It's a real touring bike but not as extreme as a Surly LHT. The max tire size on the rim brake Fuji was 700x36, good enough, but not the biggest. I find bar end shifters to work great and these are probably more robust than STI "brifters". One question I would have is the use of quick release axles on a disc brake bike. Thru-axles are better, IMO. Also, hydraulic disc brakes are a big improvement over mechanical. An aluminum gravel bike with eyes for racks would include hydraulic brakes and thru-axles, this might be the best option.
Those are fair points about the brakes and thru-axles. Admittedly since I have never had a bike with disc brakes, I would not have even thought about that.
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Old 12-26-20, 01:47 PM
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Originally Posted by crandress
Those are fair points about the brakes and thru-axles. Admittedly since I have never had a bike with disc brakes, I would not have even thought about that.
I have two drop handlebar road bikes with hydraulic disc brakes and thru-axles, these are 100% reliable.
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Old 12-26-20, 02:13 PM
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Originally Posted by crandress
Those are fair points about the brakes and thru-axles. Admittedly since I have never had a bike with disc brakes, I would not have even thought about that.
thru axles are good for disc, but hardly required. A QR disc bike can work for years to come.
hydraulic disc is certainly nicer than mechanical disc, but the mechanical disc thsts spec'd on the Fuji are good and will be no worse than cantilever brakes which have safely stopped countless tourer for countless miles for decades now.
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Old 12-26-20, 02:18 PM
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Originally Posted by crandress
I have been considering upgrading to a modern touring frame. ...
Upgrading from what? Did you tour on that or would you be new to touring? What kind of touring do you do, or plan to do?

By type of touring, what I am getting at is on pavement or will there be a significant gravel component? Loaded touring with camping gear or motels (credit card touring)? Long or short trips (days or weeks)? Etc.

I have bar end shifters on some bikes, brifters on others, that is personal preference.
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Old 12-26-20, 02:26 PM
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Originally Posted by Tourist in MSN
Upgrading from what? Did you tour on that or would you be new to touring? What kind of touring do you do, or plan to do?

By type of touring, what I am getting at is on pavement or will there be a significant gravel component? Loaded touring with camping gear or motels (credit card touring)? Long or short trips (days or weeks)? Etc.

I have bar end shifters on some bikes, brifters on others, that is personal preference.
I have a 1980 Mercian touring bike. I have never done, nor do I plan to do, loaded touring. Credit card touring or long rides. I just prefer the geometry of a touring frame and a steel frame, but want to upgrade to disc brakes and more modern components. 9-10 speed, brifters or bar ends. Except for my mountain bike, I only have used downtube shifters to this point. My newest bike is a 1992 Bridgestone MB-3 mountain bike. I have considered upgrading this, but would stay with the current canti brakes.
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Old 12-26-20, 03:25 PM
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Originally Posted by crandress
I have a 1980 Mercian touring bike. I have never done, nor do I plan to do, loaded touring. Credit card touring or long rides. I just prefer the geometry of a touring frame and a steel frame, but want to upgrade to disc brakes and more modern components. 9-10 speed, brifters or bar ends. Except for my mountain bike, I only have used downtube shifters to this point. My newest bike is a 1992 Bridgestone MB-3 mountain bike. I have considered upgrading this, but would stay with the current canti brakes.
Long rides and credit card touring can be done on most any bike. Touring bikes are designed to be more comfortable for long distances day after day, which is a big plus. But randonneuring bikes also are intended for long comfortable rides with minimal weight, so that is an option too.

I would stay away from the more heavy duty of the touring bikes. The more heavy duty bikes will be heavier and probably a stiffer ride than you would want.

And the heavy duty touring bikes likely would have very low gearing that you might use if you had it, but those lower gears might not be that important to you if you are not carrying really heavy loads. You might be able to get by with a compact double instead of a triple.

If any of your long rides might have a good chance of rain, consider a bike with room for fenders.

Going from downtube friction shifters, you are going to really love indexted shifters.

The narrowest tires I tour on (with camping gear) are 35 or 37mm tires. But for long rides and occasional credit card touring, I might consider 32mm tires too.

I have never ridden the Fuji, but I do not think of it as a really heavy duty touring bike, so I would keep that under consideration. Great price.
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Old 12-27-20, 01:36 AM
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I agree with what Djb said about the Fuji Touring Disc's components, and I use to recommend this bicycle. My recommendations stopped when I realized that there is a scam going with manufacturers enticing people with inexpensive bicycles. They put disc brakes on a bicycle that cheaply still uses QR-skewers. All the problems you read and hear about disc brakes are rooted in their use with the skewers. Thru-axle is the only way to get the care-free use out of disc brakes that newbies are expecting from them. I have one bicycle with disc brakes and feel lucky that it's also got thru-axles. The next time I wanted a new bicycle, I ended up with a model that has V-brakes, as those are dependable and none of the disc brake bicycles/frames/forks in that genre (folding bicycles) are thru-axle.
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Old 12-27-20, 03:54 AM
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I have no idea why my quick release rear wheel on a disc brake bike is supposed to not work without being a through axle. The quick release system has worked faultlessly for the 3.5 years I have ridden it.

I am aware that some people complain that their brake is not adjusted right after they change a wheel but that has never happened to me. I have two different rear wheels for that bike with different tires (one more tread for gravel, one nearly slick for pavement), when I switch from one to the other, never have a problem with the disc brake lining up at all.

Why am I not having all these problems that people complain about?
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Old 12-27-20, 08:13 AM
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Tourist, I actually get the whole thru axel thing. I did have problems but because my calipers weren't well aligned, and it took me a while to figure that out.
So while I have no problems now, folks who don't do any mechanical stuff could have issues. Once set up properly though, qr stuff is fine, but certainly more finicky than rim brake wheel sticking in, where it's easy to see and align the wheel.
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Old 12-27-20, 08:47 AM
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Originally Posted by crandress
Those are fair points about the brakes and thru-axles. Admittedly since I have never had a bike with disc brakes, I would not have even thought about that.
thru axle helps but QR does work fine for disc and cable discs will, as someone else mentioned, stop at least as good as old cantis, in my experience they stop better especially if it gets wet. My tourer is thru-axle and cable disc, mine I use for medium duty touring I guess it would be called. I camp and have assorted heavy bags but not front and rear panniers so not heavy duty and cable discs stop me well. Hydraulic do stop better without a doubt, and my MTB's brakes haven't had to be bled in 4 years and have been trouble free but I like the idea of cable while on tour.

Originally Posted by crandress
I have a 1980 Mercian touring bike. I have never done, nor do I plan to do, loaded touring. Credit card touring or long rides. I just prefer the geometry of a touring frame and a steel frame, but want to upgrade to disc brakes and more modern components. 9-10 speed, brifters or bar ends. Except for my mountain bike, I only have used downtube shifters to this point. My newest bike is a 1992 Bridgestone MB-3 mountain bike. I have considered upgrading this, but would stay with the current canti brakes.
If it is CC touring I would also point you towards a gravel build. Kona has had some nice steel framed gravel options. Don't know if they still make the wheelhouse but that was 853 and a laid back geometry. Plenty of brands will have a 4130, 631 or nicer steel in a gravel bike, if will be faster then the fuji or a similar tourer but in some ways more comfortable and fairly relaxed.
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Old 12-27-20, 08:57 AM
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Originally Posted by djb
Tourist, I actually get the whole thru axel thing. I did have problems but because my calipers weren't well aligned, and it took me a while to figure that out.
So while I have no problems now, folks who don't do any mechanical stuff could have issues. Once set up properly though, qr stuff is fine, but certainly more finicky than rim brake wheel sticking in, where it's easy to see and align the wheel.
Thanks, that helps explain some of it.

I suspect that not all dropouts are built with precision, ones that are a bit sloppy might make it too easy for people to not get the wheel in solidly. I can see where some people might have a tendency to just shove things together and clamp it without seating it in properly. But I have been using rim brakes for decades, so I know that you have to seat the axles into the dropout properly if you want your brakes to stay in alignment. So, when I get my bike put together, I usually open the quick release, push down on the rear rack (or in front, the stem) to make sure the axle is well seated into the dropouts and close the quick release lever.

And, my only disk bike has the brake on the chainstay, so braking force would tend to just seat the axle into the dropout more firmly instead of pushing it to the side. But I think these days almost all touring bikes put the brake on the chainstay to make rack mounting less troublesome.
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Old 12-27-20, 09:20 AM
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Thanks for all the comments so far. I asked about this one because of the price point and the fact that it had a 10 speed Deore setup. But I am considering the 520, which is also quick release I believe, as well as the LHT (through axle). @Russ Roth another one that popped up is the Kona Sutra. It is priced between the 520/LHT and the Fuji, but also has the a Deore 10 speed drivetrain and I believe through axle hubs, though I have never heard of Formula hubs. It may be a happy medium.

I am open to other suggestions, below $1,700. I will be doing both pavement and gravel. There is a nice path here that is mostly gravel and there are lots of gravel roads away from the city.
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Old 12-27-20, 11:29 AM
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Formula hubs are a slight mixed bag. I've found if you take the time to make sure the cones are properly adjusted and tightened to the lock nuts they'll last a long time, probably about alivio maybe deore level. Don't make sure and in my experience they'll go too loose or tight and damage kinda quickly. All the brands usethem and they can be dependable.
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Old 12-27-20, 01:26 PM
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Originally Posted by Tourist in MSN
Thanks, that helps explain some of it.

I suspect that not all dropouts are built with precision, ones that are a bit sloppy might make it too easy for people to not get the wheel in solidly. I can see where some people might have a tendency to just shove things together and clamp it without seating it in properly. But I have been using rim brakes for decades, so I know that you have to seat the axles into the dropout properly if you want your brakes to stay in alignment. So, when I get my bike put together, I usually open the quick release, push down on the rear rack (or in front, the stem) to make sure the axle is well seated into the dropouts and close the quick release lever.

And, my only disk bike has the brake on the chainstay, so braking force would tend to just seat the axle into the dropout more firmly instead of pushing it to the side. But I think these days almost all touring bikes put the brake on the chainstay to make rack mounting less troublesome.
well there were two factors in my case
-the rear caliper adapter had been mounted the wrong way, I bought the bike used, didn't know, and complicated proper caliper position and easily accessing the bolts to align the caliper properly
-i waa a doofus and hadn't properly learned about aligning the calipers.
once I finally took the time and practiced aligning etc, things were less finicky. I still find it does take good eyesight to make the teeny adjustment sometimes to make sure rotor is well aligned, and to eyeball pad adjustments on both side.
gotta get the reading glasses on

basically I've done most of the mistakes that one can make, but learned finally from them. I think it's fair to say that non mechanically interested folks would find it overly challenging. But I'm glad to be sort of proficient and autonomous now.
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Old 12-27-20, 01:29 PM
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Originally Posted by crandress
Thanks for all the comments so far. I asked about this one because of the price point and the fact that it had a 10 speed Deore setup. But I am considering the 520, which is also quick release I believe, as well as the LHT (through axle). @Russ Roth another one that popped up is the Kona Sutra. It is priced between the 520/LHT and the Fuji, but also has the a Deore 10 speed drivetrain and I believe through axle hubs, though I have never heard of Formula hubs. It may be a happy medium.

I am open to other suggestions, below $1,700. I will be doing both pavement and gravel. There is a nice path here that is mostly gravel and there are lots of gravel roads away from the city.
I echo the suggestion to look at lighter "gravel" bikes, there may be some that appeal price wise. For sure the lower gearing of a touring bike is nice all around.
good luck researching options
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Old 12-27-20, 02:10 PM
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Originally Posted by djb
...
once I finally took the time and practiced aligning etc, things were less finicky. I still find it does take good eyesight to make the teeny adjustment sometimes to make sure rotor is well aligned, and to eyeball pad adjustments on both side.
gotta get the reading glasses on
....
I built up my Lynskey in spring 2017, never used disc before. Everybody was telling me that for touring I needed a BB7 because that was what touring bikes all had at that time. But, I liked the concept of the TRP Spyre pushing both pads inwards by the same amount a lot more than the concept of one pad moving, one pad stationary and flexing the rotor. So bought the Spyre. I find it is amazingly easy to adjust it. But, I worked as a bike mechanic before I got my engineering degree. And I did all my own maintenance on my assorted Triumph motorcycles, so I probably had a better idea than most amateurs on how to set up a new disc brake.

And, I did something most unusual, I read the instructions. That is where I learned that I should use compressionless brake housing, which I did.

I bought a used wheel as a second wheel for that bike. And the two discs are slightly different in thickness, so I have to adjust cable tension slightly when I swap wheels, but I find it is amazingly simply to eyeball the gap between each pad and rotor to make sure that both gaps are about equal. And yes, reading glasses help. When I do that indoors I shine a flashlight on the floor so when I sight the gap, the gap is easier to see with brighter floor past the gap.
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Old 12-27-20, 02:19 PM
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Ya, the spryes have a good reputation. Ive only worked on bb7s so really only know them.

your surprising comment was funny, yes it generally helps doesn't it? Both reading and compressionless.

overall I'm really impressed with discs, especially with how long pad life has been all in all.
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Old 12-27-20, 03:08 PM
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Disc brakes without thru-axles are disappointment that lasts for the life of the bicycle. It's better to keep using V-brakes until you find a disc brake bicycle that is thru-axle. That issue plus the aluminum fork, keeps me from recommending the Trek 520. I'd rather have the V-brake version of the Fuji Touring. As long as it can fit 38mm tires w/fenders, you'd have lots of possibilities with it. Unfortunately the V-brake version may be discontinued, now. Read the rest of my post for disc brake options.

The Kona Sutra is great for gravel roads but is a relatively heavy frame/fork and the 23mm-interior-width rims that it comes with may be too wide to fit anything narrower than 35mm tires (if even that), so no experimenting with faster tires on the stock rims. I'm considering a new pair of wheels for mine, with 19mm-i.w. rims which then will give me a tire range of 28mm-50mm. So that's what I would change about the Kona Sutra. Otherwise I'm pretty happy with it (with a minor issue being that the rear rack mounts are wider than normal - must bend the rack stays to fit many rear racks - but that's not a big deal). The rear rack that the Sutra comes with is crap. Replace it with anything that people hear would recommend. I replaced mine with a Salsa Wanderlust HD.

The REI Coop ADV 1.1 has thru-axle and is built a little lighter than the Sutra. Downside is that it too comes with the wide rims. It's specced with hydraulic disc. Personally, I'd rather have mechanical disc. Nothing is un-upgradable though so, this is the bicycle that I recommend. Maybe there are thru-axle bicycles out there with the 19mm rims. Those are what I would compare the ADV 1.1 with and then decide.
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Old 12-27-20, 04:28 PM
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Originally Posted by Tourist in MSN
And, I did something most unusual, I read the instructions.
And to think that I once so respected your engineering/touring prowess (now shaking one's head with remorse)
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Old 12-27-20, 06:10 PM
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Another reason I want a sturdy touring frame is I am quite heavy, so think solid and sturdy is good too for my weight. Want to make sure I have 36 spokes whatever I get. Not worried about having wider tires at all. I have options with thinner tires if I want it, just not with newer technology.
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Old 12-27-20, 06:48 PM
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FWIW, my MTB has discs with QR skewers. I have been using it for years and have not had the slightest issue with the skewer setup.

I generally consider the brifters a plus, but have no experience with cable operated discs. I don't see why it shouldn't be a good combination, I just have not used that setup (cable operated discs with brifters).
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Old 12-27-20, 08:43 PM
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Originally Posted by crandress
Another reason I want a sturdy touring frame is I am quite heavy, so think solid and sturdy is good too for my weight. Want to make sure I have 36 spokes whatever I get. Not worried about having wider tires at all. I have options with thinner tires if I want it, just not with newer technology.
being a heavier rider, a good solid frame made for a touring load sounds like a very good idea, as with the wheelset.

Last edited by djb; 12-28-20 at 04:20 AM.
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