# Fuji Professional vs Trek & Others



## Savedsol (Sep 23, 2004)

This wil be my first road bike. Like every other first road bike buyer I was floored when a $1000 Specialized Allez and Giant OCR1 felt like turds. I then rode a Klein AuraV. Nice but not great at all. Then a 2004 Trek 5000 triple $1800. Awesome, love it. Lastly was a 2004 Fuji Professional $2199. By far the best. Ride was very Trek like but a maybe a little better and the Dura Ace was phenomenal. 

Problems: I've heard Fuji frames are just Taiwanese garbage. I've also heard Dura Ace is higher maintenance requiring frequent new chains and rear cassettes every year or two. Not a problem, I just want to go in knowing this. I'd also like to spend no more than $2K. 

My first priority is fitness (loooong rides and short rides). Get myself back in shape. 2nd is to do some charity rides and a quick third will probably be to get into racing. The Fuji is a carbon/alum frame the Trek is all carbon. If I buy the Trek, by the time I switch components to all Ultegra, different wheels will I have a superior bike to the Fuji? Also, the Trek is pretty dorky looking with the decals. Can a carbon bike be stripped and repainted or just clear coated? Or will this kill Treks warranty. 

Thanks in advance! 
(Please don't say steel, iron oxide is my enemy)


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## C-40 (Feb 4, 2004)

*apples and oranges...*

If you like the higher priced bike, maybe you should look around some more. The new DuraAce 10 is a far more valuable component group than the others you're considering. Seems silly to compare this group with now outdated 9 speed drivetrains, including a triple crank version.

I wouldn't worry about the DA 10 durability. There might be some substance to the chain life rumor, since the chain is 10% narrower. The key to long chain life is frequent wiping (every ride is wise) and frequent lubrication.

Fuji has a reasonable reputation for quality. Certainly not trash.

If you don't like the paint and decals on a bike, keep looking, It's not worth the time and effort to repaint a new frame and yes it would probably void the warranty.

Here's a comparable model at Colorado Cyclist:

http://www.coloradocyclist.com/comm...FNBR=273&CRPCGNBR=273&CI=1,223,273&TextMode=0


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## gogogomoveit (Nov 20, 2003)

*Fwiw...*

I just discussed this issue with my co-worker. I work in Performance and we are dealership of Fuji. Nothing against Fuji bikes, but we came to consensus that in order to keep cost low, you either have to put in a lot of generic components, or you throw in a relatively less quality frame. Fuji Professional with DA10 is on sale right now for 2100 ( originally 2300), while Trek 04 5200 is 2600 MSRP with Ultegra components. 

Trek undoubtedly has better frame, and it will definitely pay off in the longer run. Fuji is not that much different from Specialized and most other road bikes under 2000. They are mostly made in Taiwan. They are perfectly functional, and get the job done. But if you demand details, Trek will be better off.


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## Savedsol (Sep 23, 2004)

To be fair Fuji's site says the Professional is $2800.00. Performance in Naperville is where I was scoping this bad boy out. For 05 Fuji is making the Professional a full carbon frame for the same $2800. But is Trek possibly overcharging because of their name recognition and lifetime warranty? I would love a Trek Y-Foil but buying one sight unseen off of eBay or here is too scary. Kind of like any internet only bike. 

And forgive my ignorance but what is a "relatively less quality frame"? Sure it's not all carbon but it uses their top of the line alloy. Is it weaker than the Trek. 

Thanks again.


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## jhr (May 31, 2002)

*Fuji Pro*

Our team raced Fuji Professionals this year. It is an excellent value. Part of what you pay for when you buy a Trek is name recognition and the Lance factor. Nothing wrong with this but Trek's are just not that good a value if you ask me.

The Fuji Professional is light and stable. Mine and the other team members were well constructed and assembled (rear triangle straight etc.). The frame has racing geometry and will work as well as any other racing frame. Several pro teams ride this frame.

While overall I think the Fuji Pro is an excellent product, I did have a couple of gripes. First my Ritchey rear wheel went south pretty quick with a bad freehub. This is covered under warranty but is still a hassle (I don't think you can blame Fuji for this, as generally Ritchey products are first rate). The Fuji saddle is crap but you are going to put your own personal saddle on anyway since we all have personal preferences. Finally, the new 10 sp. Dura Ace cassette and chain do wear very fast. Most of the team went to Mavic (Wipperman manufacture) 10 sp. chains pretty quickly. This solved the chain issue. The 10 sp. cassette is all titanium and wears very fast (at $160+ that is an issue). We had lots of rain this year and everyones cassettes started turning orangish gold with a bizarre sort of oxidation. I do think the amount of rain the east coast got this year had a lot to do with reducing chain and cassette wear. Hopefully the Ultegra 10sp cassette will be steel and that will solve the problem.

On balance I would consider the bike and 8 on a scale to 10, that number jumps to a 10 when you consider the price of the bike .

Hope this helps.

jhr


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## Nate Haler (Jul 14, 2004)

*buy the Fuji Pro, and look at a frame change way down the road*

you'll get a LOT of bike for your money, and a component group with which to conceivably build your next bike if the Fuji frame is not to your liking or fails. (FYI, their frame warranty is lifetime...)

Given some of the frame deals available via various sources, presuming you're not too terribly odd-dimensioned, you'll have a good chance later to score a different frame (maybe all carbon, or Ti, or whatever you wish).

In the meantime, you'll be riding a superior machine for less money, IM-not-unbiased-O. (I have a Fuji Pro, 64cm, and glad they still make 'em that big...)


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## gogogomoveit (Nov 20, 2003)

*Dont get me wrong*



Savedsol said:


> To be fair Fuji's site says the Professional is $2800.00. Performance in Naperville is where I was scoping this bad boy out. For 05 Fuji is making the Professional a full carbon frame for the same $2800. But is Trek possibly overcharging because of their name recognition and lifetime warranty? I would love a Trek Y-Foil but buying one sight unseen off of eBay or here is too scary. Kind of like any internet only bike.
> 
> And forgive my ignorance but what is a "relatively less quality frame"? Sure it's not all carbon but it uses their top of the line alloy. Is it weaker than the Trek.
> 
> Thanks again.


By no means Fuji is less strong than Trek in practical terms. Unless we are putting the frames into a lab controlled testing, the ultimate strength of the frame does not make huge difference. Just like buying bars and stem : if you cant bend and break it, it is strong enough.

What I mean by "quality" is the amount of attention and finishing paid to the product. Sure Al frames are made through pretty much the same processes. However you can compare the finishing on the TCR alloy and a Fuji Marseille. Giant has all the welds smoothed and the frame finished with clear coat. In contrast, Fuji retained the chunky welds, and I can almost tear the decals out with my hands ( Savedsol, try feeling the decals on the top tube when u go to Performance next time). Beauty is all about the details, even though the Fujis are not super expensive, but I find these minor detail things doing huge deduction on my overall impression on the bike. Why are the European bikes so friggin expensive? Of course you pay the "elitist" tax, but for a huge portion of this tax you are paying to the details they put onto their product.


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## Slip Stream (Jul 19, 2002)

*Do not write off Taiwanese frames as garbage*



Savedsol said:


> Problems: I've heard Fuji frames are just Taiwanese garbage. )


Taiwanese frames are not garbage. Many bikes use frames that are of foreign origin. Specialized, Giant, Trek, Bianchi, and many others. The truth is Taiwan produces some of the best metallurgers in the world. China has been lobbing space age metals in the form of rockets and missiles at Taiwan since the birth of the PRC. It was not until the last decade that the US State Department gave China the technology to fire projectiles with near pinpoint accuracy. The isles of Taiwan is littered with the space age debris. Kids pick the stuff up, combine it in kilns and develop new alloys. National Geographic ran a piece on this phenomenon displaying a kid that made a set of flat ware out of 500 layers of unobtainium in the style of Damascus Steel! By the time they grew up they are the best of the best in metallurgy. 

Chinese frames? Yes many are garbage. Most Taiwanese frames are not.


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