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Review: Fuji Jari adventures from road to single track and everywhere between…

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The only nice thing I can say about this past winter has been the swing in seasons. There hasn’t been a day that has kept me from getting out on some version of our favorite 2-wheeled machines. When trails are good there’s mountains to be tamed, and when trails are bad there are roads to be fought. When both are fair is when adventure rigs such as the Fuji Jari become an easy choice. The Jari is designed as a gravel/adventure bike, but in lieu of proper gravel itself it was always happy for the short singletracks around town.  Thanks to the wide ranging capabilities the Jari offers, there never was a need to load up and drive around to trail heads. Though it’s not the most efficient road bike, it provides a comfortable base on and off road. Get the full build and review past the break…

Out of the Box

Of the four Fuji Jari editions, we received the top-end 1.1 build, which comes stock with a 1 x 11 Sram Force drivetrain and hydraulic disc brakes. The gear ratio seemed a bit strange at 42 x 10-42 which is seen when the rear derailleur reaches for the 42 out back. Crosschained onto the big cog, it initially caused a little noise but did improve over time. The cassette is mounted on an XD driver, which may restrict some from swapping wheels/cassettes. Fuji went with the Quarq Prime crankset which also seemed an odd choice (suggesting gravel riders who will want to upgrade to the add-on power meter option through their local bike shop). But compared to its Force counterpart there’s little difference… minus the branding.

One of the ride characteristics that every bike needs to address is how much vibration damping is provided. This is no full suspension rig, but the way it handles bumps, rocks, you name it, it did manage to impress me every time I hopped on.

The carbon fork and curved seatstays do well deflecting some of the smaller bumps, but I know better than to credit the performance to the frame alone. I feel like the 700 x 36mm Clement X’Plor MSO tires were an excellent choice by Fuji. They do a good job blending performance in both the dirt and pavement. I kept the tire pressure pretty high around 60psi regardless of the terrain, but depending on conditions they can range from 40-70 psi. That rubber rolls on a Stan’s NoTubes Grail Team wheelset with thru-axles & 100/142 spacing.

The cockpit is full Oval Concepts from bar to seat, which in alloy guise I’m sure helps in the pricing department. Though they’re not what some would consider a premium brand, they get the job done. Coming from more of an either/or road or mountain background, I found the flared drops a bit strange and took me time to get used to. Getting low doesn’t necessarily seem like it makes the rider any more aero, but on the dirt it does keep the forearms from rubbing and allows for easier handling.

The monocoque carbon fork is built with a 12mm thru-axle, flat-mount brake surface, tapered steerer, and includes fender mount tabs for the bottom bolts (right photo). The brake rotors are 160 mm providing more than enough stopping power (although the fork can work with 140s.)

Look back under the toptube up there and you’ll see the frame’s ‘portage pad’ a concession for shouldering the bike. It wasn’t so much padding as it was grip. More on that below.

The cable & brake lines are kept mostly clean with internal routing. I say mostly because the rear derailleur cable and rear brake line get kicked out at the bottom bracket. It would been nice to hide the cable in the chainstay, but ultimately the current setup reduces headaches when installing a new cable. As you can see there is an extra port on the right if additional cables are added, for a double setup for example.

It weighs in at under 20 lbs at 19.66lb/8.92kg (size 58) out of the box without pedals, cages, lights, and any other accessories such as mud that you will choose to add.

Out on the Trail

Having the ability to go on an adventure out the back door was something I thought I had already experienced. There’s the choice between spending the day on roads or on the trails. The Jari wasn’t my first adventure bike ride, but it was my first opportunity to experience this adventure lifestyle for the real long-term.

 

As I mentioned earlier, the Jari proved to be a smooth and comfortable complete bike. A benefit of being smooth is control and confidence. It’s off-road abilities such as traction and handling reminded me of a cross bike minus the speed and aggressive position. The portage pad on the underside of the top tube isn’t what I’d consider a pad, it’s more like a rubber grip. Anything is better than frame on bone contact though. They use the same material on the chainstay’s slap guard. The rubber itself has been durable enough, but the adhesive used hasn’t created a great bond between guard/pad and frame; something that doesn’t look like it will last the life of the frame. The cockpit setup feels tailored to the trail/gravel side of things, with an upright position even with the stem slammed and buried.  The flared offset drop bars, again, work well by offering some room for the arms to move while on the dirt leading to better maneuverability compared to a standard dropbar. Also, there’s more leverage over rooted climbs due to their wide stance. The Jari’s overall wheelbase allowed plenty of toe clearance through tight obstacles and turns.

Back on the Road

I know the Jari isn’t designed to be a super road-friendly bike in this setup, but half of the adventure is getting to where the off-road starts. Speed is easily one of the top three most important things to me. I can’t knock the Jari on that front too much because honestly the bike isn’t designed for speed. Yes, it handles dirt and road well enough, but the Jari’s real goal is to keep you on the bike for that extra mile. It’s not just the geometry and wide tires that lead to its sluggish road performance. Back to the cockpit, the flared drops instantly foil any attempt to get into an efficient aero tuck. The best alternative I could find was to grip the hoods and limbo forward as low as I could go. Naturally the wider tires and alloy wheels add a bit of rotational weight which also hinders acceleration, but the momentum created helps on rolling hills.

Being able to roll over gravel and other road debris turned out to be its biggest advantage on pavement. It’s nice knowing that when you hit a patch of gravel your wheel won’t ricochet around like a cartoon bullet. I still wouldn’t recommend sending it 110% into a gravel corner, but it did inspire plenty of confidence when things got dicey at speed.

In the end, the Jari proved to be a good means of slowing down, and enjoying everything that is presented. Whether it was a small loop on the side of a road, or a full on single track MTB trail, the Jari took it in stride and turned a commute to a trail into a comfortable all day ride.

FujiBikes.com

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18 Comments
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TomM
TomM
7 years ago

What is the tire clearance? (I notice that your reviews of gravel and CX bikes too often omits this very important piece.)

Victor U.
Victor U.
7 years ago
Reply to  TomM

My calipers say there is exactly 54mm at the widest point between chainstays, which is where a big 650b tire would fit. Chainstays narrow down closer to the bottom bracket, so they will limit 700c tires to 42-45c, depending on rim width. Kenda Small Block Eight 650b x 2.1 tire does not fit – the side knobs rub chainstays. Something like Compass Switchback 650B x 48 or WTB Horizon 650B x 47 would fit, although there will be little space left for mud. WTB Nano 700 x 40c fits with plenty of room to spare.

Jason
Jason
7 years ago

My sense is there is a trend to go 1x at all costs. 1x certainly has its place, but this type of bike seems like it would be better served with a 2x setup designed for the nature of the riding (if one was available). Say, a 44/30? 42/28? That would eliminate the need for a huge cassette cog and an XD driver. Given the surge in gravel/adventure bikes, seems like someone should be making a groupset targeted at this genre. Maybe they do and I’m not aware…

Dolan Halbrook
7 years ago
Reply to  Jason

@Jason, I feel like a standard CX double (48/36) and a 11-32 or 11-34 would cover the vast majority of the “adventure” category well. If you really needed the low gear you could throw on an 11-36. My Norco Search is speced a little higher (road compact double (50/34) front w/ an 11-32 in back) and I’ve rarely felt a need for anything lower.

Jason
Jason
7 years ago
Reply to  Dolan Halbrook

You’re probably right…which I suppose is why such a combo doesn’t exist. My thinking is biased toward the long steep climbs in my area (coupled with my lack of power!).

boo
boo
7 years ago
Reply to  Dolan Halbrook

46/36 is std and lacking for gravel imo. 48/36 is actually nice. 48/34 would be ideal. all with 11/32 ish in the back

Dolan Halbrook
7 years ago
Reply to  boo

Yes, my bad. You’re right, CX standard is 46/36.

Looks like you could just rip the granny off this triple 😉
http://www.niagaracycle.com/categories/shimano-deore-fc-m590-crankset-175-x-48-36-26

Michael Gushulak
Michael Gushulak
7 years ago
Reply to  Jason

I agree to an extent. The 1x setup is nice for what we were using it for (single track). It’s easy to maintain and I’m sure it dropped the weight a bit. The massive 42 on the back was a bit overkill for me though. It could be justified if you were hauling large bike packing loads, but for the majority of people this probably isn’t the case. In my opinion the Force groupset was the appropriate call for this bike

Dinger
Dinger
7 years ago

XD-type 1x only saves weight with the really expensive cassette. If you have the economical cassette, it winds up being heavier, overall. I prefer 2x for a versatile bike like this because it’s the type of bike you ride for hours at a time and the big gear jumps (even an 11-36 bothers me, I always feel like I can’t find the comfortable gear) become more annoying the longer the ride gets, in my opinion.

Victor U.
Victor U.
7 years ago
Reply to  Jason

Sugino OX601D can do either combination, and the crank has been around for years. The crank takes a 110bcd outer chainring and 74 bcd inner chainring. It can be had for about $200 new, if you’re patient and willing to look around. For those who don’t mind wider pedal stance, there are mountain doubles in 42/28 combo.

Dinger
Dinger
7 years ago
Reply to  Victor U.

This is merely a road triple crank. The question I have is if the crank’s tooling have adjusted the ring’s position for correct chain line. FSA now has several options for these alternative chainring combinations.

Victor U.
Victor U.
7 years ago
Reply to  Dinger

OX601D is a proper road double with double crank’s chainline and low q factor. You can’t mount a third ring on it.

Francesco
Francesco
7 years ago
Reply to  Jason

FSA makes a few ‘sub-compact’ sets. In fact, the jari 1.7 comes with Tiagra and a FSA 46/30T crankset x 11-34 cassette.
This is imho a great setup for gravel/bikepacking. At least for weaklings like me.

woo49
woo49
7 years ago

I haven’t measured it, but I’ve got Compass Snoqualmie Pass 700×44’s on my own Jari, and there’s a lot of room left.

someguy
someguy
7 years ago

Fuji’s site says 700×42 or 650×2.0… Man the Jari 1.5 is almost exactly what I’ve ever wanted in a bike.

chuckster
chuckster
7 years ago

Having done the 50/34 x 11/32 combo on this sort of a bike it’s hard to imagine anything else that is more perfect if you want insane versatility unless you want the really sub-compact chainring setup. It’s getting hard to justify using the road bike over the cross bike nowadays since depending on tire choice you’ve got a fast road bike, and when you hit a trailhead you can drop the pressure a bit and cruise the lower-tech smoother single track.

Hoshie99
Hoshie99
7 years ago

I agree with the gearing sentiments. I converted my cross bike for long gravel / endurance events and now have a Sram wifli rear der, Shimano XT 11-34 cassette, and 46 / 34 rings upfront – it’s pretty good for all around use, especially for longer days with extended climbs and lots of offroad. I found a 28 year cassette a bit too small. I do give up a bit on road descents with the 46 upfront, but nothing too bad.

Michael
Michael
7 years ago

Says cables kick out at BB…is there routing for Di2 on the Jari?

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