fuji track classic or giant bowery

mkirby

Which would you get, there both the same price both can take back and front breaks and most importantly they are fixed wheel. The bowery has a freewheel too.

The bowery i can get from my LBS but the Fuji i will have to get from evans and they wont have stock till late december.

Im tempted to get the bowery as i can get the LBS to check the geometry and they are giant dealers which helps.

Is it a better bike or are they much the same at this price point?

pitchshifter

Fuji Is more aggressive and its fixed only. Doesnt come with brakes, legal requirement. Its also steel, heavy.

Giant is relaxed and comes with flip flop hub and brakes. Probably better for commuting.

Just my opinion.

il_principe

How about one of these: http://www.pearsoncycles.co.uk/store/product/193/Specialized-Langster-58-2010/ £359.

mkirby

pitchshifter wrote:

Fuji Is more aggressive and its fixed only. Doesnt come with brakes, legal requirement. Its also steel, heavy.

Giant is relaxed and comes with flip flop hub and brakes. Probably better for commuting.

Just my opinion.

Sorry i ment the fuji track classic which has the drillings for both brakes. Steel is good its bomb proof. Im not that fussed its only going to be used for short trips and maybe circuits.

mkirby

Il Principe wrote:

How about one of these: http://www.pearsoncycles.co.uk/store/product/193/Specialized-Langster-58-2010/ £359.

The geometry seems to look a bit odd to me, i'm not sure why. Looks like a nice bike though.

dhope

mkirby wrote:

Il Principe wrote:

How about one of these: http://www.pearsoncycles.co.uk/store/product/193/Specialized-Langster-58-2010/ £359.

The geometry seems to look a bit odd to me, i'm not sure why. Looks like a nice bike though.

It is a nice bike, it's my cheap and cheerful commuter

MrBlond

Not ridden the giant, but I love my Fuji.

In fact it's my second one having replaced the first one with a pompino (which I hated) for all of about a week

wgwarburton

pitchshifter wrote:

Fuji Is more aggressive and its fixed only. Doesnt come with brakes, legal requirement. Its also steel, heavy.

Giant is relaxed and comes with flip flop hub and brakes. Probably better for commuting.

Just my opinion.

Hmm, they are both "cheap" bikes. I have the impression that the Fuji is lighter than the Bowery but I'm basing that on second-hand info!!

Personally, I'd go with the sharper handling bike for commuting, I guess 'cos my commute is quite short and I tend to sprint it (usually muttering "must get out of the house earlier" under my breath... :-) ). Adding brakes is easy enough.

I think LiT has ridden both... Might be a useful person to ask!

Cheers,
W.

rjsterry

Where is LiT when you need her?

dhope

WGWarburton wrote:

I think LiT has ridden both... Might be a useful person to ask!

I think LiT still owns both and is in the process of trying to like the Fuji. Imagine the Bowery is a bit more cumbersome.

Alphabet

how about a charge plug from the 2010 range? They're currently cheap as chips on wiggle:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/charge-plug-2010/

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/charge-plug-racer-2010/

wgwarburton

Hi,
The weights are quoted (unreliably, on the internet) as around 20lbs for the Bowery and a bit over 16 for the Fuji. By the time you've added brakes (including levers + cables, remember :-) ) to the Fuji I think the difference would be pretty small, but probably slightly in its favour. That fits with my judgement from handling the bikes at rest and comments from others.

They are pretty different- the Bowery could be thought of as fairly utilitarian and practical whereas the Fuji is more sporty. The difference in perfomance would be quite small but the Bowery is probably more stable, better for panniers, mudguards etc whereas the Fuji would be quicker handling, more responsive.

If you're a 28mm tyre, panniers+mudguards sort of guy then the Bowery might suit you, whereas if you're a backpack/messenger bag, 23mm type, the Fuji might work out better.

Huge generalisations, don't read too much into them...

That fair, LiT?

Cheers,
W.

jonny_trousers

I don't know the Giant, but I do have a 2008 Fuji Track (albeit one that has two brakes and a carbon fork added) and I think it is a great little bike. I have a Pearson Touché also (now accident damaged), which is a much higher spec bike, but I'm not convinced it was ever as fun as the Fuj. Perhaps steel really is the answer.

I do think the Langsters are great value, but it's a shame you can't get the steel one with the carbon fork and road bike brake levers.

biondino

I think LiT was trying to sell her Bowery, which would fit someone in the 5'9-6' range I think.

lost_in_thought

Hahaha! I do indeed have both!

I don't like the fuji much, it's a horizontal top tube, where the Bowery is sloping. Unfortunately the bowery is also a size too big for me, were that not the case I think it would be far better for me than the fuji.

If you're long-backed, I'd go for the fuji - it's also a lot more aggressive.

If you're long-legged I'd go for the Bowery which is a far more comfortable bike, but still speedy.

The Bowery is somewhat heavier, but there's not that much in it that it's worth considering. Worth noting, however, is that the Bowery has drillings for both brakes, whereas the fuji only has drillings for a front brake, meaning that theoretically you can only ride the fuji fixed.

Note how I said 'theoretically'.

mkirby

Thanks LIT,

Will have a word with the LBS and see what they can do on the Bowery front. If its a 2010 model they can get i think i will go for that as i dont much like the look of next years model.

Thanks for all the advice.