Its meatier components lend themselves more to the descents than the climbs. Our test bike excelled in a variety of climbing situations, but it’s important to keep in mind the Fuse is no cross-country race rocket. The lack of moving parts or suspension bob allows riders to focus purely on charging up the trails. DOWN AND DIRTYĬlimbing on this hardtail is no-nonsense.Ĭlimbing: The beauty of hardtail bikes, no matter what category they might fall into, is their simplicity while climbing. From then on, it was just personal preferences-from saddle position to dialing in our cockpit. We adjusted our fork to 20-percent sag and made minor tweaks to our rebound to find the best setting for our weight and riding style. A 44mm offset fork was used to improve handling characteristics, and SRAM Level brakes were added to keep this steed under control.Įase of setup makes the Fuse such a fun bike to ride. An oversized TranzX dropper post was added with 120mm of travel on medium frames and 150mm on large and extra-large frames. The bike features SRAM’s NX drivetrain, keeping cost at a reasonable amount while offering a wide-range, 12-speed cassette. Everything on the Fuse is trail-ready-from its short 45mm stem and wide 780mm bars to its burly 2.6-inch-wide tires and 130mm-travel RockShox 35 Gold RL fork. The geometry might be the heart of the Fuse, but its components scream confidence when it’s time to push things to the limit. Continuing to follow industry trends, all Fuse models are now single-chainring-specific. Boost hub spacing allows for tire clearance up to 29×2.6 inches or 27.5×2.8 inches. A threaded bottom bracket was added to keep up with industry demand, and internal routing was used to offer a clean finish. Specialized then added sliding dropouts to the Fuse, offering the ability to adjust chainstay length for a single-speed setup or for riders looking to snap the bike around with a lower-volume tire in the rear. Additionally, the seat-tube angle was steepened to aid in climbing performance. Both frames are constructed from M4 aluminum and feature an aggressive trail-ready geometry, meaning the head tube is now slacker, the standover height is nearly 52mm lower and the reach was lengthened by 20mm across all sizes. The Fuse 29 is offered in the Expert model seen here or a Comp model that retails for just $1675. The wrecking crew combined its cross-country talents with its heavy-hitter trail riders to search for the limits of this modern hardtail machine. Can you guess what those might be? Well, if you said long, slack and low, you’d be right. The new Fuse rolls on 29-inch wheels and features the newest trends in geometry. These mid-fat tires soon seemed to deflate in popularity, allowing us to settle for a happy medium-a 2.6-inch-wide tire size. First introduced in 2015, the Fuse was a playful hardtail with 27.5-inch, plus-sized tires. The all-new Fuse, however, falls near the middle, with a dash of modern trail-bike technologies mixed in. SRAM NX Eagle drivetrain gives you single-ring simplicity and gearing to spare.Specialized offers a host of hardtail bikes-from the XC-ready Epic hardtail to the BMX-like P.3 dirt jumper.Highlights include powerful SRAM Level TRL disc brakes and a TranzX dropper post.130-millimeters of plush suspension courtesy of a RockShox Recon RL fork.The steep seat angle makes quick work of steep climbs. The slack head angle lends confidence on sketchy descents. The long reach gives you even weight distribution. If you fail to nail the geometry, advanced materials and innovative designs still amount to nothing on the trail. And while this Fuse’s 29x2.6 tires give it a precise, nimble feel, the M4 aluminum frame is also compatible with 27.5+ wheels and tires. The low-slung top tube improves maneuverability. The wide-diameter down tube boosts stiffness. The Fuse Comp 29 punches way above its weight class thanks to a light-yet-burly M4 aluminum chassis, frame geometry that lends the bike both playfulness and capability, and parts that withstand a serious flogging.
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