Fuji Transonic 2.5 Disc Road Bike 2020

The Fuji Transonic is its 'newest speed flagship' and this 2.5 is the entry level to the disc-equipped lineup. Fuji is right, it is flipping fast and it handles well, but for the money it is a bit weighty and the frameset delivers quite a firm ride.

Ride

I made the mistake of checking out the weight of the Fuji before I rode it. Normally I avoid seeing the details as much as possible so my judgement won't be clouded, but this time I was actually glad that I had.

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In its standard guise the Fuji tips the scales at 9.2kg (20.3lb) which these days, let's be honest, is portly – but the Transonic doesn't feel anything like it out on the road. It's responsive and accelerates in a way it really shouldn't, and because of the way it goes about delivering your input you never feel short-changed.

Out on the flat it really excels. I went out for just a quick 90-minute spin for the first ride to test things out; a heavy training load meant I was feeling a bit tired and sore, but the sunny conditions were too tempting. The outcome was an average speed a good 2mph higher than it felt, and a fair few PBs on some local sections.

Handling-wise, things are pretty much spot on. The head tube length on this medium model is just 145mm, which sits you in a racy position from the outset, and when paired with a 72.7-degree head angle, the steering is reasonably quick but without being overly twitchy.

I could ride my favourite descents confident enough to just let the bike go at speed, and through the technical sections there was plenty of feedback to give you the nod to tweak your body position or touch the brakes to get the Fuji to respond.

It's definitely a frame that has been designed with a keen rider in mind, and the harder you push it, the more you are repaid.

The one sacrifice for all of this performance and stiffness is that the Transonic isn't the most forgiving when it comes to comfort. It's right on the edge of harsh on some road surfaces, and while not exactly uncomfortable, there are some frames out there that manage to offer loads of stiffness while delivering some smoothness to the ride, either through tube shape or carbon fibre layup.

On the whole, though, the Transonic is a performance-orientated bike and, as I've often said, I'll happily take a trade-off in comfort for all-out speed.

Frame and fork

The Supreme is Fuji's women-specific aero race bike and when Fuji was developing the current version it found that in the wind tunnel it was 3:23 minutes faster over 40km than the previous model; more importantly, it was 1:19 minutes faster than the aerodynamic Transonic model that was currently in production.

With this in mind, it was no surprise to see Fuji take design cues from the Supreme to create this brand-new Transonic model.

Like most aerodynamic products, the first designs of the frame and fork are created using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis to study airflow around the bike and tweak shapes and positions to make it as efficient as possible.

This has led to some interesting tube shapes, the most noticeable being the down tube. It has quite a boxy profile, but it narrows significantly at the mid-section, not something I have seen that often before.

It ends up so narrow in fact that Fuji has repositioned the water bottle cage bolts towards the bottom bracket, and you get two mounting positions thanks to the use of three bolts.

At the front end the head and down tube are recessed to mould with the fork crown, and the top of the head tube is also dropped lower to fully integrate the headset below the line of the top tube.

There are various kamm tail tube shapes, truncated aerofoils (where the trailing edge of the tube is flattened off) that are said to offer the aerodynamic performance of a full aerofoil but have less drag in sidewinds (yaw).

There are other design details too, like the integrated seatpost clamp and the dropped seatstays, all increasing the aerodynamic efficiency – in theory, at least.

The FC-440 full carbon fork also gets a small flap to shield the brake calliper, and a leverless thru-axle.

To deliver the required stiffness Fuji hasn't been shy in the amount of high-modulus carbon fibre it's used, resulting in the massive press-fit PF30 bottom bracket junction and chainstays that exit it. This all adds up to create that stiffness and power transfer I mentioned in the ride section above.

With the chainset running so close to the chainstay, Fuji has thoughtfully positioned a piece of alloy to protect the frame from chain suck and there is also a chain guide included as standard.

As with most carbon fibre frames these days, the Transonic has full internal cable and hose routing for a clean and tidy look. For further neatness, while the gear cables enter the top of the down tube… 

…the brake hoses disappear into the frame and fork via a special spacer beneath the stem and exit just before the callipers.

The overall quality of the frameset build, and the paint job, looks to be to a high standard, and it certainly feels like it when you ride it.

There are seven sizes in total which is a decent spread for a carbon fibre frame. They start at XXS and finish at XXL, with the medium here sitting bang in the middle.

Matched to that 145mm head tube and 72.7-degree head angle you are getting an effective top tube length of 552mm, a 540mm seat tube at a 74.2-degree angle, 410mm chainstays, and a total wheelbase of 989mm.

The stack measurement is 541mm with a reach of 392mm. There's a geometry table on the Fuji website for all the other sizes.

Groupset

For the majority of the drivetrain Fuji has gone for the ever-dependable Shimano 105 groupset, complete with hydraulic braking.

The main shift away from 105 is the Oval Concepts 300 semi-compact chainset, which uses Praxis 52/36t chainrings. Praxis also supplies the bottom bracket, converting the PF30 frame to suit the 24mm spindle of the chainset.

All the gearing components work well together, and the shifting across the chainset isn't really any different than if you were using a 105 version. If you are yet to ride 105 R7000 and want the full ins and outs of how it performs, then check out our review of it here.

The 105 cassette has a range of 11-30t sprockets, which suits the style of the bike, giving what I think is a decent spread at either end – unless you live somewhere really hilly.

For the braking, Fuji has gone for 160mm rotors front and rear which gives more than enough stopping power from even the fastest of speeds. There is the usual excellent modulation from the Shimano brakes, which allows you to apply plenty of pressure while feeling exactly what is happening between pad and rotor to avoid locking up the brakes.

Finishing kit

Oval Concepts also provides the stem, handlebar, seatpost and saddle.

The stem is an interesting one that keeps the aerodynamic theme going by hiding the two face clamping bolts at the rear of the faceplate. It can be a bit of a faff to set up when the bike is new, out of the box, but once done you probably won't need to touch it again.

The 790 Aero handlebar has flared tops, giving you plenty of room to rest your palms, and it is very stiff too. The drop is pretty shallow so it is a handlebar that most people will be able to make the most of.

The bar tape is nice and thick which takes out a lot of the frame vibration, so definitely gets a thumbs-up.

Those last two components are aluminium alloy but the Transonic seatpost is carbon fibre. It's an aero shape, so upgrading it will be nigh-on impossible, but there is no real reason why you should want to. The clamp design is easy to use and makes setting your saddle level a cinch.

I could take or leave the Oval Concepts 438 steel railed saddle, if I'm perfectly honest. I didn't find it uncomfortable as such, but nor did I really enjoy sitting on it; its shape just didn't suit me. The padding is quite firm, which I do like, but there is quite a lot of hull flex – though that does help absorb the rough road surface.

Wheels and tyres

The Transonic 2.5 uses Oval Concepts' 324 Disc wheelset and it's not a bad entry-level set of wheels. With a 24mm-deep rim there isn't a whole lot of aeroness going on to tie them into the frame and fork, but they'll do until you can go for a deep-section upgrade.

They have a 19mm internal rim width which works nicely with 25mm tyres and above, and they are tubeless-compatible as well; you'll just need a conversion kit of tape, valves and sealant to make the swap to tubeless tyres.

The front wheel has 24 spokes and the rear 28, and they feel like a pretty stiff and durable wheelset. I had no issues with trueness throughout the test period, and the cartridge bearings run smooth enough.

I like to see Centerlock disc compatibility too rather than a 6-bolt design, purely because it is easier to remove and refit discs, plus there are plenty of options out there.

> When should you replace your disc brake rotors?

Vittoria supplies the tyres, its Zaffiro Pros in a 25mm width. They are budget tyres that roll and grip okay but won't exactly set your world alight.

Like the wheels, they work fine as part of the build but the Transonic definitely deserves an upgrade to improve rolling resistance and grip in the corners.

Value

Value is one area where the Transonic 2.5 does struggle a bit, as there is some really tough opposition out there.

One of my favourite aero bikes on the market is the Orro Venturi as it excels when it comes to speed, handling and comfort. The STC (Spread Tow Carbon) version that I tested is available with a Shimano Ultegra R8000 hydraulic groupset, Fulcrum 400 DB wheels and Deda finishing kit for just £2,599.99. That's £300 cheaper than the Fuji.

> Buyer’s Guide: 15 of the best £2,000 to £3,000 road bikes

Orro has just released a cheaper Venturi Evo model which uses uni-directional carbon fibre rather than the spread tow; I haven't ridden it yet, but it looks an absolute bargain at just £2,099.99 for a Shimano 105 build.

Merida's aero option is the Reacto. A while ago I reviewed the Disc 4000 model which was very similar to the Fuji in some of its styling and it also suffered from quite a stiff ride. It came with a Shimano 105 hydraulic groupset, albeit with an FSA chainset, for exactly £2,000.

Conclusion

Overall, there is a lot to like about the Transonic 2.5. The frame is very good from a performance point of view, and although it isn't the most plush, I could live with it because of the speed on offer. The finishing kit isn't really up to the price point, though, especially when compared with some very good competitors.

Verdict

Aero bike that really delivers on performance, but you aren't getting a lot of kit for your money