2010/2011 Fuji SST 1.0


I’ve been on the Fuji SST 1.0 for almost a year now. It is spec’d with full Dura Ace with Dura Ace 50mm deep carbon clincher wheels and Pro Evo Stealth bars. This is by far the stiffest bike I’ve ever ridden. At 6ft and 190lbs this is a plus and definitely noticeable. From 2001 to 2008 I’ve been on Trek’s highest end Trek bikes and still managed to flex them enough to get the chain rings to rub on the derailleur and in one case was able to flex the frame enough to roll the rain off the big ring. I’m on my third Trek TTX frame due to stress cracks. My point is I can flex a good carbon frame. But I can not feel any flex at all with this frame. This combined with Shimano’s super stiff crank and chain rings improved the shifting in the front over my previous bikes. The stiff front end with an integrated head tube with a 1-1/2″ lower bearing makes it a confident descender. I think most of the stiffness comes from what Fuji calls the RIB tech brace in the down tube. The brace spans the diameter of the down tube. The downside to all this stiffness is the amount of road vibration that comes through the bike. This is probably the roughest bike I’ve ridden. If your looking for a smooth riding bike this is not it. The Fuji Altamira would be the bike your looking for however I will soon be testing the Stan's Hutchinson tubeless conversion kit on Shimano Dura Ace 50mm deep carbon clinchers. This should me the bike run a lot smoother. The internal cable routing was very easy to deal with. I used to absolutely hate installing cable in frames but this seems to be getting easier on more and more bikes. Between the internally routed cables on the bars and bike the front end looks nice and clean. Now about the fit. This is a very aggressive bike and the fit is no different. I normally ride a 58cm or 60cm Trek or Specialized. Now I ride a 56cm Fuji SST. The stand over is perfect. I remove 1 cm from the seat post and ride a low profile saddle. I do not recommend experimenting with saddle height with this bike because of the integrated seat post. However I was told that you can use a headset spacer inside the Ritchey clamp to bring the saddle height up a little if needed. The head tube is pretty short at 150mm for a size 56cm. Keep this in mind when you cut the steer tube.

UPDATE and Stan's Tubeless review: I just installed a Stan's tubeless kit with Hutchinson Fusion 3's on Shimano Dura Ace WH-7850-C50-CL wheels with 100 psi. I weigh 188 lbs so I chose to run a higher pressure than my wife who is at 110 lbs with 90 psi with the same tire setup. I've got to say tubeless or tubulars are a must which this bike. I love the power of this bike now I love the ride quality of it as well. I could tell after the first 40 meters this was going to be a great ride. I was correct it was such a great ride that I forgot about the rest of the group and rode off the front. I finally stopped and turned around to get the group after about 15 miles then pulled the remaining 15. I just could not hold back. I think a smoother ride will also help reduce muscle fatigue. My arms and hands felt a lot stronger and still had some grip left at the end of the ride. You would not believe how much energy it takes to just grip those bars and when the bike is riding rough you naturally grip the bar harder and in turn burn more energy and make the ride quality worse.



Simple Green "Bike Cleaner Degreaser"


If you have tried Simple Green and had poor results. It probably wasn't the bike cleaning solution. When I tune a bike or finish a wet ride I always clean the bike. This will make the chain and components last much longer and the bike easier to work on. Just be sure NOT to wash the grease out of vital points (hubs, headset, derailleur pulleys) unless you plan on repacking the bearings anyways. I have used this for years now and have great results. I use it so often I thought I would try and save a few bucks and go to my local Home Depot and buy it by the gallon. Bad decision! It did not work near as good as the bike cleaner degreaser. Forget the Dawn dish soap and give this one a shot.