Fuji Rakan 1.3 review

So the ebike shop I work at recently picked up Fuji bikes. I remember Fuji from the 80's as a solid road bike. I looked at their wares online and decided if the price was right I'd try one, or rather get one for my wife to try. It's 15 years newer than the Turner RFX she's riding so it doesn't matter if it rocks by modern standards or not, it's probably going to out perform the Turner. I'm not bashing the Turner, it was a sweet ride in it's day and is still pretty nice but, progress...

I watched the only review I could find online. 3 guys on a couch who looked rad so it stands they must know what they're talking about. They rode the 1.1 and mentioned one of the things I noticed when looking at the specs, the spec of the 1.3 is possibly nicer (defiantly a nicer colour). They mentioned it was a bit heavy but they almost raved about the way it rode.

Fast forward a week. I had a coworker drop off the box of bike at my house and about an hour later I was sitting on a bike without pedals. I remembered I had a set of flats I bought a couple years prior and never used so I threw them on. I made a couple laps of the yard and up the street about 50 yards, just enough to test the brakes and make sure it didn't collapse under me. My wife was at the lake 300km away so I leaned it in the corner and looked at it for 3 days. I wanted to ride it but figured I should let her have the first ride (I go the first scratch unloading it from the truck)

She rode it. She liked it.

I rode it. Heavy? I don't know, it's only a pound more than my Giant Reign 2, so not super light but reasonable at about 32lb. Her bike is a 17" and it came with a 150mm travel KS LEV E30i dropper. The post doesn't go all the way into the seat tube, there is just over 2" of post showing above the seat clamp. When she hits the lever it goes too high for her so she has to fiddle with it to get the height she wants. It would be better if it had a 125mm travel post so the top was the right height, the 15" frame comes with such a seatpost. The dropper is sticky, maybe it just needs to be used a bit. I'm 6'1" with a 34" inseam and was able to ride her 17" frame with the dropper at the max extension line so I think a 125mm post is all that is needed on that size frame.

The ride. It rode nice. The fork (Fox 34 FLOAT Rhythm GRIP, 2-position, tapered alloy steerer, Boost 110x15mm, 130mm) was buttery smooth like a new fork should be, the 120mm rear suspension (Fox Float EVOL Performance) smoothed out the baby head strewn approach to the trail. It climbed well, I made it up a section that stopped me the day before on my Reign. My wife noted, and I concurr, it needs a smaller chainring. Where on my Reign I was spinning my cranks easily the Rakan was a slower harder pedal. 32t chainring with a 46t cassette on 29" wheels does not make for a steep climber. An oval 28 will make my wife happy.

When I got to the top and tuned it downhill it flew. It felt faster than my Reign (strava confirmed). A bit of mild chunder was gobbled up put behind me so smooth. Heavy braking emergency maneuvers worked out for me. It might have been a little more sluggish in the twisty bits than my reign but that was probably because I was going faster. I was on a trail I was not all that familiar with so I ended up running in the shrubs, grass and sticks a couple times.

Brakes, TRP 4 piston brakes work. What else can I say? When you need them, they're there for you.

Spec's here: https://www.fujibikes.com/usa/bikes/...n/rakan-29-1-3
3 dudes on a couch review:
https://youtu.be/m3avoidQG0M

We had a Fuji Auric when I was running the first TGR bike test back in 2016. Looked a little goofy but DAMN that thing felt like a limo bombing Big Sky. So damn plush and smooth, I was really blown away. The new frame design looks much cooler (read: looks more like a Transition) so I'm sure they'll get more folks on their bikes. The Rakan looks fun!

If the Auric came in a 29er I'd buy one.