Fuji really picked up their bicycle touring game about six years ago, offering a steel Fuji Touring with barend shifters, a wide-range crankset, a threadless headset, mini-v brakes and a solid rear rack. With its well thought out specification, the 2018 Fuji Touring is on my list of 8 favourite touring bikes.

We’ve been watching the retail price of the Fuji Touring drop over the last few years, all the way down to US $749 last year. This made it, without question, the best value touring bike available. Unfortunately, the too-good-to-be-true price looks to be over. The 2018 Fuji Touring is now US $999, a 33% increase in price – which for the exact same specification seems like a disproportionate increase.

But is there anything new that justifies the additional cost?

The 2018 Fuji Touring Bike

The frameset has been updated! The 2018 Fuji Touring is now available in seven sizes (adding in 52cm and 61cm frames), it has some new braze-ons mounts and an all-new steel fork. The spec sheet notes a 300g drop in weight which can only be attributed to this frameset update.

Let’s start with the fork. The crown and dropouts are now lugged. While not necessarily a performance enhancement, the fork offers a neat classic styling. On the fork legs are two braze-ons which can be used for a front lowrider rack, randonneur rack, fender mount or to install bikepacking cargo cages.

The frame itself is using a higher quality head tube which should shave a little weight (head tubes are heavy!). There are some small frame details elsewhere such as a pump peg up the front and a chain hanger near the rear dropout. Under the downtube is a third bidon cage mount for a fuel/water bottle or cargo cage.

In terms of specification, the only change has been a switch from Tektro to Shimano v-brakes. This change will go unnoticed by most but the Shimano brakes may have the edge in terms of braking performance. While v-brakes aren’t my first choice on a touring bike, they are the best brake option on a bike under US $1000.

Fuji is on the money with their drivetrain. Using 9-speed parts, they’ve managed to piece together a 21-119 gear inch range. This kind of range is suitable for a bike destined for both the mountains and the flat.

The 2018 Fuji Touring is available in two different colours: dark blue and black. This will be ideal for couples or friends because if you both arrive at the decision to get a Fuji, having identical bikes is optional! A different paint-job and bartape colour will do more than enough to differentiate bikes.

The 2018 Fuji Touring rolls on Vittoria Randonneur tyres. These highly puncture resistant tyres get amazing mileage, however, it’s worth noting they are notoriously slow rolling (ie. high resistance). If you’d like to greatly improve the performance of your touring bike, check out the specially-formulated Schwalbe Almotion touring tyres – they will make an unbelievable difference to your travelling speed. See the lab testing for both of these tyres HERE.

Want To Compare This Touring Bike With Dozens of Others?

Check out The Touring Bicycle Buyer’s Guide which compares touring bike steering, sizing, gear ratios, specification, pricing and more. This guide is updated annually with the latest models at no extra cost!

Helpful Resources

All About Touring Bike Brakes
Frame Materials for Bicycle Touring
How to Select Touring Bike Gearing
Understand Bicycle Frame Geometry
What’s the Difference between Cyclocross and Touring Bikes?

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