My normal ride is a Nazca Fuego. Having now clocked up a few miles on a Furai 26 I thought it might be worth setting out a few observations and comparisons as it is something of a rare beast.
The Furai in question was bought (used) from David at Laidback. It is built with a pair of Mavic Crossride wheels, SRAM X9 rear mech and controls and an FSA Gossamer chainset, 30/39/53 utilising an Ultegra front changer. The brakes are hydraulic Avid Elixir. Tyres are 35mm Kojaks.
As supplied the bike came fitted with a medium SL seat but I found this too short for me. I contacted Challenge direct and eventually obtained a large CF seat and brackets. This has transformed the bike in several ways. There is not a whole lot of info out there so I fitted it utilising the same mounting points as the SL seat. As fitted the seat is perhaps 1 cm further forward and maybe 6 or 7 mm higher than the SL. I extended the (carbon) boom by one cm. Comfort is now excellent and the handling slightly improved - the steering feels eve more planted. Perhaps this is due to the slight shift in weight distribution?
Seat height is approx 57cm and BB height 70cm (unweighted). My X seam is approx 42.5”
My immediate impressions were of a bike that felt more stable and less ‘sensitive’ to steering inputs compared to the Fuego. As the Fuego is one of the most stable bikes out there this is probably due to being seated higher on the bike. There was, initially, a hint of what I thought was wheel flop. This disappeared within a few minutes and I suspect it might be a reaction to pedal inputs at low speed. Once I reached normal speeds steering was completely steady. Having adapted to the bike I am no longer conscious of this sensation.
The bike deals with coarse surfaces better than the Fuego. and seems to climb a little better. On the Fuego I always felt that coarse surfaces produced more rolling resistance than the big wheeled bikes I had owned. It was one of the reasons for going back to 26” wheels. The improvement climbing might be down to the Furai weighing 2kg less than the Fuego. On the flat the higher position allows better observation and on climbs it is able to go slightly slower before it begins to destabilise. Perhaps 1kph difference? I have not experienced any heel strikes with the front wheel.
Downhill the Fuego wins. The long shallow descent off one climb usually produces 55kph on the Fuego but only 52 on the Furai. My DF tourer never does better than the mid 40’s. The Fuego has a more spacious cockpit and is better when launching from a stop. Into the wind the Fuego feels slightly faster. There’s not much between them in those conditions I think. On good Tarmac and rolling roads there is little between them I think.
I have not had any issues with the idlers. The brakes are very good but I am not convinced they are any better than BB7’s. The Crossrides are nice but have a recommended minimum width tyre of 40 mm. I’m awaiting a pair of XT hubbed Mavic XC717 rimmed wheels which will take 28 mm Duranos. As well as shaving a few grams they should make the bike feel even more lively.
Overall I am very pleased with it. At the slow and medium speeds that comprise most of my mileage, big wheels seem to hold a clear advantage. This is a bike for travelling swiftly rather than an out and out speedster. And it does so whilst retaining its robustness and comfort. The stratospheric seat and BB heights I put up with on stick bikes and which ultimately put me off them are not an issue on the Furai. The aesthetics of the bike are, as with most Challenge machines, superb.
I’m left with the feeling that this is the version of the Furai that Challenge should market with the 24” as an alternative. After all even this version produces reasonable seat heights and it uses stuff that any LBS will have.
