We were big fans of the Fuji Norcom Straight throughout our long term review, so it should come as no surprise that we had some definite plans to check out Fuji’s new Transonic aero road bike while we were in Vegas. We also wanted to check out the 2015 updates to the Transonic, and Kestrel’s updates to the 4000 (based on Andy Potts’ input). Check out our gallery below for the latest.
Fuji Transonic SL
Fuji Norcom Straight
There aren’t many changes to the Norcom Straight for 2015. Fuji has changed up the paintjob on the 1.1 to this beautiful nude carbon design. They have also updated the bar end shifters to the single-button shifters we tend to prefer.
Fuji Transonic
We actually spent some significant time with the Transonic—three of the four days we were attending Interbike. We got our first look at the new frame during day one of outdoor demo and were able to see the thought the Fuji engineering team had put into it. On day two, our multisport editor, Tracy, spent some quality time with the Transonic 2.1 as we climbed the hills around Boulder City. And on day four we had the opportunity to talk with Fuji about the bike and see the Transonic SL in all of its showroom splendor.
While we enjoyed days one and four, day two’s ride was our favorite. The Transonic is very much a road bike with aero tendencies (vs a TT bike that can be ridden in the peloton). It’s stiff, transmits the power well, and is a confident descender. When climbing, Tracy found that the bike never fought her and flew over some of the easier climbs. While Tracy did not get a huge amount of time on the Transonic, she walked away wanting more – which is good since we should be getting one this fall.
The SL is a gorgeous machine. And when we were in the Fuji booth, we had trouble moving our eyes away from it, specifically the gold chain that coordinates with the red accents of the bike. Speaking of red, the SL is equipped with Red 22 and Oval Concepts 950 clinchers, making it a race-ready rocket—one that had quite a bit of success at this year’s tour.
Kestrel 4000
Fuji and Kestrel share the same parent company, which also made their combined booth at Interbike a great place to stop. For 2015, Kestrel has updated their 4000 based on feedback from Andy Potts. The Kestrel 4000 features new vertical dropouts that take some queues from the Norcom Straight by allowing 8mm of fore and aft adjustment. New rear stays are designed to fit all the commonly available deep-dish and disc wheels while preserving aerodynamics. Unfortunately we weren’t able to get a ton of great shots, but Kestrel sent us a few of their own to share.
Oval Concepts 950
Oval Concepts is also part of the family, which is why you tend to find Oval Concepts’ products on Fujis and Kestrels. The Oval Concepts 950 was on the wall, and we had to stop to get a few shots of the bar. With its bi-wing design, this is definitely one of the more unique bars we’ve seen on the market today.
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