I’m looking for a commuter for London, looking out for people who have ridden these bikes to what advice they can give on the ride?

I can see the plug and pompino will ride similarly due to sloped top tubes and relaxed geo whereas the Fuji looks a little more like full on track geo.. I’m attracted to the Fuji because of the unbeatable price but dont wanna end up with something that breaks my back.

I want to be able to look forward to getting on the bike in the morning without it being slow and sluggish.

Not bothered about the lack of mudguard mounts on the plug as I can just use MTB ones.

Would also consider genesis flyer if anyone has experience with this.

Thanks

I have a Plug, was perfect for the commute and eventually got me into road riding proper.

Quiet heavy though, shouldn’t be a problem unless you have a bunch of hills to wrestle it up.

How do you find the bullhorn handlebars? Heard a lot of good stuff about the plug one which you can’t go wrong with by the sounds of it.

Anyone used the Fuji??

Loved my old Fuji (red/white frame). Quite stiff though.

I really liked the bull horns, I have drops on it now as it’s essentially a bad weather fixed road bike.

If I ever commute again I’ll almost certainly put the bull horns back on.

I ran them with a Cane Creek TT lever in the end, worked really well.

I had (still have) a Fuji track frame. Fine for what it does, but for commuting it’s just too stiff. Unless you want to get to know every imperfection in the road surface in an intimate and detailed fashion, get something a bit gentler. I used to wake up just dreading a particular set of unavoidable pot-holes….

I’ve now switched to a Surly Cross Check, which is a bit springier and nicer/comfier to ride, especially over any kind of distance, and is also noticeably faster.

Here you go…

I’ve got a Pompino and a steel Fuji Track. I like both.

For general duty the Pompino is better because you can fit fatter tyres which is handy if you have to ride on poor surfaces, and braking with V-brakes/cantis is better than with similarly priced calliper brakes.

That said I’ve happily ridden my Fuji on centuries in the Highlands. It’s a lovely bike. Riding it is very similar to riding one of the old school quality steel bikes. It’s very similar to my Flying Scot in feel.

I think you’ll find the steel in the Fuji is superior too.

For a day ride, if the surfaces were good I’d take the Fuji. Otherwise the Pompino.

For a week’s ride I’d take the Pompino.

Thanks for your replies, thought I could whack some 28c tyres on the Fuji for added comfort but sounds like thats not going to solve the problem.

Seems like a toss up between the plug and pompino I prefer the plug as its black and a bit stealtheir/not gunna get nicked! But ive heard a couple people say about them feeling a bit sluggish and obviously the pompino is also designed for CX so would that make the plug a bit nippier? Can anyone confirm this?

I’ve described the pomp as a mountainbiker’s road bike before but I don’t think it was designed for cx. It will happily take cx tyres though. Mine has shwalbe Silento on at the mo, v comfy but a bit slower than something thinner and racier. The bike’s handling is just good, stable and solid but not slow steering. Tyres make a big difference ime.

Plug can feel a bit ponderous but was never much of a problem on the commute, possibly a combination of slack angles and weight. I’m comparing that to my ‘proper’ road bike so probably not a fair comparison, never ridden a pomp.

If you’re buying off the shelf then worth considering the Fuji will come with track gearing. Easily remedied though…

I want to be able to look forward to getting on the bike in the morning without it being slow and sluggish.

if you are prepared to go with left-field

Dolan FXE

I have one (well the precursa but same same) and it’s a LOT of fun; light, good handing, and has some practicality about it, for commuting mudguard capability is well worth

Wondered if I can revive this topic..

Now between the genesis flyer and charge plug although I’m leaning towards the flyer.

Has anyone ridden the 2014 one? As far as I can tell its new geometry to the old ones set up for street and road riding. Only question is it worth the extra money?

I’m happy to pay more but only if its worth the extra money! Only suggest something if it’s steel and a road bike and not a track bike!

Don’t dismiss the Fuji, I had one for road use only. I made adjustments starting with freewheel, saddle, f&R brakes it wasn’t harsh, nimble and quick. I would imagine lighter than most too. Could you get a test ride? I also did some 30 mile + road rides and didn’t feel battered. Enjoy what you buy.