Challenge Fujin SL-II By BRYAN J. BALL Managing Editor
We were supposed to review the Challenge Fujin SL late last year. But for some reason Paul Voerman (Owner of Challenge Ligfietsen) seemed to be dragging his feet a bit. Eventually he confessed that there was a new and improved version on the way and he really wanted us to test that one instead. "New and improved" always sounds good to me so we agreed to hold off. The upgraded bike that Paul was referring to is the Fujin SL-II. The original Fujin SL (and the other bikes in the Challenge SL range) introduced many highly advanced features and achieved some very surprising weight figures. (Read more about this in our Seiran SL review) The SL-II takes that concept even further. Challenge claims that a standard Fujin SL-II with a double crankset and titanium tiller steering weighs in at 17.6 pounds. Challenge got the weight so low by adding a carbon fiber seat and boom to the standard Fujin SL frameset. They also added a slightly lighter steerer and idler system.
I ordered my test bike in a slightly different configuration than the 17.6 pounder. I opted for a triple crank to deal with my local hills and an open cockpit steering set-up. The total weight for this bike was 19.2 pounds without pedals. The boom on my test bike was a bit longer than it needed to be for my 5'11" frame so I imagine I could get that back down under 19 pounds if I hacked a few inches off. Not too shabby… My test bike had a very sinister look. To keep the weight as low as possible, Challenge encourages you to opt for the black anodized frame color. Powdercoating can be done but adds a few grams. The handlebars, wheels, idlers and mostly all of the alloy parts were the same color. This bike is VERY black.
As usual, all of the Challenge-built pieces looked great. And Challenge builds A LOT of pieces for this bike. Paul isn't really a control freak but when he started down the SL road, he discovered that the only way to achieve his goals for a reasonable price was to design and build a majority of the parts in house. And if he was going to do it in-house, it was going to look good. one of the most striking features is actually the large diameter power-side idler. It's machined to look sort of like a wheel from a Matchbox car. Very trick. The lightweight center pull front brake that Challenge builds very nicely executed and the rear support for the seat also has a lot of nice accents. There's really no reason for this level of detail other than for looks. We have absolutely no problem with that.
The frame quality was definitely way above average and Challenge specs the SL-II to match. My test bike came with a Shimano Dura-Ace ten speed rear cluster and derailleur matched to Dura-Ace triple bar-end shifters. The crankset was a nicely finished carbon triple (no brand name) with high-end FSA chainrings. The rear wheel was an American Classic Sprint 650 climbing wheel and the front was an American Classic hub laced to an Alex rim. Braking was accomplished via Challenge's own center pull brake upfront and a similarly configured Tektro R725 in the back (Challenge's brake requires a flat mounting surface and can not be used on the rear of the Fujin).
I'm not really sure if I'm a big fan of the Shimano 10-speed shifting. It's very picky as far as adjustment goes. After arguing with it for a couple of rides, I gave up and put the right shifter in "friction mode" (no click-click indexing) and actually liked it a lot better that way. I thought 10-speed would be hard to use in friction but it's actually easier than 9-speed. Everything is crammed so closely together than it almost becomes like a constant velocity transmission in some cars.
The only other component that I questioned was front wheel. It was a full 32-spoker and I really expected a lower spoke count wheel on a bike that's striving so hard to be as light as possible.
The brakes on the Fujin SL-II were pretty good overall. The Challenge-designed front brake has plenty of stopping power but does require you to let the air out of the tire to take the front wheel on and off. The Tektro rear brake has less than spectacular power but isn't really noticed that much since the rear end is so lightly loaded in the first place.
But enough about the "shiny bits" as Varney calls them… When I first got on the Fujin SL-II I was really surprised by the riding position. It wasn't NEARLY as extreme as I expected it to be. The seat angle is adjustable (rare for a lowracer) and can be put up as high as 33 degrees according to my measurements. The bottom bracket is high but not nearly as high as it on many comparable bikes. The "Open Cockpit" handlebars put the controls well within my reach and I honestly often have a problem with this due to my long legs and average arms. The contour of the carbon seat also fit me very well. This is definitely the most comfortable I've ever been on a lowracer.
The Fujin also rode very well for such a high performance machine. A lot of ultra-fast bikes are more concerned about speed than comfort and often have a pretty rough ride. While, the SL-II was no Cadillac, it wasn't a filling rattler either.
The SL-II's low speed handling was also a welcome surprise. I was able to hop on and pedal off without a single wobble. Picking my way around the puddles on my street at three miles per hour was also no problem at all. The only thing that hindered the Fujin's low speed performance was the handlebar shape. The bars are quite long and hit my thighs on really tight turns. I learned to live with it fairly quickly and could alleviate the problem by lopping a couple of inches off of each end (and still have a comfortable hand position). Of course, choosing the standard handlebar configuration over the Open Cockpit option would also fix the issue.
But low speed dawdling is not at all what this bike is about, is it? I'm happy to report that the SL-II is also pretty good at high speed… and you'll probably spend a lot of time there. At its usual cruising speed (at least with me aboard) of 22-25 mph or so, the Fujin SL-II was as docile as the proverbial kitten. on high-speed descents, it was also rock solid.
If there was any foible in the SL-II's handling it only shows up when sprinting hard. When I was really pedaling hard (I mean really pouring it on not just sprinting for road signs) I just didn't feel quite as comfortable as I did on my old Challenge Jester. The SL-II just seemed to wander a bit more under this extreme stress. This may very well be more a praise for the Jester than it is a knock on the Fujin. But after speaking to Paul, I'm pretty well convinced that this quirk is evident on the SL-II because it's not quite as stiff as the Jester or standard Fujin SL. The carbon seat on the SL-II isn't as stiff as the aluminum seat on the other two bikes (that's why you can't buy it for the race-specific Jester) and the carbon boom did move from side to side a bit under heavy pedaling. When I asked Paul about this, he was quick to point out that this not Challenge's all-out racing model. It's meant to have some comfort built in and there are some sacrifices for that. If you want to do flying 200's on the track, that's what the Jester is for. As you'll read below, the flex wasn't enough to slow the bike down very much and you'll probably only notice it if you're a real hammer and when you're sprinting.
Besides, on a bike this fast you may not find yourself sprinting that often anyway since your riding partners are likely to be tiny little specs in your rearview. Most of my test loops consists of rolling to moderate hills with the occasional flat rollout after good long decent. In other words… Perfect territory for a lightweight lowracer and a great showcase for the Fujin SL-II's performance potential.
Even though I'm not in perfect shape after a long winter on the trainer, the SL-II easily bested my previous times on a few of my shorter training loops. The low seat height and aerodynamic position really helped the bike fly along the flats and the low weight was obviously a big advantage on the steep stuff.
So thus far I've told you that the Fujin SL-II is light, looks cool and is very fast. No real suprises there, huh? Well unfortunately no bike is 100% perfect and the SL-II did have a few little idiosyncrasies.
The seat on my test bike had an annoying squeak that never did go away. Perhaps some lube or adjusting a couple of bolts would fix it but I did confirm that a dealer's SL-II did the same thing.
Another problem that was shared between my bike and the dealer's SL-II was a rubbing chain. The chain never rubbed the bike's cool black finish but it did rub itself where it crosses over right behind the crankset. It wasn't a hard rub at all. Just enough to make some noise.
I spoke with Paul at Challenge about this and he said that so far it's one of the prices you have to pay for using the triple. He also had several suggestions of how to work around it. Perhaps the easiest way is to use a small piece of chaintube. Challenge doesn't provide this fix from the factory because people have so many differing opinions as to how much tube to use and where to use it. Another suggestion was to eliminate the return side idlers entirely and let the chain run next to the fork like it does on the Jester. This would require putting some carbon tape or something on the fork to protect it. Challenge has considered making a custom narrow fork and hub for the SL-II and running the chain that way from the factory. The cost has kept them from doing it thusfar.
Challenge has really upped the ante with the Fujin SL-II. It's not only light on the scales; it's also pretty light on your wallet for what it is. MSRP in the US is around $3899 for a top of the line Dura-Ace 17.6 pound bike. You can swap out some components and get a marginally heavier bike for under $3300. And the standard SL is still under 22 pounds and is even less expensive still. None of these are exactly cheap but they are less expensive than some of their heavier competition and have a lot more curb appeal than anything this side of a Velokraft Racer II. And before any of you ask… I have not heard any rumors of a Fujin SL-III but I do suspect that Challenge isn't done quite yet.
Challenge Fujin SL-II Highs – Insanely light, more comfortable than you think, good manners, obviously fast Lows – Squeaky seat, finicky chain routing MSRP – Approximately $4000 as tested. More Info – www.challengebikes.com
Weighing just over 8 kg, the Fujin SL II is one of lightest, fastest and most loved recumbent low-racer on the market. People really love their Fujin SL's. Hands down the best handling low racer on the market. With carbon fibre seat, front boom, front forks and chainset, the SL-II must be one of the lightest and fastest bikes you can buy. This is the ideal bike for fast rides, audaxes and sportives (if they let you in!).
The basic specification consists of a SRAM X9 rear derailleur, with SRAM X9 11-34 cassette, carbon forks, carbon boom and 42/52 carbon chainset. Wheels have velocity rims and Challenge ultralight SL hubs. A moulded carbon fibre seat completes the package.
