Firefox Road Runner Pro - Disc Brake (2015) - Review

The Firefox Road Runner Pro D has a reasonably weighing alloy frame. The frame's top tube is at its biggest near the stem and thins out as it goes near the seat post. This shows that a lot of thought has gone into building this frame to make sure there is no unnecessary material weight. The other positive of this frame is the 4 sizes it comes in; 16’’, 18’’, 19.5’’ and 21’’.The Road Runner comes with a front suspension fork. This Zoom alloy suspension fork with 4mm travel made sure the potholes and speed breakers on the city roads didn’t cause too much vibration.

Being a performance focused hybrid it is very important for the gearing to be top notch. Firefox have got it right with the derailleurs for the Road Runner Pro D with Shimano Tourney at the front and Shimano Acera at the rear. These gears performed well during the test ride. They were smooth and during shifting there were no lags. Having Acera as the rear derailleur at this price is a bargain and it shows in the performance of the bicycle. The Shimano EF5 gear shifters were easy to operate.Note: The Road Runner Pro D in 221 comes with a Microshift M2 3-Speed Front derailleur, a Microshift M21L 7-Speed rear derailleur and Microshift TS38 21-Speed shifters.</i>

The bicycle which I test rode came in a black primary colour with orange graphics. The streak graphics with orange and white were minimal and not too bright. The black matte finish paint job definitely enhanced the look of the bicycle. The flattened chain stays and seat stays made the back of the bicycle look sleek. The Road Runner Pro D also comes in a Black/Blue colour variant.

As the name suggests this bicycle comes with Tektro Mechanical disc brakes. These are one of the best budget disc brakes in the market. During the test ride these brakes were reliable and safe on both wet and dry conditions. Turning on wet conditions and braking was spot on.The Road Runner Pro D comes with a steel 6mm handlebar with a slight raise from the middle. This wide handlebar gives the rider a wide chested posture and great handling for maneuvering in traffic.

The Firefox Road Runner Pro D rolls on a pair of Compass 7C x 35C tires. These tires are well supported by Alloy doubled walled rims. These tires were fast and at the same time had good traction on rough and wet surfaces. The wheelset was lightweight. The Firefox stock saddle is found on few other models of Firefox and they are padded well but not the best of ergonomical designs. The overall ride quality was fast and comfortable on urban roads.