Firefox Tarmak - Review

The Firefox Tarmak is built on a lightweight Alloy frame. The frame geometry is Endurance-focused which means it is ideal for anyone who is new to road cycling and also for anyone who wants to ride long distances. The rigid fork on this road bicycle is made out of Carbon which reduces the overall weight of the bicycle. A Carbon fork on a bicycle at this price is considered as value for money.

Firefox have maintained consistency by installing Shimano Sora derailleurs at both the front and rear. These 2x9 derailleurs worked efficiently during the test ride and its smooth and quick shifting helped maintain a high cadence all along. These gearing components can definitely be considered as a good deal for a road bicycle at this price. The Tarmak's gearing is controlled by 18-Speed Shimano Sora integrated shifters, which were easy to use and reactive as well. The long levers made sure the shifters worked efficiently and made it easy to operate.

The Firefox Tarmak which I test rode came in a full Black frame with Red and Yellow secondary colours for the graphics. The matte finish paint job was smooth and gave the colour shades an enhanced look. The internal cable routing made the bicycle frame neat and also improves the life of the cables.

Like a majority of road bicycles in the market, the Tarmak also came with a pair of Tektro R312 Road Caliper brakes. The brakes were sharp in stopping during the test ride. Along with the integrated brake levers these brakes stopped quickly and also felt balanced during the test ride on both dry and wet roads. The brake components were compact and lightweight which is ideal for a road bicycle. The Zoom Alloy road bicycle handlebar measured 42mm in width. This wide handlebar was perfect for beginners to get used to the road bicycle body posture and will make long distance rides comfortable.

The Firefox Tarmak rolls on a pair of 7x25C road tires. These tires are well supported by Race branded double walled Alloy rims. The impressive thing about this wheel set is its weight. They were light and this did help the rolling resistance. The treading on these tires could have been better as it felt a little too smooth with not much grip on slightly slippery roads, which can be a letdown especially while cornering. An Endurance road bicycle requires a comfortable saddle as you will be sitting on it for long hours and the stock saddle on the Tarmak was ergonomically shaped to keep the sit bones in place and keep the rider free of any soreness.