Roadeo Fugitive 26 (2018) - Review

The Fugitive is a new model released this year from Roadeo. This hardtail MTB is built on a full steel frame. Yes, Steel is heavy as a material and that is commonly seen as a downside but the brighter side is its strength. The tensile strength not only makes this frame long lasting but it also can handle rough surfaces and crashes well. The frame geometry is fairly simple and gives a comfortable ride posture. There is still a lot of vibration felt off the surface, which makes it uncomfortable on longer rides.This bicycle comes with a Steel Suspension Fork. The suspension travel works around 5mm, which is as minimal as it can get and is useful just to get over the city speed breakers and potholes.

This bicycle is equipped with Shimano's 21-Speed Tourney derailleurs at the front and rear. This is the most basic gearing set up in Shimano and there was a bit of lag at the front derailleur while shifting up. These derailleurs are ideal for those short commutes in the city. The 21-Speed Shimano EF41 shifters are also basic triggers, which were easy to use.

Like all other Roadeo's the Fugitive has also got a lot of attention to its design. The bicycle I test rode came in a full dark blue frame with light blue, red and black secondary colours. This combination of colours makes the bicycle look flashy and funky, perfectly suited for teenage riders. The gloss paint job wasn’t up to the mark as it wasn’t that shiny and tube edges weren’t smooth. The choice of colours is a positive and is definitely targeted at teenage riders.

The Fugitive's stopping power is taken care of by a combination of Mechanical Disc and V-brakes. The C-Star Mechanical Disc brakes at the front and Power V-brakes at the rear are a rather different and a unique combination. Even though I’m not a big fan of Disc/V combinations because of its imbalance, this braking system was enough to safely bring you to a halt on city roads and mainly in traffic.The handlebar was from XMR with a 6mm width which makes the riding posture comfortable and easy to maneuverer in the city.

As in the name of this bicycle this bicycle rolls on a pair of 26’’ x 2.1’’ Wanda MTB tires. These tires along with strong Alloy rims make this wheelset ideal to ride on the roughest of urban surfaces. The big treads make it safe to ride in both dry and wet conditions. The stock saddle from XMR wasn’t the most ergonomic but had enough cushioning and also was perfectly colour coded with the frame's design. The overall ride quality was comfortable on urban roads.