The Hessian bikes and their eye-catching "Float Link" rear suspension have been established in the industry for years. And rightly so: all testers gave the suspension of the "Raid Team" very good marks, especially on descents. The rear suspension runs smoothly and free of tension, which was not always the case: in the past, some Fusion bikes had to contend with significant bearing friction. The rear suspension provides the rider with 133 millimetres of travel. On the climbs, we would like to see a little more sensitivity on small obstacles.
Fusion goes its own way with the equipment: The "Raid" rolls on Schwalbe's "Racing Ralph" as a 2.4-inch tyre and doesn't ride badly with this compromise. Only in adverse ground conditions does it lack a little traction, but it rolls well. The Magura brake system was criticised. Although it proved to be snappy on the test laps, the modulation of the "Louise" suffers from the lever being too thin. At 645 millimetres, the Truvativ "XR XC-Riser" handlebars were the narrowest and the stem the longest in the test field, although none of the test riders complained about this. When it comes to the fork, individualism is a thing of the past - in favour of function: as with most of the test candidates, a Fox "Talas RLC" works at the front. And rightly so. It is easy to tune, can be lowered by 40 millimetres and suits the characteristics of the bike.
CONCLUSION: The "Raid Team" likes a tougher ride and manoeuvres agilely through the undergrowth. However, the matt black design is not very appealing.
TUNING TIP: Fit the chainstay protector and bottle cage.
Homepage: www.fusion-bikes.de
