I recently got back into biking after just biking as a kid and some in college, and am so glad I picked this bike! It is extremely capable, and works great on gravel roads, off-roading, and trail riding. I wouldn't recommend this if you are going to ride mostly on pavement, cuz this is made for getting dirty off-road, and is so much fun off-road! You won't even want to ride on paved trails once you experience how fun it is off-trails :) Also this bike is perfect size for me, I got size Large and am 5'9" and 150lbs. I feel so confident on this bike and that I can do most anything on it. I'd totally recommend this bike to anyone wanting to get out there on trails or off-roading or non-paved roads! You'll have so much fun, you'll want to bike every day :D

I got this bike after my rockhopper got stolen in Huntington Beach right off the rack. Let’s just say this was a serious upgrade. It handles great and this was the first time I’ve had a dropper post and I love it. I really like the shocks as well they make the bike go over curbs like nothing. My one complaint of the grips but those can be fixed easy for $20. I also like the brown color I got mud doesn’t show on it and it always looks clean.

One of the best all rounder in the market. Also, I want to say that you shouldn't take in consideration a comment here by the person called "Jock S" with 3 stars....why?...because it seems that this person didn't read properly the specs of the base model and the high model. Saying that with $500 you can upgrade the base model to be better than the high end model is FALSE. If you read, you will see a lot of upgrades in the Expert model (not just a fork). Also, this person said that the frame is the same in all models...FALSE; the base model has an A1 Aluminum and the Expert model has M4 Premium aluminum, and also the rear end of the frame is different. So, don't believe everything you read because some people just talk without knowing nothing about bikes.

I bought this for my wife as her first mountain bike for light to moderate trail riding. For the price this gets you a trail worthy frame that is future proof. The brakes are decent, comes with a dropper, the geometry is good and it has a tapered head tube and threaded bottom bracket shell. The drive train is so-so, not the greatest and limited gear range due to it being a 9-speed - for less than $400 you can upgrade this to a SRAM NX and have a great bike. The frame doesn’t have the adjustable chain stay but that is really only beneficial for the 29” bikes to be able to mullet. It is a lower grade aluminum but it is solid. The fork is a spring fork but does the job and is probably better than a budget air fork - but is still another area that an aftermarket upgrade would be a benefit (Marzocchi Z2 would be amazing).

Great price for a good beginner bike or a bike with a few upgrades for more seasoned riders. I upgraded the fork for an air fork, but the coil fork performed better than I thought it would. I like the Micro-shift drivetrain, it's much better than people would think, it's my second bike with it, but I also upgraded the drivetrain to one that I already own.

Love the bike! Beefy tires, easy to use shifters and brakes, and an awesome color!

Very hard wearing and durable if this is in your price range. Great for hitting trails and even jumps. Super light weight frame makes this bike easy to manoeuvre. A great all rounder for riding anything which isn’t flat.

Bought the low end version of the Fuse.The next model up was $1300 more and only came with a low end air fork and 10 speeds. For the price difference I can upgrade the fork ($500) and have a better bike than the higher priced model and save a bunch of money. The fork that comes stock is pretty grim but usable. Shifting is perfect on this bike. I ride very technical terrain and can drop 2 to 3 gears going up a steep hill with full pressure on the pedals. No crunching just a clean shift. The crank set is the old square drive but is working well but is inexpensive to upgrade. It has a 9 speed cassette compared to the next model up 10 speed. For the type of technical terrain I ride I don't even need 9 so no need to upgrade. I never rode with a dropper post before but after riding with the one that comes on the bike I love it and will never ride a bike without one again. I do plan on replacing the front crank gear with a 30 tooth from the stock 32. But's that's just my needs for my terrain. I bought the fuse because it was the only bike I could fine with a 27.5" wheel set. I've had a few 29'ers and never could adjust to them. I still have a 26'er that I like the best. Overall the best part of the bike is the frame which is the same on all the fuse models.

Great build for the price but I replaced the fork after one ride.

Great bike for the price