Juliana听doesn鈥檛 just build rad bikes鈥攖he company also knows how to throw a party. Last year, it started offering at key retailers across the U.S. and Canada. Each event combines a group ride, bike demos,听swag bags, and even a post-ride social with food and drink provided by Juliana. In fact, the bike brand picks up the entire tab: Ride Outs are free to all ladies who care to join.
More and more companies are trying to build communities of gear users. Fishing-apparel brand FisheWear听hosts casting clinics and workshops on painting beads for lures. New York听bike shop听718 Cyclery听has a monthly women鈥檚 bike-maintenance class. So with Ride Outs, Juliana isn鈥檛 the only brand in this experiential marketing听pack, but unlike many听women-specific听events, these are not instructional clinics听for newbies (though those are cool, too). Beginners are welcome at most events, but Ride Outs target all levels because Juliana鈥檚 main goal is to appeal to riders looking for other women to ride with鈥攁 welcome change听in the way companies tend to market their women鈥檚 gear.
鈥淚 hear from most participants that the reason they sign up for the Ride Out is they are tired of riding with their male counterparts and want to find other women who are of similar ability to ride with,鈥 says , a former Enduro racer and Juliana鈥檚 sports-marketing coordinator. 鈥淭he vibe is fun, low-key, and accommodates those who want to learn trail skills or head out for a 15-to-20-mile ride with Juliana pros.鈥
At this season鈥檚 finale鈥攖hree Ride Outs scheduled from September 26 to 29 in Park City, Utah鈥攁rea mountain bikers will ride with Enduro racer . The most enticing听option is Saturday鈥檚 Tour de Force on the Wasatch Crest, a bucket-list ride that starts at 9,700-foot Guardsman Pass and swoops downhill for 2,700 vertical feet. Participants are invited to test听Juliana鈥檚 2019 bikes, which are well worth a look even if you鈥檙e not joining a Ride Out. I tried both at a Ride Out in Vermont and found the and the (a do-it-all trail model) have each gotten significant makeovers to become even more compelling.
Testing the Roubion and the Furtado
I rode the Roubion on some of northern Vermont鈥檚 most delightfully rocky trails (including the and 鈥檚 Upper J-Bar).听The 听(from $3,500) still offers 150 millimeters of rear travel, but a new, lower-link-mounted shock configuration borrows from the magic that Juliana introduced on the long-travel Strega and adapts it to the Roubion鈥檚 more maneuverable frame. It also gains ten听millimeters of travel in the fork (bringing it to 160), and the size range was expanded to include extra small鈥攇reat news for shorter women.听
I听loved how it held my intended line听no matter what. Like the Strega, the Roubion prefers high-speed charges rather than tentative crawls鈥攂ut anytime I stopped grabbing the brakes, the bike rewarded my confidence with a stable, bump-smoothing ride.
The new 听(from $2,700), though, is the real crowd pleaser. A lot of women tell me they like downhill performance (which can mean a heavier frame)听but don鈥檛 want to sacrifice agility to get it鈥攖hey don鈥檛 enjoy dragging a bike uphill or wrestling it around switchbacks. The 2019 Furtado answers their call by being super-climby and playful听yet reassuring on descents.
That smooth downhill ride is what鈥檚 different in the latest model. When I tested previous iterations of the Furtado, I liked its uphill capability, but the old geometry made descents feel harsh (and occasionally sketchy, since the bike tended to get bucked by rough surfaces). Riding the new Furtado at Vermont鈥檚 network, I found it to be a totally trustworthy downhiller. Sure, KTA singletrack is generally smooth, which highlighted this bike鈥檚 playful character.听I could whip it around turns and pop it off bumps like nobody鈥檚 business. But the Furtado also stuck its line through the occasional rooty, ledgy sections, and it rolled听over braking bumps and other fast hits so I never felt as if I were wielding a jackhammer.
The Furtado鈥檚 secret sauce has two major ingredients. One is geometry: Juliana slackened the headtube (for stability on descents) but steepened the seat angle (to bring the rider forward enough for strong climbing). Second, a new 130-millimeter piggyback shock provides a plusher ride that鈥檚 tuned for lighter jockeys. That鈥檚 the major difference between the women鈥檚 Furtado and the Santa Cruz 5010, aimed at men.
Unchanged are the 130 millimeters of suspension up front and the low, 330-millimeter bottom-bracket height鈥攚hich was the Furtado鈥檚 selling point. 鈥淲e knew we didn鈥檛 want to mess with that,鈥 says Josh Kissner, product manager for Juliana and Santa Cruz. Riders can stick with the stock 2.6-inch tires or size up to 2.8 inches for a smidge more traction and cushion (which might appeal to riders whose daily diet is lumpy technical terrain). A flip chip lets the rear shock accept a wider tire, and听the bottom-bracket height remains the same regardless of the tire setup.
It all adds up to a bike that鈥檚 wildly fun to ride, wherever it may take you. The Furtado is听the right bike for most cyclists, in most of the places we ride. And for people who love all-day epics in remote, far-flung locales, the Furtado could be the Holy Grail. The easy climbing听and smooth ride spare听you enough muscle to hit high-mileage goals,听while keeping听you from feeling battered by untamed singletrack.
Perhaps the best news of all is that the Furtado and Roubion are now offered in affordable aluminum frames, not just carbon,听making Juliana鈥檚 performance DNA accessible to a wider range of budgets. Test them for yourself at the 听or check them out in a bike shop near you.