Juliet Elliot’s Juliana Furtado
By Jamie Edwards
125mm rear travel
650b wheels
carbon frame
Named after Juli Furtado, the World’s first official female MTB Champion
You may not know Juliet. She’s not a pro racer or a constant face in the MTB media … but she is completely stoked on riding bikes and has managed to turn riding and writing into her life and her living. She was once a pro-snowboarder for Burton, she appeared on cover of Vogue, produced her own self-published magazine and she’s now an ambassador for Charge, Vans and Met Helmets.
We met up with Juliet and her husband Dave at our Local Knowledge ride at Triscombe where she was shredding her Juliana Furtado. It was great to see she’s not only a cool human being but a fast and very stoked bike rider!
Hey Juliet. Can you remind the readers who you are and what you do?
Hello! I’m Juliet Elliott. I ride bikes and write about it. I also drink a lot of tea.
My current CV? Well, I’m supported by Charge Bikes, Assos, Vans and Met – those guys help me spend as much time riding as possible. But alongside that, I work in the bike industry doing marketing, write for magazines and websites and do some PR and consulting.
Tell us about your Juliana? Why this bike?
I’ve ridden a lot of bikes as one of my jobs is actually reviewing them, so I can decide pretty quickly whether we’re going to get on or not. The Juliana and I were a match from the very start – the handling is great and there’s enough snappiness but without you having to pay too much attention or try too hard, so that suits me. I don’t know if that even makes sense?
What was your first ride on the Juliana? Where? When?
Oh god, I can’t remember. It’s a challenge to remember my wedding anniversary and I only got hitched last year! That information is no longer stored in my brain!
Did you fall in love with the bike at first ride or did it take a bit of time and setting up?
First ride for sure. Actually I do need to tweak it a little bit but I’ve still not got around to, even though I’ve had it a year. I did switch over to some WTB tyres which I love, but the other thing I need to do is switch the bars to something a little wider.
“It feels easy to ride, but quick to do your bidding.”
How would you describe the experience of riding your Juliana? What does it feel like to ride?
It feels easy to ride, but quick to do your bidding. It’s a great all-rounder I think. You get out of it what you put in.
What’s the best and most fun place you and your Juliana have been so far?
I have had a lot of fun on this bike so that’s a hard question! Bike Park Wales always stands out, other than that, probably Peaty’s Steel City DH a fortnight ago. I’ve yet to take it out of the UK, but I’m hoping to go to the Alps this summer.
What’s the worst ride you’ve had on it so far!
Erm, the worst rides are generally those where I get hacked off at riding uphill for too long!
Favourite things about it?
Probably the fact it’s carbon!
What don’t you like, what would you change?
The bars. Apparently they are designed for small lady hands, so the grips are smaller. It’s weird, I’m a girl, not a midget! It means you can’t grip as well, and that you can only buy Juliana grips. Also, I prefer a rise. As I said earlier, I’ve been meaning to change the bars, I’ve just been a bit laid back about it.