What's so special about Gary Fishers
 

Pulling into work about 1hr later than usual, I see that the entire bike rack is full and there were 4 Gary Fisher bikes parked in the rack. These bikes were various ages and looked well used but not cruddy.

I've never seen these bikes elsewhere. Anyone got one? What's so special about a Gary Fisher?

Gary Fisher was one of the first mountian bike guys. He's been putting his name on MTBs ever since it got financially viable, although I believe he's had several companies go bankrupt out from under him.

Nothing, anymore. Bought by Trek & homogenized. No more GF thought into design. Genesis is a carryover from GF independence.

Too bad. I could tell that those bikes are considered choice. Of course, the rack was empty at the end of the day so there was no chance to strike a converssation.

I have an old (1997, pre-Trek I believe) Fisher Tassajara, which I bought NOS in 2005. It's hard tail, rigid forks and a mix of Acera through XT (or, maybe XTR, haven't looked in a while) components. The build quality was great and it rode nice for the $200 they were asking. At the time my bicycle knowledge was comprised of "they have two wheels, pedals and a chain."

During the first eleven months, I rode it maybe half a dozen times. In the last two months, however, I've put somewhere around 250 miles on it. That included one trip to City Forest in the beginning of June. After that one trip 'off road,' I put a set of Freddy Fenders, a rack and an Epic trunk, road tires (well, commuter tires) and converted it to strictly commuter duty.

I'd never have believed that anyone could tell the difference between frame materials, but I swear the CroMo frame on the Tassajara is more 'plush' than the 7003/carbon frame on my road bike. It's a great ride, takes abuse (riding in a downpour is fun!) and gets lots of looks. You can see it here. I'm not sure how the newer, Trek-era Fishers compare, but I've read some good reviews of their full suspension mtbs.

Thats a shure sign that the nearest bike shop sells Gary Fishers.

Gary Fisher is THE MAN if you're into mountain biking. He and some of his buds are given credit for "inventing it" on "Repack Hill."

He is a very interesting fella who has made some major contributions to MTB design over the years. He did sell his company to Trek, but the last poster is incorrect: Genesis isn't the last contribution from Gary... Even post-Trek he still has a hand in things: he convinced Trek to bring 29er's to market, and because of the great bikes designed around them, they have become something that looks like it will stick around.

I have a few pre-Trek Fishers and a post-Trek Fisher... All are great bikes. The pre-Trek frames were made in the USA, and are a bit lighter. But more brutal to ride than the heavier Chinese Trek-owned-Fisher frames. All in all the newer Fishers are fantastic values and great riding bikes. I put my old ones away in favor of the new Fisher Rig that I ride MTB now. It's a great bike, Trek-owned or not.

Now, are all GF's great MTBs? Nope. They vary. But they are all great values, and in their respective price ranges, can usually hold their own. I think they're just about the best non-custom MTB's out there... if you like the geometry, they are well designed and quite durable.

I had to sell mine because the size was wrong. It was a very comfortable commuter. I replaced it with a Marin that I don't like at all. The reason I didn't buy a larger Fisher was the bike shops that sold them.

And I really like the two bike shops that don't sell them.

That may be, but what I remember is his glowing egotistical face on every page of Gary Fisher catalogs. And him posing with every cyclist or bicycle displayed in those catalogs. The bikes may be great though, I wouldn't know.

Not quite true. Gary Fisher is still very much into the design of his bikes, more involved than Klein or Lemond (also owned by Trek). It is owned by Trek, but on anything above $400 the frames are GF specific. Trek has lent them the use of their aluminum technology (which they got from Klein), and their carbon technology, both are good things. Show me another major manufacturer that was into and pushed 29'er mountainbikes. Fisher has made them more accessible to those who can't drop the money on a small boutique frame.

Still, it's true that if you have $1000 to spend, the bikes you'd get from Fisher, Trek, Specialized, Cannondale are all very similiar in spec, construction quality, etc. It's really about fit.

ok, i will be the first to ask... what is a 29er?

Yeah well, then we have the madness of Greg Lemond, who is the figurehead of another Trek sub-brand. :D

I don't agree that they're "homogenized" because of Trek ownership, they still produce fine bikes, and still get input from someone, if not necessarily Fisher himself, because they've come up with plenty of good ideas and very nice bikes since Trek bought them up. (The 29er for instance, that seemed like a terrible idea a few years ago, but it seems to be catching on more and more.)

It's a good company, so's Lemond, for that matter. Whether or not you like the guy who's name is on it is up to you.

A mountain bike with 29" wheels instead of 26". If you want more info, do a search.

And I have a 2003 Gary Fisher Tassajara that I ride trails with. It was the best outfitted bike in the $600 range when compared to the Trek, Specialized, and Giant bikes that I could find at the time. I like the Genesis geometry too.

A marketing ploy by the mtn bike marketeers such as Gary Fisher. It is a 622mm (700C) tire. Nothing new there except putting them on mtn bikes. Also known as 28" tires in Europe for umpteen years