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Gary Fisher Presidio

Old 09-27-09, 05:03 PM
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Gary Fisher Presidio

I am trying to make the leap into the cyclocross world and have been researching bikes all over the internet. I came across the Gary Fisher Presidio that has really caught my eye. (I found it on the list of 2010 Cross bikes that is posted here. Great job on that post!) Most bikes in this price range are aluminum and I like the idea that it is steel. Whatever I get, I definitely want Sram and this fits the bill there as well. I had been looking at building something up from scratch but this looks like a pretty good bike for what I had planned on spending.

Anyone have any experience with the Gary Fisher Presidio?

BTW, I do plan on racing it. I am a Cat. 3 road guy, working toward Cat. 2 (if that matters) but have never done cross. I will also be doing quite a bit of dirt roads, etc. this fall / winter.

Thanks in advance for your help and thanks again for whoever put together that list of 2010 cyclocross bikes. It put a ton of data together in one spot. That really has helped me see what is out there.
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Old 09-27-09, 05:43 PM
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Looks like a nice bike, I guess the question is as always how is the fit?
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Old 09-27-09, 06:38 PM
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Like already said, if it fits you well it's a great bike, even for racing.
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Old 09-27-09, 06:56 PM
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why does the idea of it being steel appeal to you?

IMO having a lighter bike is very important in cross considering you are lifting the bike with your puny road arms multiple times every lap.
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Old 09-27-09, 07:34 PM
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How do you know my arms are puny? Actually, they are pretty puny. I only weigh 140.

Anyway, I just like the ride of steel. Honestly, I have never had an aluminum bike. I was a steel guy until I went to carbon with my road bike and I never looked back. Weight is a pretty big issue with me. That is why I like carbon, you can get a great riding bike that is very light. I really am not sure of the weight of the Presidio. I have looked but can not find it listed anywhere. Think it is much heavier than say, a Redline Conquest Team? That is what I was looking at but I just like the look of the Gary Fisher much better. I have great reviews of the Redline but I was looking for some first hand knowledge about the Fisher.

Now onto the fit thing. I am struggling with that one. Do most of you have your cross bike set up similar to your road bike? The geometry of cross bikes seem to be all over the place. I am baseing most of my decisions on the TT length (My road bike is 54.5) but for that length some bikes I would need a 52, some a 53, and some a 54. Also, some bikes have a stand over height issue. Ridley, in my size TT seems to have a huge stand over height, at least too high for my liking.

I am still looking for some first hand info on the Presidio, so if you have some I would greatly appreciate it. Especially on the weight issue.
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Old 09-27-09, 08:07 PM
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FWIW I've never had an issue with my standover being too high during cross races. And fit should be fairly similar.

And about it being steel- there are a few courses around here where a little bit of extra forgiveness from a steel frame would be nice. The Presidio was the Lemond Poprad in its former life and that was a great cross bike. Go for it.
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Old 09-28-09, 12:36 PM
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Originally Posted by jonestr
why does the idea of it being steel appeal to you?

IMO having a lighter bike is very important in cross considering you are lifting the bike with your puny road arms multiple times every lap.
why does it matter to you? every frame material has its advantages and disadvantages. if weight is your primary concern, go ahead and ride aluminum.there are about a thousand reasons one might prefer steel—i don't think it's relevant to find out the specific reasons steel appeals to the OP. It just does.

and fwiw, there is no reason a steel bike has to be heavy. there are plenty(!) of well-made steel bikes out there that even your puny arms can handle. Granted, you aren't likely to get into the 13-14 pound range like you do with carbon, but cmon. htfu. a twenty pound bike isn't heavy.
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Old 09-28-09, 05:25 PM
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Originally Posted by jtgotsjets
why does it matter to you? every frame material has its advantages and disadvantages. if weight is your primary concern, go ahead and ride aluminum.there are about a thousand reasons one might prefer steel—i don't think it's relevant to find out the specific reasons steel appeals to the OP. It just does.

and fwiw, there is no reason a steel bike has to be heavy. there are plenty(!) of well-made steel bikes out there that even your puny arms can handle. Granted, you aren't likely to get into the 13-14 pound range like you do with carbon, but cmon. htfu. a twenty pound bike isn't heavy.
did you read the whole post? I explain why weight is important for cross racing. If the OP had some other reason for going to steel then maybe it is the bike for him, but for the money you can get a lighter bike with equal or better spec and with a known cross background. Also, you can certainly make a light steel bike, but are you going to get thick enough tubing cross sections so that the inevitable crashes in cross dont put dents in your frame?

Weight is also relative to the riders body weight so you cant just say a 20lb bike is not heavy, as that may constitute a large percentage of a light riders weight.
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Old 09-28-09, 05:36 PM
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Originally Posted by Tennessee
How do you know my arms are puny? Actually, they are pretty puny. I only weigh 140.

Anyway, I just like the ride of steel. Honestly, I have never had an aluminum bike. I was a steel guy until I went to carbon with my road bike and I never looked back. Weight is a pretty big issue with me. That is why I like carbon, you can get a great riding bike that is very light. I really am not sure of the weight of the Presidio. I have looked but can not find it listed anywhere. Think it is much heavier than say, a Redline Conquest Team? That is what I was looking at but I just like the look of the Gary Fisher much better. I have great reviews of the Redline but I was looking for some first hand knowledge about the Fisher.

Now onto the fit thing. I am struggling with that one. Do most of you have your cross bike set up similar to your road bike? The geometry of cross bikes seem to be all over the place. I am baseing most of my decisions on the TT length (My road bike is 54.5) but for that length some bikes I would need a 52, some a 53, and some a 54. Also, some bikes have a stand over height issue. Ridley, in my size TT seems to have a huge stand over height, at least too high for my liking.

I am still looking for some first hand info on the Presidio, so if you have some I would greatly appreciate it. Especially on the weight issue.
Us puny armers can smell our own kind. Meant to be more self effacing with that comment, but apparently left it out.

In cross you might not get much out of the steel "ride" as you are rolling on tires with larger cross sections run at the lowest pressure you can safely run for a course, so your tire pressure will mitigate some magical ride quality, and mitigate the perceived harshness of aluminum. No doubt the Fisher is a pretty bike, but I would be afraid of paying a premium price for a steel bike that doesent get you premium performance.

Fit on cross bikes is similar to your road bike, but usually a cm lower in seat height, while bar drop is usually a lot less than your road set up. When looking at top tube length you also have to account for seat angle as steeper seat angles require you to move your seat farther back to get properly positioned behind the BB, which in turn requires a shorter stem to keep the same effective reach, so be mindful of that when looking at frames.

you might check out the simon burney book before finalizing your cross bike.

one quick idea is to check out how the gary fisher compares geometry wise to the steel Lemond cross bike that Trek used to put out. I have a feeling these might be exactly the same bike in a different wrapper.
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Old 09-28-09, 06:09 PM
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fisher

It appears trek/fisher have changed the geometry since last year. I only know b/c I have an '07 poprad and was looking for some numbers to compare. I went to the website and find out my 52 poprad is a lotcloser to a 54 presidio. This may be a good thing for many people though. The poprad wasn't for everyone.
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