soc522

So this guy at the bike shop told me he doesn't bring in gary fisher because he gets more sales with trek. He told me that with trek you get more for your money and with fisher you are paying for the brand name. Do you think this is accurate? Is it accurate enough to change my mind from the fisher marlin to a trek?

Shannon-UT

Trek bought Gary Fisher.

I think you do pay for the Gary Fisher name. I own a Diamondback Apex. I looked on the fisherbikes.com and looked up a bike with similar components. It looks like the GF Paragon_29 is similar to my bike, component wise. I have better brakes and more travel on my fork.

I paid $625 (lists for $770) for my Diamondback. The Fisher Paragon lists for $1320. So yeah, I think you pay for the name.

troie

I wouldnt feel comfortable riding a bike that advertised a persons name. Unless of course it were mine.

Specialized for life!

Raiyn

The Paragon uses 29" rims making different frame and fork options necessary. So that comparo won't work.

soc522

Ok... so in light of this new info.... I WANT A BIKE! my budget is about 500 bucks. I can flex a little if its worth it. So you know what i'm looking for i've looked into the fisher marlin and tassajara and the trek 4500 and 4900...


please give me some advice as to what bike to get.

Raiyn

How quickly one changes his tune! Just a couple weeks ago you swore that you'd buy a dept store bike because you couldn't see the added $$.

KevinG

That is no comparison. The GF is a 29". The small production semi custom fork is worth at least 200.00 to 300.00 in price difference. And the frame is gonna be a higher quality tube set. Plus the GF frame is made in the US so that adds a bit.

Raiyn

Right, here you go. [url=https://www.specialized.com/SBCBkModel.jsp?san=03Rockhopper&bl=mountain&my=2003]Specialized Rockhopper[/url}

troie

I know huh Raiyn. After doing research, I feel so much better with what I bought.

Besides, even if it were a car or a motorcycle, I wouldnt buy it if someones name was on it. Feels like im donating directly to their bank account.

KevinG

Gary Fisher and Trek are the same company. THe components and quality at same price point are going to be very close if not the same.

Shannon-UT

I guess I was just doing a surface glace with deraillers, shifter, brakes, fork. So thanks to all with greater knowledge, they aren't the similar bikes (DB vs. GF). I wasn't looking closely.

Anyways, I'm all about the Diamondbacks or Devinics.

troie

Soc, definitely look into the Specialized line. For the price, I think they are the closest to a real mtb that you will get.

Raiyn

Ahhh so Grasshopper So you wouldn't buy a Honda, Ford, Chevrolet, Harley Davidson, etc etc. They all have family names in them. Then there's the Ford Edsel - named for Edsel Ford <bows>

KevinG

How about a Kona blast its speced better than the Rockhopper and is only a couple bucks more.

troie

You know what I mean. Like, I wouldnt buy the Eddie Bauer edition Explorer, orr a Matt Hoffman bike. Im talking full names, not Company names.

Raiyn

A worthy suggestion, one that should be looked into. Also look at this:
Giant Iguana

KevinG

So you wouldnt buy a Lemond or a Eddie Mercx or a Coppi or a Ritchey or a Bontrager or a Klein........ I could go on, but you get the point. If your answer is no, then you will miss out on some of the best bikes made.
Kevin

troie

It just feels weird. I dont doubt that they are good bikes, I just wouldnt feel comfortable.

firebolt

Get the GF Tassajara. You'll like the Genesis Geometry (longer top-tube and shorter chainstay). It's more stable and climb better than "traditional" geometry, but *maybe* not as responsive on tight single track. Since the top-tube is longer, you get larger cockpit area, which I like very much.

About the cost, I think a comparable Trek actually cost more than GF.

a2psyklnut

I was going to say exactly what Firebolt said.

I worked in a shop that was a GF dealer. The prices for GF are nearly identicle to TREK for each price point. Besides the geometries, the only other difference is the paint jobs. Although not a fan of GF geometries, I do think they have cooler paint jobs!

L8R

moabrider47

A know someone who has last year's Tassajarra model and is happy with it. You should always check out the offerings from Giant as well-usually the best bang for the buck component-wise. Specialized might be worth a look, but I feel like you are buying the name - and EVERYONE owns one (not necessarily a bad thing, i guess....).

-Moab

Scooby Snax

Hmmm, *grin* uh you definitly wouldnt be interested in a Turner, Titus, Klein, Tomac unit would you...? I sure would!!

headn4thehills

The thing to consider is what do YOU feel is the best bang for YOUR buck. Have you ridden them both to see what feels more comfortable?? Forget about the name and go for the product. GF and Trek are both good choices. If you pay more for a bike, and your happy with it, what difference would it make??? Test them out and buy what suits you. If your happy with your bike, it will be worth the money as you will spend more time on it.

The trails are waiting.

scanpat

almost all car brands are named after a person........ford, dodge etc. thats a great way to pick out a bike by thier name, hhhaa, i bet you picked your bike cuz it had pretty colors too... fisher is more in to mountain bike than most others...

LowCel 

This thread has been dead for 2 1/2 years. Please let it stay that way.