Goodbye Sawyer

 Yesterday I said goodbye to Sawyer. No......not a person. The bike. The cruiser style hard tail masterpiece that should have been a Gary Fisher branded bike, but was one of the victims of the timing of Trek's absorption of the Gary Fisher brand. While it was hoped that elements of the Gary Fisher brand, then called the Gary Fisher Collection, would survive, it disappeared a few years later, never to be heard from again. To my way of thinking, this is still one of the strangest, and biggest, mistakes Trek ever made. 

Well, back in the day, I was sent one of these Sawyers and I have had it around since then. I often enjoyed the bike, but with so many single speeds, it just didn't get used as it should have. 

I've written a few posts dedicated to the lines of this swoopy cruiser. I've talked about how Trek screwed up the marketing for this bike, how it was a big failure at retail, and how there has been a cultish following for Sawyers since then. I won't cover that old ground again. I'll just say that after three years, maybe more, of wondering what to do with this bike, I finally pulled the trigger on selling it. Then "Mr. W" answered my sales page ad and asked if he could be the bike's next caretaker. Well, the exchange happened, and now the Sawyer is all his to ride into the Sunset.

And that is exactly what should happen. Bicycles weren't made to be collected and sat in rooms to be ogled by bike nerds until they die and relatives have to dispose of them. They were made to be ridden. They were made to be scratched, beat up, and eventually worn out. I often think about what Mike Varley, of Black Mountain Cycles, told me once when I asked for touch up paint codes for my "Orange Crush" rig. He said something to the effect that he'd rather I let the scratches be and they would be "character marks", scratches that invoked stories and memories of adventures had with that bike. He's right, you know.

I don't think you've had a successful time with a bike unless you've ridden it so much you've worn out parts, dinged it up, and somehow kept it going for years and years. Bikes with character marks, and maybe more importantly, stories to tell. That should be the goal. Not having some pristine garage queen parked on a pedestal. But to each their own. This is only my view.

And getting back to the Sawyer- I was happy to hear "Mr W" say to me, as he wheeled the bike out the door, that he'd "definitely be riding this bike a lot". More than anything else, those words were music to my ears. 

I grinned to myself later, long after the Sawyer was gone, thinking about "Mr W" and his new-to-him Sawyer, blasting some single track somewhere, making memories, and gaining a few of those "character marks" in the process. It made me glad I decided to let that bike have a new lease on life. It made me happy to know that I could, at least one time, let a bike go I really liked, but wasn't utilizing, and let someone else experience the joy of riding a bike that a person cherished and loved on terrain that made for good times. 

Be well, Sawyer! May you and "Mr W" have miles of smiles with each other!

Goodbye Sawyer

 Yesterday I said goodbye to Sawyer. No......not a person. The bike. The cruiser style hard tail masterpiece that should have been a Gary Fisher branded bike, but was one of the victims of the timing of Trek's absorption of the Gary Fisher brand. While it was hoped that elements of the Gary Fisher brand, then called the Gary Fisher Collection, would survive, it disappeared a few years later, never to be heard from again. To my way of thinking, this is still one of the strangest, and biggest, mistakes Trek ever made. 

Well, back in the day, I was sent one of these Sawyers and I have had it around since then. I often enjoyed the bike, but with so many single speeds, it just didn't get used as it should have. 

I've written a few posts dedicated to the lines of this swoopy cruiser. I've talked about how Trek screwed up the marketing for this bike, how it was a big failure at retail, and how there has been a cultish following for Sawyers since then. I won't cover that old ground again. I'll just say that after three years, maybe more, of wondering what to do with this bike, I finally pulled the trigger on selling it. Then "Mr. W" answered my sales page ad and asked if he could be the bike's next caretaker. Well, the exchange happened, and now the Sawyer is all his to ride into the Sunset.

And that is exactly what should happen. Bicycles weren't made to be collected and sat in rooms to be ogled by bike nerds until they die and relatives have to dispose of them. They were made to be ridden. They were made to be scratched, beat up, and eventually worn out. I often think about what Mike Varley, of Black Mountain Cycles, told me once when I asked for touch up paint codes for my "Orange Crush" rig. He said something to the effect that he'd rather I let the scratches be and they would be "character marks", scratches that invoked stories and memories of adventures had with that bike. He's right, you know.

I don't think you've had a successful time with a bike unless you've ridden it so much you've worn out parts, dinged it up, and somehow kept it going for years and years. Bikes with character marks, and maybe more importantly, stories to tell. That should be the goal. Not having some pristine garage queen parked on a pedestal. But to each their own. This is only my view.

And getting back to the Sawyer- I was happy to hear "Mr W" say to me, as he wheeled the bike out the door, that he'd "definitely be riding this bike a lot". More than anything else, those words were music to my ears. 

I grinned to myself later, long after the Sawyer was gone, thinking about "Mr W" and his new-to-him Sawyer, blasting some single track somewhere, making memories, and gaining a few of those "character marks" in the process. It made me glad I decided to let that bike have a new lease on life. It made me happy to know that I could, at least one time, let a bike go I really liked, but wasn't utilizing, and let someone else experience the joy of riding a bike that a person cherished and loved on terrain that made for good times. 

Be well, Sawyer! May you and "Mr W" have miles of smiles with each other!

Maybe You Need A Mustache (Bar)

The Soma Fab 3-Speed Mustache Bar

Got an old 29"er sitting around? Maybe you are thinking about getting one of those "gravel bikes" you've been hearing so much about. Well, you already have a gravel bike! It just needs a little love, maybe a few parts swaps, and BOOM! Gravel travel will be easy-pasy.

Now you may be thinking,"Sure, Guitar Ted! Easy for you to say, but what about swapping out the bars, and then I'll need different controls, and what about a riser stem, and......" HOLD ON THERE!

Maybe all you need is a mustache bar! Let me explain.......

Years ago this guy came in where I was working and said he had a special handle bar I might want to try. It was, at that time, a rare handle bar. It was a mustache bar that accepted mountain bike controls. He lent me the bar and it was a revelation. I LOVED it! But, he wouldn't sell it to me then and I forgot all about that until recently.

You see, most mustache bars are for road bike controls. The mountain bike controls on a 29"er are of a smaller clamp diameter, 25.4mm to be exact. So, when this idea of doing up my old Fisher HiFi as a gravel bike project came up recently, I was trying to configure in my mind this project with drop bars and road controls. Maybe a Gevenalle set up..... I'd need a stem, and maybe some other bits to make it work. This was not going to be an easy project.

Then I saw an image of a bikepacker with a pretty cool set up. The image was head-on, and it was clear he was using a mustache bar. As the character "Gru" from "Despicable Me" would say, "LIGHT BULB!!" Of course! If only I could find a mustache bar that fits mountain bike controls. A simple Google search later turned up a few good prospects. The Soma Fab 3-Speed Mustache Bar looks to be the best solution here.

Getting an mtb control compatible mustache bar means life gets waaaaay simpler. I can use the controls the bike came with- hydraulic levers, grips, and shifters. I do not need to get a different, weird riser stem, although I may need to play with the length. In return, I get all the hand positions, including a forward, aero position to cut through the wind. Downsides? Well, you won't find a super-wide bar, but the Soma 3-Speed Mustache Bar is claimed to be 540mm wide, which should be pretty good. You also won't get any straight-on accessory mount points for lights and such except right next to the stem.

But spending around $60.00 or less, (depending on your on-line source), you can pretty much count on an almost straight over swap of your components. You might have to lengthen the brake lines depending on how you like the levers. Pointing the levers pretty much straight down will require less length and probably will be close to optimal. Flared out is good in some cases, but will require more housing length.  Your stem length will also come into play. Shorter will require less cable housing length, longer and taller the opposite. You could probably get away with the stem you currently are using. If anything, you can go a bit shorter.

Another cool thing about mustache bars is that you can flip them for rise, or use them traditionally for a bit of drop. But the big thing is the varied hand positions. I'll let you discover this, but trust me, it's rad. So, stay tuned. I'm going to get these in and start the project after the New Year.

Maybe You Need A Mustache (Bar)

The Soma Fab 3-Speed Mustache Bar

Got an old 29"er sitting around? Maybe you are thinking about getting one of those "gravel bikes" you've been hearing so much about. Well, you already have a gravel bike! It just needs a little love, maybe a few parts swaps, and BOOM! Gravel travel will be easy-pasy.

Now you may be thinking,"Sure, Guitar Ted! Easy for you to say, but what about swapping out the bars, and then I'll need different controls, and what about a riser stem, and......" HOLD ON THERE!

Maybe all you need is a mustache bar! Let me explain.......

Years ago this guy came in where I was working and said he had a special handle bar I might want to try. It was, at that time, a rare handle bar. It was a mustache bar that accepted mountain bike controls. He lent me the bar and it was a revelation. I LOVED it! But, he wouldn't sell it to me then and I forgot all about that until recently.

You see, most mustache bars are for road bike controls. The mountain bike controls on a 29"er are of a smaller clamp diameter, 25.4mm to be exact. So, when this idea of doing up my old Fisher HiFi as a gravel bike project came up recently, I was trying to configure in my mind this project with drop bars and road controls. Maybe a Gevenalle set up..... I'd need a stem, and maybe some other bits to make it work. This was not going to be an easy project.

Then I saw an image of a bikepacker with a pretty cool set up. The image was head-on, and it was clear he was using a mustache bar. As the character "Gru" from "Despicable Me" would say, "LIGHT BULB!!" Of course! If only I could find a mustache bar that fits mountain bike controls. A simple Google search later turned up a few good prospects. The Soma Fab 3-Speed Mustache Bar looks to be the best solution here.

Getting an mtb control compatible mustache bar means life gets waaaaay simpler. I can use the controls the bike came with- hydraulic levers, grips, and shifters. I do not need to get a different, weird riser stem, although I may need to play with the length. In return, I get all the hand positions, including a forward, aero position to cut through the wind. Downsides? Well, you won't find a super-wide bar, but the Soma 3-Speed Mustache Bar is claimed to be 540mm wide, which should be pretty good. You also won't get any straight-on accessory mount points for lights and such except right next to the stem.

But spending around $60.00 or less, (depending on your on-line source), you can pretty much count on an almost straight over swap of your components. You might have to lengthen the brake lines depending on how you like the levers. Pointing the levers pretty much straight down will require less length and probably will be close to optimal. Flared out is good in some cases, but will require more housing length.  Your stem length will also come into play. Shorter will require less cable housing length, longer and taller the opposite. You could probably get away with the stem you currently are using. If anything, you can go a bit shorter.

Another cool thing about mustache bars is that you can flip them for rise, or use them traditionally for a bit of drop. But the big thing is the varied hand positions. I'll let you discover this, but trust me, it's rad. So, stay tuned. I'm going to get these in and start the project after the New Year.

Minus Ten Review- 34

Trek World '07: I really miss the visionary bikes you could actually buy from Fisher

Ten years ago on the blog this week I gave a visual report on some of the cool new 2008 models from Trek and Gary Fisher. You remember Fisher Bikes? Man! I miss the brand and its vision.

Gary Fisher infused his brand with style and a look forward to a day when bicycles could be everyday transpo for all. I know people at Trek still believe in this concept, but it isn't pushed forward like it was with Fisher Bikes. Now it is all electric assist, blah,blah,blah.... Stuff folks cannot really aspire to, nor is there anyone in the company that figures in to embodying the concept of the "everyman cyclist" like there was when Gary Fisher was at the helm of Fisher Bikes.

 It is just hard to get behind the corporate image of Trek, or Specialized and Giant, for that matter, when their visions and philosophies are so hard to relate to. I mean, what is Trek? It used to mean "touring", or "adventure" in the late 70's. It was a concept that embodied everything the company stood for. Now it is what? Heck, I don't know. Same goes for Specialized and Giant and several other companies. Unrelateable corporate entities with faceless persona. Sad. The loss of the Fisher brand is regrettable in that light.

Fisher Superfly. Image by Carl Buchannan

Consider that Fisher Bikes was the brand which championed 29"ers since 2001. In early 2005, the lack of sales almost cost the brand the big wheelers, but then in 2005 Dual Sport bikes, and The Rig brought back 29"ers from the brink of extinction. By 2007 Fisher Bikes were showing the new carbon hardtail dubbed the Superfly, and 29"ers were outselling 26"ers at Fisher Bikes. This all well before many brands had a single 29"er in their line at all.

Had the 29"er been left in Trek's hands without a person like Gary Fisher, what would have happened? I bet something very different would have happened and we'd be looking at a very different landscape for cycling now. Not just in mountain bikes either.

So, what else was going on ten years ago here? Well, I was talking about how 29"ers had brought back steel frames as a viable alternative frame material to aluminum and carbon fiber. I also was yakking about Trans Iowa v4 planning with my new co-director, David Pals. Also, the odd "News And Views" post found a home on Friday, finally, after several random appearances on different days of the week prior to that. I also hinted in that "Friday News And Views" that a "spicy" new 29"er was about to be announced, which was easy to figure out. It was a Salsa model, of course. Stay tuned for what that was in an upcoming "Minus Ten Review" post.

Minus Ten Review- 34

Trek World '07: I really miss the visionary bikes you could actually buy from Fisher

Ten years ago on the blog this week I gave a visual report on some of the cool new 2008 models from Trek and Gary Fisher. You remember Fisher Bikes? Man! I miss the brand and its vision.

Gary Fisher infused his brand with style and a look forward to a day when bicycles could be everyday transpo for all. I know people at Trek still believe in this concept, but it isn't pushed forward like it was with Fisher Bikes. Now it is all electric assist, blah,blah,blah.... Stuff folks cannot really aspire to, nor is there anyone in the company that figures in to embodying the concept of the "everyman cyclist" like there was when Gary Fisher was at the helm of Fisher Bikes.

 It is just hard to get behind the corporate image of Trek, or Specialized and Giant, for that matter, when their visions and philosophies are so hard to relate to. I mean, what is Trek? It used to mean "touring", or "adventure" in the late 70's. It was a concept that embodied everything the company stood for. Now it is what? Heck, I don't know. Same goes for Specialized and Giant and several other companies. Unrelateable corporate entities with faceless persona. Sad. The loss of the Fisher brand is regrettable in that light.

Fisher Superfly. Image by Carl Buchannan

Consider that Fisher Bikes was the brand which championed 29"ers since 2001. In early 2005, the lack of sales almost cost the brand the big wheelers, but then in 2005 Dual Sport bikes, and The Rig brought back 29"ers from the brink of extinction. By 2007 Fisher Bikes were showing the new carbon hardtail dubbed the Superfly, and 29"ers were outselling 26"ers at Fisher Bikes. This all well before many brands had a single 29"er in their line at all.

Had the 29"er been left in Trek's hands without a person like Gary Fisher, what would have happened? I bet something very different would have happened and we'd be looking at a very different landscape for cycling now. Not just in mountain bikes either.

So, what else was going on ten years ago here? Well, I was talking about how 29"ers had brought back steel frames as a viable alternative frame material to aluminum and carbon fiber. I also was yakking about Trans Iowa v4 planning with my new co-director, David Pals. Also, the odd "News And Views" post found a home on Friday, finally, after several random appearances on different days of the week prior to that. I also hinted in that "Friday News And Views" that a "spicy" new 29"er was about to be announced, which was easy to figure out. It was a Salsa model, of course. Stay tuned for what that was in an upcoming "Minus Ten Review" post.

Friday News And Views

This and three other designs coming soon....

Stickers:

I found out yesterday that my partner in Riding Gravel, Ben Welnak, has come up with four new stickers that should be available sometime soon. When I know more I will pass it along here.

There will be "Addicted To Gravel" stickers in this run, in case you were wondering. Stay tuned.....

News on next year's Grinder Nats has come out...

 Grinder Nats, Gravelleurs Raid Join Forces:

The Gravelleur's Raid event has been an annual event for a while now and when Grinder Nationals announced that they were going to have an event in the same area, but later in June, it sent out a red flag to the organizers. To their credit, instead of fighting with each other these events have now joined forces and Grinder Nationals will now happen in conjunction with Gravelleur's Raid on April 7th, 2018.

Here's the Press release:

PRESS RELEASE: Alright gravel peeps here we go.
The Gravelleur's Raid 100 mile gravel road race will now be your gravel Grinder Nationals event. It will be a fully supported gravel event.
It is owned and operated by the United States Endurance Cycling Federation. http://www.usecf.com/
We will be growing the event and making it one of the top gravel races in the United States.
More info to come.
The 50 mile non-competitive event will be called Gravelleur's Raid and become a bigger and better event also.

There ya go......

Commentary: There will be a lot of folks that want to piss and moan about how "gravel racing is being  ruined", or by expressing some similar comments. I have talked with one of the USECF head honches, Troy, worked alongside of him, and have interviewed him. He gets it. The USECF grew up out of a grassroots background. The USECF wants to keep the vibe that gravel racing has always had, but they want to also have an opportunity for its best racers to gain recognition and be rewraded with a jersey that shows that. As far as I know, that's all they want to do. 

Like I have said, I've spoken with Troy from the USECF. Have any of the other commenters dug into this and asked folks from the organization what's up? Or are we just shooting from the hip? Uh huh.......

I will pass along this: The USECF jumped at the chance to do a "Gravel Nationals" because they knew that the USAC Federation was going to try to do it. I doubt that USAC would be interested in doing things in a "grassroots way" judging by how they have operated throughout their history. So, there is that nugget to chew on as well.

Finally, I feel that the Grinder Nationals is not doing anything now, or will do anything in the future that say, an event like Dirty Kanza has not already done before. That's likely what the organizers are shooting for here. So, the DK200 draws well over 2000 racers and supporting folks to Emporia every June. If that is the Grinder Nats template, I don't see how that "ruins" gravel racing, or the scene. I guess if it rankles your feathers, you could always just not bother with it, ya know....... We do have a choice.

2018 Trek Roscoe 8- A 27.5+ rig (Image courtesy of Trek Bicycles)

Trek Resurrects The Roscoe Model, Gives it Plus Wheels:

Remember the old Fisher Roscoe? Well, Trek has dredged up another old Fisher Bikes model name and tacked it on to this new, 27.5+ wheeled hard tail. You can think of it as a smaller wheeled Stache.

There will be two models offered to start with. The Roscoe 7 will retail for right at a grand and the Roscoe 8 will basically be $1200.00 list. The Orange Roscoe 8 has an aluminum frame with internal rear derailleur and dropper post routing, an NX 1X 11 group, and comes with a dropper. It also has a 141mm, open drop out rear end that is like a Boost hub but with a quick release. The fork has 120mm travel, by the way, and the bike is surprisingly shown with Schwalbe tires.I imagine at some point Bontrager will have 27.5+ rubber for these bikes.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out going forward because the X Cal series, also redesigned for 2018, is in this same price point. Trek will certainly be eyeballing which line does better and I wouldn't be surprised to see one or the other go away in the future. But then again, this is Trek and they manufacture a boat load of models.

I like the Roscoe 8. It seems like a better spec than a Timberjack and you'll likely be able to actually find one to test ride. I am a little leery of the rear axle spacing, which seems out of step with the current "axle du jour" standards. But otherwise it seems like a decent entry to plus bikes from a good name brand company.

Okay, that's it for this week. Have a great weekend and stay cool!

Friday News And Views

This and three other designs coming soon....

Stickers:

I found out yesterday that my partner in Riding Gravel, Ben Welnak, has come up with four new stickers that should be available sometime soon. When I know more I will pass it along here.

There will be "Addicted To Gravel" stickers in this run, in case you were wondering. Stay tuned.....

News on next year's Grinder Nats has come out...

 Grinder Nats, Gravelleurs Raid Join Forces:

The Gravelleur's Raid event has been an annual event for a while now and when Grinder Nationals announced that they were going to have an event in the same area, but later in June, it sent out a red flag to the organizers. To their credit, instead of fighting with each other these events have now joined forces and Grinder Nationals will now happen in conjunction with Gravelleur's Raid on April 7th, 2018.

Here's the Press release:

PRESS RELEASE: Alright gravel peeps here we go.
The Gravelleur's Raid 100 mile gravel road race will now be your gravel Grinder Nationals event. It will be a fully supported gravel event.
It is owned and operated by the United States Endurance Cycling Federation. http://www.usecf.com/
We will be growing the event and making it one of the top gravel races in the United States.
More info to come.
The 50 mile non-competitive event will be called Gravelleur's Raid and become a bigger and better event also.

There ya go......

Commentary: There will be a lot of folks that want to piss and moan about how "gravel racing is being  ruined", or by expressing some similar comments. I have talked with one of the USECF head honches, Troy, worked alongside of him, and have interviewed him. He gets it. The USECF grew up out of a grassroots background. The USECF wants to keep the vibe that gravel racing has always had, but they want to also have an opportunity for its best racers to gain recognition and be rewraded with a jersey that shows that. As far as I know, that's all they want to do. 

Like I have said, I've spoken with Troy from the USECF. Have any of the other commenters dug into this and asked folks from the organization what's up? Or are we just shooting from the hip? Uh huh.......

I will pass along this: The USECF jumped at the chance to do a "Gravel Nationals" because they knew that the USAC Federation was going to try to do it. I doubt that USAC would be interested in doing things in a "grassroots way" judging by how they have operated throughout their history. So, there is that nugget to chew on as well.

Finally, I feel that the Grinder Nationals is not doing anything now, or will do anything in the future that say, an event like Dirty Kanza has not already done before. That's likely what the organizers are shooting for here. So, the DK200 draws well over 2000 racers and supporting folks to Emporia every June. If that is the Grinder Nats template, I don't see how that "ruins" gravel racing, or the scene. I guess if it rankles your feathers, you could always just not bother with it, ya know....... We do have a choice.

2018 Trek Roscoe 8- A 27.5+ rig (Image courtesy of Trek Bicycles)

Trek Resurrects The Roscoe Model, Gives it Plus Wheels:

Remember the old Fisher Roscoe? Well, Trek has dredged up another old Fisher Bikes model name and tacked it on to this new, 27.5+ wheeled hard tail. You can think of it as a smaller wheeled Stache.

There will be two models offered to start with. The Roscoe 7 will retail for right at a grand and the Roscoe 8 will basically be $1200.00 list. The Orange Roscoe 8 has an aluminum frame with internal rear derailleur and dropper post routing, an NX 1X 11 group, and comes with a dropper. It also has a 141mm, open drop out rear end that is like a Boost hub but with a quick release. The fork has 120mm travel, by the way, and the bike is surprisingly shown with Schwalbe tires.I imagine at some point Bontrager will have 27.5+ rubber for these bikes.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out going forward because the X Cal series, also redesigned for 2018, is in this same price point. Trek will certainly be eyeballing which line does better and I wouldn't be surprised to see one or the other go away in the future. But then again, this is Trek and they manufacture a boat load of models.

I like the Roscoe 8. It seems like a better spec than a Timberjack and you'll likely be able to actually find one to test ride. I am a little leery of the rear axle spacing, which seems out of step with the current "axle du jour" standards. But otherwise it seems like a decent entry to plus bikes from a good name brand company.

Okay, that's it for this week. Have a great weekend and stay cool!

Thinning The Herd: Part 2

Navigating the Iowan jungle.

Back in the first "Thinning The Herd" post I spoke about the Fargo Gen 2 bike and why it was that I was parting ways with that rig. I sent the frame and fork off to its new owner, and that should be arriving with him this Friday, if not before. So, that chapter in my bicycle fleet is now nearly closed.

Of course, I stripped a bunch of parts off that bike and I alluded to that in the first post linked above. The Gen 2 Fargo was known as the "Fat Fargo" since it was sporting those 27.5+ wheels and tires. This was a key part for another bike, my Fisher. Sure, it was actually a bike sold as a Trek, but c'mon! This is a Fisher bike that came out the year after Trek absorbed Fisher. I'm sure it was meant to be a Fisher.

Now for a bit of history on the Sawyer. The  Sawyer was a 2 X 9 bike with a rigid fork. Trek sold it for two years and then it went away. Obviously, it was a special model made to be an evolution of Gary Fisher's original "Klunker" bike. A model of which made a cameo appearance in the mid-90's as well. In my opinion, the 2011/2012 Sawyer model was the best looking non-custom cruiser styled mountain bike ever. Unfortunately, the absorption of the Fisher brand in to Trek's corporate "borg hive-like" culture killed the marketing of this bike. Essentially was it doomed from the get-go because Trek dealers largely ignored the whimsical, oddball Sawyer and due to the lack of marketing buzz, many riders didn't know what to make of it.

The 27.5+ wheels and this bike were meant for each other.

 Trek sent me a Sawyer to review for Twenty Nine Inches back in the day and when I was done, they, as many companies did, ignored my requests for instructions to send it back. So.......here it is to this day. I liked the Sawyer as it was offered, but it had almost no corporate buzz and getting anything beyond the basics from Trek about it was met with radio silence, for the most part. As I surmised at the time, it was an expensive bike to produce, since it had so many proprietary castings and the frame was difficult to produce. With its triple top tubes having to be precisely bent and welded into place, I can imagine that this frame kept some Trek folks up late at night worrying that they might have a load of misaligned frames on their hands. What is more, it has a split drive side drop out, which is one of the trickest belt compatibility solutions I've ever seen. Had this been a NAHBS one-off custom, it would have been a very popular rig. But it got stuck with a Trek head tube badge and that pretty much killed the "cool factor" right there. Many Sawyers, which were about $1500.00 retail, ended up selling at a grand or even less by 2013 just so dealers could clear them out.

So, like I say, I had this thing setting around so I began to play with it. I had an older Fisher with a 100mm Fox fork, a G2 geometry fork, so I put it on the Sawyer. Then I swapped the geared set up to a Gates Center Track for another review of those parts. Along the way, I had trouble getting comfortable with the gangly, high, and akward Sawyer. It was like a teenager that hadn't matured into its overly large feet and hands. It just never set well with me, and although I was, (and still am) in love with the look, I could never reconcile with how this bike felt despite multiple changes to it. The stock set up seemed to be far better, so I purposed to go back to that to see what I was screwing up with what I had been doing to this bike.

So, the whole 27.5+ thing started blowing up in 2013, and I got sent a set of WTB Trailblazer 2.8"ers to try out. The Sawyer was a perfect candidate for the wheels. I knew people had shoe-horned 29+ wheels into Sawyers, so the clearances were there. The bottom bracket, in a choice made by Trek/Fisher in what I am sure was an influence from Gary himself, was made to have almost zero drop. Putting slightly smaller diameter wheels on the Sawyer would be okay then.

The wheels seemed tailor made for the Sawyer. For the first time the bike seemed "right". I actually had a ton of fun with it set up with the 27.5+ wheels. But I ended up choosing to go with these wheels on the Fargo, which, for a time, proved to be a great choice as well. The Sawyer, in the meantime, languished in the corner of The Lab where it was doomed to sit until I either sold it or got some 27.5+ wheels for it. I never was motivated to build up another 27.5+ set up, so instead, I almost sold the Sawyer a couple of months ago.

Then the realization that I may want a Ti Fargo more than two steel ones came along. I sold the Gen 2 frame and fork, and the wheels were suddenly available again, so.... Now I am planning on keeping this bike around.

Now you know the rest of the story.

Thinning The Herd: Part 2

Navigating the Iowan jungle.

Back in the first "Thinning The Herd" post I spoke about the Fargo Gen 2 bike and why it was that I was parting ways with that rig. I sent the frame and fork off to its new owner, and that should be arriving with him this Friday, if not before. So, that chapter in my bicycle fleet is now nearly closed.

Of course, I stripped a bunch of parts off that bike and I alluded to that in the first post linked above. The Gen 2 Fargo was known as the "Fat Fargo" since it was sporting those 27.5+ wheels and tires. This was a key part for another bike, my Fisher. Sure, it was actually a bike sold as a Trek, but c'mon! This is a Fisher bike that came out the year after Trek absorbed Fisher. I'm sure it was meant to be a Fisher.

Now for a bit of history on the Sawyer. The  Sawyer was a 2 X 9 bike with a rigid fork. Trek sold it for two years and then it went away. Obviously, it was a special model made to be an evolution of Gary Fisher's original "Klunker" bike. A model of which made a cameo appearance in the mid-90's as well. In my opinion, the 2011/2012 Sawyer model was the best looking non-custom cruiser styled mountain bike ever. Unfortunately, the absorption of the Fisher brand in to Trek's corporate "borg hive-like" culture killed the marketing of this bike. Essentially was it doomed from the get-go because Trek dealers largely ignored the whimsical, oddball Sawyer and due to the lack of marketing buzz, many riders didn't know what to make of it.

The 27.5+ wheels and this bike were meant for each other.

 Trek sent me a Sawyer to review for Twenty Nine Inches back in the day and when I was done, they, as many companies did, ignored my requests for instructions to send it back. So.......here it is to this day. I liked the Sawyer as it was offered, but it had almost no corporate buzz and getting anything beyond the basics from Trek about it was met with radio silence, for the most part. As I surmised at the time, it was an expensive bike to produce, since it had so many proprietary castings and the frame was difficult to produce. With its triple top tubes having to be precisely bent and welded into place, I can imagine that this frame kept some Trek folks up late at night worrying that they might have a load of misaligned frames on their hands. What is more, it has a split drive side drop out, which is one of the trickest belt compatibility solutions I've ever seen. Had this been a NAHBS one-off custom, it would have been a very popular rig. But it got stuck with a Trek head tube badge and that pretty much killed the "cool factor" right there. Many Sawyers, which were about $1500.00 retail, ended up selling at a grand or even less by 2013 just so dealers could clear them out.

So, like I say, I had this thing setting around so I began to play with it. I had an older Fisher with a 100mm Fox fork, a G2 geometry fork, so I put it on the Sawyer. Then I swapped the geared set up to a Gates Center Track for another review of those parts. Along the way, I had trouble getting comfortable with the gangly, high, and akward Sawyer. It was like a teenager that hadn't matured into its overly large feet and hands. It just never set well with me, and although I was, (and still am) in love with the look, I could never reconcile with how this bike felt despite multiple changes to it. The stock set up seemed to be far better, so I purposed to go back to that to see what I was screwing up with what I had been doing to this bike.

So, the whole 27.5+ thing started blowing up in 2013, and I got sent a set of WTB Trailblazer 2.8"ers to try out. The Sawyer was a perfect candidate for the wheels. I knew people had shoe-horned 29+ wheels into Sawyers, so the clearances were there. The bottom bracket, in a choice made by Trek/Fisher in what I am sure was an influence from Gary himself, was made to have almost zero drop. Putting slightly smaller diameter wheels on the Sawyer would be okay then.

The wheels seemed tailor made for the Sawyer. For the first time the bike seemed "right". I actually had a ton of fun with it set up with the 27.5+ wheels. But I ended up choosing to go with these wheels on the Fargo, which, for a time, proved to be a great choice as well. The Sawyer, in the meantime, languished in the corner of The Lab where it was doomed to sit until I either sold it or got some 27.5+ wheels for it. I never was motivated to build up another 27.5+ set up, so instead, I almost sold the Sawyer a couple of months ago.

Then the realization that I may want a Ti Fargo more than two steel ones came along. I sold the Gen 2 frame and fork, and the wheels were suddenly available again, so.... Now I am planning on keeping this bike around.

Now you know the rest of the story.

Minus Ten Review- 47

Another one that came and got away. Haro Mary XC.

Ten years ago on the blog I was writing about 29"ers coming in left and right, or so it seemed. I started out 2006 with two 29"ers, one that wasn't even built up yet, and ended the year with seven 29"ers! 

The one pictured here was my "thank you" from Haro/Mike Varley for doing that catalog writing for the Mary 29"ers. I screwed up big time when I was asked by Mike about what I wanted. The single speed version of the bike was almost an impossibility, since it was selling through and demand meant that maybe I would never see a frame and fork. I should have waited.  The other thing was that I asked for a size medium. I was such a doofus back then concerning what size bike I would need. It didn't help that I was on the cusp of either a Medium or Large size in many company's sizing schemes. I was often left to guess, and when the odds are 50-50, I typically lose. No matter what Bill Nye says about probability.

The other thing I see when I look at this image is that the frame and fork are on Jeff's old bench. We were finalizing the ideas behind Trans Iowa v3 at that time. Registration was just about to kick off at that time and recon was being done at about the same period as well. This marked a time in Trans Iowa history that was pretty critical. No more point to point courses. No more entry fees. Oh.......you didn't know Trans Iowa once had entry fees? Yes, for the first two years it did. We charged what we felt would cover the insurance fees to cover the event. Year one was easy, year two the fees doubled, and for year three, it was to be doubled again. We weren't prepared to charge one hundred bucks a head for the chance to ride in this crazy event. So, we went with advice we had gotten from the inception of Trans Iowa. No fee to ride.

Part of the T.I.v3 course

Speaking of Jeff, I finally got to ride mountain bikes with him during this time. I think we hit the trails twice during the Fall of '06. Both at Camp Ingawanis. It would be the only times we ever rode bicycles together, ironically. The next Spring Jeff was off to work with Ergon, where he has been ever since.

In other news, I heard solid rumors at this time in '06 that Fox was entering the 29"er fork market. This was huge. At that time, had no one like Fox jumped in with a truly legitimate option for 29"ers, the big wheeled bikes would likely have died off eventually. However; unbeknownst to me at the time, Trek put up the dollars to get a set of lowers made and an offset crown forged for their Gary Fisher line of 29"ers. Gary Fisher would have a one year exclusive on the Fox forks before everyone would be on board in the '09 model year.  

Interestingly, later on I also found out why 51mm was chosen as the offset for the Fox G2 geometry forks, and why this has been the offset that is most used on 29"er forks today. In speaking with Travis Brown at a Trek World event, he related to me that several offsets were tried in blind comparisons with riders located in several locations. In the end, all were convinced that one of the forks handled and performed the best. The one with 51mm of offset.

So, if you've ever wondered how that 51mm offset for forks on 29"ers was arrived at,now you know.

Minus Ten Review- 47

Another one that came and got away. Haro Mary XC.

Ten years ago on the blog I was writing about 29"ers coming in left and right, or so it seemed. I started out 2006 with two 29"ers, one that wasn't even built up yet, and ended the year with seven 29"ers! 

The one pictured here was my "thank you" from Haro/Mike Varley for doing that catalog writing for the Mary 29"ers. I screwed up big time when I was asked by Mike about what I wanted. The single speed version of the bike was almost an impossibility, since it was selling through and demand meant that maybe I would never see a frame and fork. I should have waited.  The other thing was that I asked for a size medium. I was such a doofus back then concerning what size bike I would need. It didn't help that I was on the cusp of either a Medium or Large size in many company's sizing schemes. I was often left to guess, and when the odds are 50-50, I typically lose. No matter what Bill Nye says about probability.

The other thing I see when I look at this image is that the frame and fork are on Jeff's old bench. We were finalizing the ideas behind Trans Iowa v3 at that time. Registration was just about to kick off at that time and recon was being done at about the same period as well. This marked a time in Trans Iowa history that was pretty critical. No more point to point courses. No more entry fees. Oh.......you didn't know Trans Iowa once had entry fees? Yes, for the first two years it did. We charged what we felt would cover the insurance fees to cover the event. Year one was easy, year two the fees doubled, and for year three, it was to be doubled again. We weren't prepared to charge one hundred bucks a head for the chance to ride in this crazy event. So, we went with advice we had gotten from the inception of Trans Iowa. No fee to ride.

Part of the T.I.v3 course

Speaking of Jeff, I finally got to ride mountain bikes with him during this time. I think we hit the trails twice during the Fall of '06. Both at Camp Ingawanis. It would be the only times we ever rode bicycles together, ironically. The next Spring Jeff was off to work with Ergon, where he has been ever since.

In other news, I heard solid rumors at this time in '06 that Fox was entering the 29"er fork market. This was huge. At that time, had no one like Fox jumped in with a truly legitimate option for 29"ers, the big wheeled bikes would likely have died off eventually. However; unbeknownst to me at the time, Trek put up the dollars to get a set of lowers made and an offset crown forged for their Gary Fisher line of 29"ers. Gary Fisher would have a one year exclusive on the Fox forks before everyone would be on board in the '09 model year.  

Interestingly, later on I also found out why 51mm was chosen as the offset for the Fox G2 geometry forks, and why this has been the offset that is most used on 29"er forks today. In speaking with Travis Brown at a Trek World event, he related to me that several offsets were tried in blind comparisons with riders located in several locations. In the end, all were convinced that one of the forks handled and performed the best. The one with 51mm of offset.

So, if you've ever wondered how that 51mm offset for forks on 29"ers was arrived at,now you know.

Fisher Superfly SS To Be A 2010 Product?

Last year it was leaked that at Trek World, the dealer only show, something special was going to be offered to Trek/Fisher employees. Something that was not going to be offered for sale to the public- a single speed version of the Superfly carbon 29"er hard tail.

Okay, so it was instantly the hottest 29"er product and lots of people got wind of the proposed offer before it happened. It was obvious that those who had "connections" were going to get these despite not working for Trek/Fisher. (This happened- alot!) It was also apparent to me as time went by that Fisher would be foolish not to offer this in their line up as a product anyone could buy. In fact, I was almost certain that this, "you can't buy it" product would end up being sold by a dealer or dealers somewhere.

And now that has happened.

A well known Minnesota dealer and another in Pennsylvania are offering 2009 Fisher Superfly single speed specific frames and Fox forks for sale. It was just a matter of time.

So, you have to figure that it is coming. A 2010 Fisher Superfly single speed hard tail with a geared option. Not only that, but I'm betting a rigid carbon Bontrager "Superfly" fork with the G2 offset is coming as an option for it. Will I be right? Well, we only have to wait for about four more months before we find out. All I have to say is this..............

Is Fisher going to say "no" to making money?

I don't think so!

Get out and ride this weekend!

Fisher Superfly SS To Be A 2010 Product?

Last year it was leaked that at Trek World, the dealer only show, something special was going to be offered to Trek/Fisher employees. Something that was not going to be offered for sale to the public- a single speed version of the Superfly carbon 29"er hard tail.

Okay, so it was instantly the hottest 29"er product and lots of people got wind of the proposed offer before it happened. It was obvious that those who had "connections" were going to get these despite not working for Trek/Fisher. (This happened- alot!) It was also apparent to me as time went by that Fisher would be foolish not to offer this in their line up as a product anyone could buy. In fact, I was almost certain that this, "you can't buy it" product would end up being sold by a dealer or dealers somewhere.

And now that has happened.

A well known Minnesota dealer and another in Pennsylvania are offering 2009 Fisher Superfly single speed specific frames and Fox forks for sale. It was just a matter of time.

So, you have to figure that it is coming. A 2010 Fisher Superfly single speed hard tail with a geared option. Not only that, but I'm betting a rigid carbon Bontrager "Superfly" fork with the G2 offset is coming as an option for it. Will I be right? Well, we only have to wait for about four more months before we find out. All I have to say is this..............

Is Fisher going to say "no" to making money?

I don't think so!

Get out and ride this weekend!

What's Up With The Big Wheels Anyway?

<======Niner has made some changes to their forks

Sometimes I get asked, "So what's the deal with those big wheels anyway?" I guess I can take that a few ways

Like, what's new with the big wheels? Well, Niner has some things going on with forks that are kind of interesting. They changed their axle to crown and offset figures across the board.

No longer (<====Ha !) will they produce 490mm ale to crown forks, they have gone to a 470mm length with a bit longer offset now of 44, (0r is that 45mm offset? Confusion here..), and they are also dong their new carbon fork with the same geometry.


<========Carbon fiber in a new design fo 29"ers.

Niner is introducing this radical new carbon fork design with some thinking borrowed from the road fork designs out there.

Niner wanted to eliminate the fore and aft flex with a new carbon fork. Their analysis was that the carbon legged/aluminum crown design employed by most off road forks was concentrating the stresses at the fork crown. Niner developed this fork to better distribute the forces from trail impacts along the entire length of the structure. Not only that, but the unique shape of the crown allows for continuous, unbroken carbon fiber construction from the dropouts to the all carbon steer tube. Eliminating sharp bends allows for this. Also, losing the aluminum crown lightens the structure and with the continuous carbon construction, it is stronger than a more traditional carbon/aluminum fork construction.

The fork has a 240lb rider weight limit and a restriction to 160mm rotors. The fork is available on pre-order from your local Niner dealer or online at www.ninerbikes.com . MSRP is $375.00 and to pre-order there is a $100.00 deposit required by March 31st.



<=======Geax has cool new hangar cards!

Also, Geax has some super cool new hangar cards for their tires. Marked with a ruler that allows you to easily eye up your fatty 29"er's tire width in a snap. Bonus feature: It comes with Geax's new Barro Race 29"er tire attached. Look for a detailed report on Twenty Nine Inches soon!


And Finally....... While some may have wanted the latest lowdown on what's going on with the big wheeled world, some just want to know, "What's up with those 29"ers anyway?" Meaning, they don't understand the larger diameter, I could explain it, but I'll point you to my big wheeled friend instead. He 'splains it way better than I do, without all the "wordiness". Check it out here.

What's Up With The Big Wheels Anyway?

<======Niner has made some changes to their forks

Sometimes I get asked, "So what's the deal with those big wheels anyway?" I guess I can take that a few ways

Like, what's new with the big wheels? Well, Niner has some things going on with forks that are kind of interesting. They changed their axle to crown and offset figures across the board.

No longer (<====Ha !) will they produce 490mm ale to crown forks, they have gone to a 470mm length with a bit longer offset now of 44, (0r is that 45mm offset? Confusion here..), and they are also dong their new carbon fork with the same geometry.


<========Carbon fiber in a new design fo 29"ers.

Niner is introducing this radical new carbon fork design with some thinking borrowed from the road fork designs out there.

Niner wanted to eliminate the fore and aft flex with a new carbon fork. Their analysis was that the carbon legged/aluminum crown design employed by most off road forks was concentrating the stresses at the fork crown. Niner developed this fork to better distribute the forces from trail impacts along the entire length of the structure. Not only that, but the unique shape of the crown allows for continuous, unbroken carbon fiber construction from the dropouts to the all carbon steer tube. Eliminating sharp bends allows for this. Also, losing the aluminum crown lightens the structure and with the continuous carbon construction, it is stronger than a more traditional carbon/aluminum fork construction.

The fork has a 240lb rider weight limit and a restriction to 160mm rotors. The fork is available on pre-order from your local Niner dealer or online at www.ninerbikes.com . MSRP is $375.00 and to pre-order there is a $100.00 deposit required by March 31st.



<=======Geax has cool new hangar cards!

Also, Geax has some super cool new hangar cards for their tires. Marked with a ruler that allows you to easily eye up your fatty 29"er's tire width in a snap. Bonus feature: It comes with Geax's new Barro Race 29"er tire attached. Look for a detailed report on Twenty Nine Inches soon!


And Finally....... While some may have wanted the latest lowdown on what's going on with the big wheeled world, some just want to know, "What's up with those 29"ers anyway?" Meaning, they don't understand the larger diameter, I could explain it, but I'll point you to my big wheeled friend instead. He 'splains it way better than I do, without all the "wordiness". Check it out here.

A Few Observations From The Weekend

With the Trek Show behind me now I have a few observations to make concerning the aftermath and reactions I have seen so far. In no particular order, here they are......

A Bike Ride Sooths All Ills: Some of you industry types will relate to this. There is a lot of fun to be had looking at bikes, talking about bikes, and having bikes as part of your daily job, but riding a bike........ Ahhh! That's where it's at! I got out on the KMFDM (Karate Monkey Fixie Death Machine) yesterday and had a good one. What a relief from all that walking around Monona center and the windshield time to and fro. Whew!

Fisher Road Bikes: I suppose this will be the biggest story out of the Trek World show. I thought it was an odd thing for Trek to do, but after thinking about what some of the Trek and Fisher guys had to say about it, it makes sense. It makes sense in a sort of twisted, non-roadie way. I can totally get into it, if they pull off what they intend to do for 2010, when I hear the real deal will hit the show room floor. It should be a wild ride. As for the line up for '09? Uhh........yeah, the lack of time to get this done shows. I would say, "Don't pass judgement based upon 2009 stuff. Wait till 2010 product rolls out. Then we'll see what cards they are holding.

That said, the '09 stuff is solid, work horse road bike material. It looks flashy, like a Fisher should, I suppose. The highlight for me? The Presidio cyclo-crosser. True Temper steel and cantilever braked goodness. A real cyclo-crosser. Hopefully they can get it out before September is over!

No Carbon Fiber Single Speeder Fo You!!: The employees of Trek and Fisher dealers were offered a special price to get a limited edition Superfly single speed frame, Fox fork, headset, stem, and seat collar. I mean it was a smokin' good deal. One time only, and would not be sold to the public. Exclusive, cheap, carbon fiber........mmmmm! Yeah, well...........I passed it up! Yep! I showed restraint. You can call me nuts if you want to, (and you would if you knew the price), but I have my reasons for letting that one go. And no..............I ain't sharing all of them! I'm just going to say that I am holding out for something spicy that I hope is coming down the pike soon. That's all I'm gonna say!

Bontrager Shoes and Clothing?: In another stunner, Bontrager is now a shoe and clothing company. Sounds goofy? Well, I can't argue that, but the stuff is the real deal folks. I tried on the shoes and they are top notch. They even fit my skinny lil ol tootsies, which in itself is a marvel. Bontrager claims that their research led them to this foot bed/insole concept that they believe will fit the vast majority of riders out there. I say, if they can fit me, and some of the more normal footed brethren out there, mission accomplished! I was impressed.

The clothing was well thought out, but more importantly, it looked like stuff you would want to wear. Nothing goofy, no weird colors, no crazy logo emblazoned jerseys. Just sensible looking stuff. The shorts benefited from the Inform saddle project and their chamois showed it. It doesn't look anything like what I've seen before and features some high tech procedures. It will be interesting to see what riders think of them.

Commuter Me This Riddle, Batman: Commuter bikes are the rage all over and Trek/Fisher are all over this segment. Some bling-a-riffic fluff, (District) and some serious, (Allant) was shown. What wasn't widely known was that Fisher showed a select few dealers a long bike concept called a El Ranchero. Okay, long bike cool, ,,,,,name? Umm, did these guys steal the idea file from Salsa? That name isn't a Fisher kinda name. In fact, it makes m hungry for eggs with green sauce for some reason. Anyway......it is a cool concept and with the right mods, I like the bike. It needs a bit of tweaking though, before it is ready for prime time. You can check out some shots of this rig here. Why doesn't Fisher, or Trek for that matter just do a straight up version of this and get it out there? I don't know, but now is the time, and this is the place.

What's Up With That 29"er Line?: Well, not much news there. The Mamba is a new sub-grand 29"er and it looks pretty hot. The rest of the line gets dressed up in new graphics and colors with a few components custom colored to match. Nice.........but just that. I look for 2010 to be a pivotal year in the Fisher 29"er line. Other 29"er news came out of the Bontrager camp where I found out that a 29"er G2 version of the Switchblade carbon fork is in development and will be for sale by next summer. It's going to be an all new design too. The word is that the the old offset will still be supported too. Also, there was a new, all out, no holds barred racing tire shown called the XR 1. It will be a 1.90 wide tire with an Expert or Dual compound Team version available. Don't expect durability to be it's forte' as I heard that the race team said, "We don't care if it wears out in one race." You can check out my full report on this with pics here.

Okay, that's my take for this morning. First show of the Fall season done. Next up: Eurobike. No, I am not going. I'll just have to watch it all unfold over here like the rest of ya'all!

A Few Observations From The Weekend

With the Trek Show behind me now I have a few observations to make concerning the aftermath and reactions I have seen so far. In no particular order, here they are......

A Bike Ride Sooths All Ills: Some of you industry types will relate to this. There is a lot of fun to be had looking at bikes, talking about bikes, and having bikes as part of your daily job, but riding a bike........ Ahhh! That's where it's at! I got out on the KMFDM (Karate Monkey Fixie Death Machine) yesterday and had a good one. What a relief from all that walking around Monona center and the windshield time to and fro. Whew!

Fisher Road Bikes: I suppose this will be the biggest story out of the Trek World show. I thought it was an odd thing for Trek to do, but after thinking about what some of the Trek and Fisher guys had to say about it, it makes sense. It makes sense in a sort of twisted, non-roadie way. I can totally get into it, if they pull off what they intend to do for 2010, when I hear the real deal will hit the show room floor. It should be a wild ride. As for the line up for '09? Uhh........yeah, the lack of time to get this done shows. I would say, "Don't pass judgement based upon 2009 stuff. Wait till 2010 product rolls out. Then we'll see what cards they are holding.

That said, the '09 stuff is solid, work horse road bike material. It looks flashy, like a Fisher should, I suppose. The highlight for me? The Presidio cyclo-crosser. True Temper steel and cantilever braked goodness. A real cyclo-crosser. Hopefully they can get it out before September is over!

No Carbon Fiber Single Speeder Fo You!!: The employees of Trek and Fisher dealers were offered a special price to get a limited edition Superfly single speed frame, Fox fork, headset, stem, and seat collar. I mean it was a smokin' good deal. One time only, and would not be sold to the public. Exclusive, cheap, carbon fiber........mmmmm! Yeah, well...........I passed it up! Yep! I showed restraint. You can call me nuts if you want to, (and you would if you knew the price), but I have my reasons for letting that one go. And no..............I ain't sharing all of them! I'm just going to say that I am holding out for something spicy that I hope is coming down the pike soon. That's all I'm gonna say!

Bontrager Shoes and Clothing?: In another stunner, Bontrager is now a shoe and clothing company. Sounds goofy? Well, I can't argue that, but the stuff is the real deal folks. I tried on the shoes and they are top notch. They even fit my skinny lil ol tootsies, which in itself is a marvel. Bontrager claims that their research led them to this foot bed/insole concept that they believe will fit the vast majority of riders out there. I say, if they can fit me, and some of the more normal footed brethren out there, mission accomplished! I was impressed.

The clothing was well thought out, but more importantly, it looked like stuff you would want to wear. Nothing goofy, no weird colors, no crazy logo emblazoned jerseys. Just sensible looking stuff. The shorts benefited from the Inform saddle project and their chamois showed it. It doesn't look anything like what I've seen before and features some high tech procedures. It will be interesting to see what riders think of them.

Commuter Me This Riddle, Batman: Commuter bikes are the rage all over and Trek/Fisher are all over this segment. Some bling-a-riffic fluff, (District) and some serious, (Allant) was shown. What wasn't widely known was that Fisher showed a select few dealers a long bike concept called a El Ranchero. Okay, long bike cool, ,,,,,name? Umm, did these guys steal the idea file from Salsa? That name isn't a Fisher kinda name. In fact, it makes m hungry for eggs with green sauce for some reason. Anyway......it is a cool concept and with the right mods, I like the bike. It needs a bit of tweaking though, before it is ready for prime time. You can check out some shots of this rig here. Why doesn't Fisher, or Trek for that matter just do a straight up version of this and get it out there? I don't know, but now is the time, and this is the place.

What's Up With That 29"er Line?: Well, not much news there. The Mamba is a new sub-grand 29"er and it looks pretty hot. The rest of the line gets dressed up in new graphics and colors with a few components custom colored to match. Nice.........but just that. I look for 2010 to be a pivotal year in the Fisher 29"er line. Other 29"er news came out of the Bontrager camp where I found out that a 29"er G2 version of the Switchblade carbon fork is in development and will be for sale by next summer. It's going to be an all new design too. The word is that the the old offset will still be supported too. Also, there was a new, all out, no holds barred racing tire shown called the XR 1. It will be a 1.90 wide tire with an Expert or Dual compound Team version available. Don't expect durability to be it's forte' as I heard that the race team said, "We don't care if it wears out in one race." You can check out my full report on this with pics here.

Okay, that's my take for this morning. First show of the Fall season done. Next up: Eurobike. No, I am not going. I'll just have to watch it all unfold over here like the rest of ya'all!

Trek Top Fuel 9.9: Evidence of Things To Come?

<=== Team XR Tire, first shown at Trek World last August. Will we see a 29"er version?

Trek is trickling out some big teasers lately in the run up to its dealer only Trek World show that will happen in about two weeks. Today in a piece on cyclingnews, it is being reported that Trek is showing a completely revamped Top Fuel 9.9 race bike. This bike has several technologies that I have said would transfer over to mountain biking and 29"ers in particular.

When Trek introduced the next generation of the Madone road bike, there were several things about it which raised my eyebrows a bit. Most notably was the tapered steer tube idea, or as Trek calls it E2. This idea made a lot of sense for 29"ers, and sure enough, you will see more 29"er models using the tapered steer tube idea soon. Not just from Fisher either, which I assume will adopt this technology in a new long travel trail bike in 29"er guise.

E2 wasn't the only radical thing on the Madone though. This new Trek Top Fuel model adopts all the bells and whistles from that companies top roadie offering. A carbon fiber frame molded with bearing pockets is one thing that the Top Fuel gets along with a narrower stance bottom bracket spindle and special FSA 2 X 9 crank. The longer seat tube/mast idea is a take off on the Madone's unique set up. I'm not necessarily a fan of either of these two ideas and I do not see them coming over to 29"ers.......yet. The seat mast idea is a particularly daft idea for 29"ers. I hope we never see that cross over, but I'm afeared it probably will in some form.

The other thing I see here on the Top Fuel are the components that foreshadows what I think we will see on the next Superfly or on some other race oriented 29"er from Fisher. Carbon clincher wheels for 29"ers- (the Race XXX Lite), have already been leaked out. The tires on the Top Fuel, the Team XR's, are the next thing I think will be available from Bontrager in 29"er guise. I held a prototype sample last year, (pic above) and these tires are light! Given the already low rolling resistance of the standard XR and its volume, I'd say these Team XRs are going to be a very popular choice amongst racers of 29"ers. Tubeless Ready of course.

I'm sure there will be a few more surprises at Trek World, (and at least one that will frustrate consumers to no end), so stay tuned!

Trek Top Fuel 9.9: Evidence of Things To Come?

<=== Team XR Tire, first shown at Trek World last August. Will we see a 29"er version?

Trek is trickling out some big teasers lately in the run up to its dealer only Trek World show that will happen in about two weeks. Today in a piece on cyclingnews, it is being reported that Trek is showing a completely revamped Top Fuel 9.9 race bike. This bike has several technologies that I have said would transfer over to mountain biking and 29"ers in particular.

When Trek introduced the next generation of the Madone road bike, there were several things about it which raised my eyebrows a bit. Most notably was the tapered steer tube idea, or as Trek calls it E2. This idea made a lot of sense for 29"ers, and sure enough, you will see more 29"er models using the tapered steer tube idea soon. Not just from Fisher either, which I assume will adopt this technology in a new long travel trail bike in 29"er guise.

E2 wasn't the only radical thing on the Madone though. This new Trek Top Fuel model adopts all the bells and whistles from that companies top roadie offering. A carbon fiber frame molded with bearing pockets is one thing that the Top Fuel gets along with a narrower stance bottom bracket spindle and special FSA 2 X 9 crank. The longer seat tube/mast idea is a take off on the Madone's unique set up. I'm not necessarily a fan of either of these two ideas and I do not see them coming over to 29"ers.......yet. The seat mast idea is a particularly daft idea for 29"ers. I hope we never see that cross over, but I'm afeared it probably will in some form.

The other thing I see here on the Top Fuel are the components that foreshadows what I think we will see on the next Superfly or on some other race oriented 29"er from Fisher. Carbon clincher wheels for 29"ers- (the Race XXX Lite), have already been leaked out. The tires on the Top Fuel, the Team XR's, are the next thing I think will be available from Bontrager in 29"er guise. I held a prototype sample last year, (pic above) and these tires are light! Given the already low rolling resistance of the standard XR and its volume, I'd say these Team XRs are going to be a very popular choice amongst racers of 29"ers. Tubeless Ready of course.

I'm sure there will be a few more surprises at Trek World, (and at least one that will frustrate consumers to no end), so stay tuned!