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Hipcast Moblog

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Hipcast Moblog

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Hipcast Moblog

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Hipcast Moblog

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Hipcast Moblog

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A Requiem For Gary Fisher Bikes

Unless you were under a rock somewhere yesterday you probably heard about the end of the Gary Fisher Bike brand. It is dead.

In a press release issued on Wednesday, Trek Bicycle Corporation announced that "effective immediately" the Gary Fisher Bikes brand no longer exists. Wow! I don't think anyone saw that one coming. (Unless they worked for Trek, of course!)

So what? Many would ask this question and would point out that Trek has owned Gary Fisher Bikes since 1994. It hasn't been the same company since then. Maybe. (and of course!) But Gary Fisher Bikes did have some autonomous creations from Trek, some engineering ideas separate from Trek, and marketing and branding, of course. Of all of Trek's acquisitions during the 90's, Gary Fisher Bikes was the first and longest lasting of them. Think about that for a minute.

Now it is the "Gary Fisher Collection", and will be branded with Trek's head tube badge and logo on the bikes.  How long before even that token marketing ruse is over is anyone's guess, but I would submit to you that it is already pretty much a completely assimilated brand. Even Gary Fisher himself is calling the 2011 29"ers, "Trek 29"ers".

Sure, there will be a "Fisher influence" for years to come, but let's face facts: It makes more sense in the long run for Trek to focus its resources on one brand instead of splitting them amongst two. Dealers were said to have been clamoring for Trek to give them Trek 29"ers and Dual Sport models and now they have them without Trek having to split more resources and duplicate product with another brand. Makes sense from a business standpoint for sure.

<===The awesome Sawyer 29"er from......(gulp!) Trek? (!!)

But even though it makes sense from a business standpoint, you have got to wonder how Trek will carry out things from this point. I liked how Fisher seemed to fly in the face of Trek's conservative, Mid-Western pragmatism. It was a great foil to what Trek had on offer on the other side of the aisle.

I am just afraid that will all disappear now that Fisher Bikes as a stand alone brand is gone, and I lament this possibility. Hopefully I am very wrong about that, and in fact, Gary Fisher himself assured me that it would not happen in a telephone conversation I had with him yesterday. Time will tell, of course, but if the huge marketing and consumer perception issue can be overcome, I would bet that Gary Fisher would find some sort of way to get that message across. Say what you will about the man, but he has made a lot of inroads along the years in cycling, and continues to be an influence. How many other cycling personas can you say that about? Not many.

So, this weekend I will raise a toast to the brand that is gone, and then another to the man that carries on with his passion for cycling of all stripes, Gary Fisher.

It'll be an interesting ride from this point onward, that's for sure!

A Requiem For Gary Fisher Bikes

Unless you were under a rock somewhere yesterday you probably heard about the end of the Gary Fisher Bike brand. It is dead.

In a press release issued on Wednesday, Trek Bicycle Corporation announced that "effective immediately" the Gary Fisher Bikes brand no longer exists. Wow! I don't think anyone saw that one coming. (Unless they worked for Trek, of course!)

So what? Many would ask this question and would point out that Trek has owned Gary Fisher Bikes since 1994. It hasn't been the same company since then. Maybe. (and of course!) But Gary Fisher Bikes did have some autonomous creations from Trek, some engineering ideas separate from Trek, and marketing and branding, of course. Of all of Trek's acquisitions during the 90's, Gary Fisher Bikes was the first and longest lasting of them. Think about that for a minute.

Now it is the "Gary Fisher Collection", and will be branded with Trek's head tube badge and logo on the bikes.  How long before even that token marketing ruse is over is anyone's guess, but I would submit to you that it is already pretty much a completely assimilated brand. Even Gary Fisher himself is calling the 2011 29"ers, "Trek 29"ers".

Sure, there will be a "Fisher influence" for years to come, but let's face facts: It makes more sense in the long run for Trek to focus its resources on one brand instead of splitting them amongst two. Dealers were said to have been clamoring for Trek to give them Trek 29"ers and Dual Sport models and now they have them without Trek having to split more resources and duplicate product with another brand. Makes sense from a business standpoint for sure.

<===The awesome Sawyer 29"er from......(gulp!) Trek? (!!)

But even though it makes sense from a business standpoint, you have got to wonder how Trek will carry out things from this point. I liked how Fisher seemed to fly in the face of Trek's conservative, Mid-Western pragmatism. It was a great foil to what Trek had on offer on the other side of the aisle.

I am just afraid that will all disappear now that Fisher Bikes as a stand alone brand is gone, and I lament this possibility. Hopefully I am very wrong about that, and in fact, Gary Fisher himself assured me that it would not happen in a telephone conversation I had with him yesterday. Time will tell, of course, but if the huge marketing and consumer perception issue can be overcome, I would bet that Gary Fisher would find some sort of way to get that message across. Say what you will about the man, but he has made a lot of inroads along the years in cycling, and continues to be an influence. How many other cycling personas can you say that about? Not many.

So, this weekend I will raise a toast to the brand that is gone, and then another to the man that carries on with his passion for cycling of all stripes, Gary Fisher.

It'll be an interesting ride from this point onward, that's for sure!

Salsa Cycles Fargo Changes

<==Current State Of Affairs

I mentioned earlier that I had to get the Fargo back together after robbing parts from it for the Dos Niner. Here is photographic proof of said retro-grades!

In training for the Dirty Kanza 200, I found out that the 2 X 9 gearing was really appealing to me for gravel grinding. I liked being able to stay in one ring up front and just shift the rear, with an occasional bail out to the small ring up front for steep stuff, or when I blow up, (often), or when there is a head wind and I blow up, (more often than not). Actually, to be quite honest, I think of it as a 1 X 9 with a bail out gear. Works for me, and it is closer to my single speed nature than a triple.

 Here is a close up. How I got here is a round about story. I had an old Specialized touring bike that was a cast off. The frame was waaaay too big for most folks, but the bike was hung with some cool, vintage bits and I saved it from going to the dumpster for those bits. The bike hung in the corner of the Lab for years until recently when this project came up. I thought I could use the original Sugino AT cranks which had that glowing, pearl-like ano finish. (A beautiful look that is way under rated, in my opinion.) The AT cranks were set up with "half step" gearing, which meant that the big ring and middle ring were close ratio and the granny was waaaay smaller. I figured on using the middle and granny rings which were 44T and 28T respectively. That almost matches the 44T/29T on the Dos Niner. If the bottom bracket and crank would clear the Fargo, I would be in business.

<

<=== Need some bottle cages for the fork blade mounts? Get these Velocity Bottle Traps. You will not lose a bottle from these!

Okay, so I pulled apart the Specialized to find out the bottom bracket had some strange-to-me interface for the tool to remove it. I improvised with a Park pin spanner tool and it came right out. Huh! Whattya know! A SunTour sealed bearing bottom bracket. Well, I got it into the Fargo, but when I got the AT crank and test fit it I was dismayed to see that it wasn't going to work. Back to the drawing board!

The SunTour BB had a ginormously long spindle and still, the chain rings were hitting the chain stays. So, a "Plan B" had to be formulated. I found a 110/74BCD crank, (an old Shimano Altus), and pulled the rings I wanted off the AT crank. Then I rummaged through my collection of salvaged Shimano cartridge bottom brackets and found a 122mm spindle UN 54 that did the trick nicely. Everything went together well, and with a slight re-adjustment to the height of the front derailluer, (anybody wonder why they don't make derailleurs horizontally adjustable?), I was up and running again.

The shifting was great. The chain doesn't drop off to the inside, but I probably should put that Third Eye chain watcher on the Specialized had, just in case. Interestingly, the Specialized was a six speed rear geared bike, so these chain rings shouldn't work with a 9 speed chain, right? Well, they do just fine, actually, and I don't see any issue with the set up in that manner. 

The big test will be the Fargo Adventure Ride on Friday. We'll see then, but for now, I can't see why things won't go smoothly. A last, night time, gravel road test ride will be done hopefully tomorrow, and then it is on to Minnesota with this rig.

Salsa Cycles Fargo Changes

<==Current State Of Affairs

I mentioned earlier that I had to get the Fargo back together after robbing parts from it for the Dos Niner. Here is photographic proof of said retro-grades!

In training for the Dirty Kanza 200, I found out that the 2 X 9 gearing was really appealing to me for gravel grinding. I liked being able to stay in one ring up front and just shift the rear, with an occasional bail out to the small ring up front for steep stuff, or when I blow up, (often), or when there is a head wind and I blow up, (more often than not). Actually, to be quite honest, I think of it as a 1 X 9 with a bail out gear. Works for me, and it is closer to my single speed nature than a triple.

 Here is a close up. How I got here is a round about story. I had an old Specialized touring bike that was a cast off. The frame was waaaay too big for most folks, but the bike was hung with some cool, vintage bits and I saved it from going to the dumpster for those bits. The bike hung in the corner of the Lab for years until recently when this project came up. I thought I could use the original Sugino AT cranks which had that glowing, pearl-like ano finish. (A beautiful look that is way under rated, in my opinion.) The AT cranks were set up with "half step" gearing, which meant that the big ring and middle ring were close ratio and the granny was waaaay smaller. I figured on using the middle and granny rings which were 44T and 28T respectively. That almost matches the 44T/29T on the Dos Niner. If the bottom bracket and crank would clear the Fargo, I would be in business.

<

<=== Need some bottle cages for the fork blade mounts? Get these Velocity Bottle Traps. You will not lose a bottle from these!

Okay, so I pulled apart the Specialized to find out the bottom bracket had some strange-to-me interface for the tool to remove it. I improvised with a Park pin spanner tool and it came right out. Huh! Whattya know! A SunTour sealed bearing bottom bracket. Well, I got it into the Fargo, but when I got the AT crank and test fit it I was dismayed to see that it wasn't going to work. Back to the drawing board!

The SunTour BB had a ginormously long spindle and still, the chain rings were hitting the chain stays. So, a "Plan B" had to be formulated. I found a 110/74BCD crank, (an old Shimano Altus), and pulled the rings I wanted off the AT crank. Then I rummaged through my collection of salvaged Shimano cartridge bottom brackets and found a 122mm spindle UN 54 that did the trick nicely. Everything went together well, and with a slight re-adjustment to the height of the front derailluer, (anybody wonder why they don't make derailleurs horizontally adjustable?), I was up and running again.

The shifting was great. The chain doesn't drop off to the inside, but I probably should put that Third Eye chain watcher on the Specialized had, just in case. Interestingly, the Specialized was a six speed rear geared bike, so these chain rings shouldn't work with a 9 speed chain, right? Well, they do just fine, actually, and I don't see any issue with the set up in that manner. 

The big test will be the Fargo Adventure Ride on Friday. We'll see then, but for now, I can't see why things won't go smoothly. A last, night time, gravel road test ride will be done hopefully tomorrow, and then it is on to Minnesota with this rig.

The Green Light

<===Heading north bound with this on Friday......

Green lights.  The signal for "going".

I've been waiting for a "green light" for months now. When you are married, and have a family, it isn't all about what you want to do. So, when the Fargo Adventure Ride was announced, I penciled it into the calendar and  conferred with Mrs. Guitar Ted about it. She figured that it might work out to see a friend that she has up there and that our kids may go to see their grandparents at that time.

Then there were wrenches. You know......the things that can change your plans. 

First off, my wife's friend moves away from the Twin Cities. Then her boss at work starts meddling in her plans, telling her she won't tell my wife whether or not she can get the time off until the week of. (!!) Yeah........nice!

Well, we got around that major hurdle, and now my good friend that watches our kids and my wife are taking the kids to the Twin Cities for an overnight-er themselves. Everything worked out after all. 

So, the "green light" is on. I'm going to The Fargo Adventure Ride on Thursday/Friday, and then onward to the Sol Sessions in Wisconsin Friday till Sunday morning. Big riding , big miles in the car, and big fun with friends. I am excited.

Maybe we'll even run into some Trans Wisconsin riders, eh? That'd be cool!

In other news, The Renegade Sportsman author, Zach Dundas, does a bit of an article for Good magazine online here. Zach is exploring the rising popularity of these events, which to the average citizen may seem bizarre, twisted, and insane. He quotes Tim Ek, posts the T.I.V2 video made by Jeff Kerkove, and has a bit of a Q&A with me as well. Check it out for a perspective that comes from outside the little niche of gravel grinder freaks.

The Green Light

<===Heading north bound with this on Friday......

Green lights.  The signal for "going".

I've been waiting for a "green light" for months now. When you are married, and have a family, it isn't all about what you want to do. So, when the Fargo Adventure Ride was announced, I penciled it into the calendar and  conferred with Mrs. Guitar Ted about it. She figured that it might work out to see a friend that she has up there and that our kids may go to see their grandparents at that time.

Then there were wrenches. You know......the things that can change your plans. 

First off, my wife's friend moves away from the Twin Cities. Then her boss at work starts meddling in her plans, telling her she won't tell my wife whether or not she can get the time off until the week of. (!!) Yeah........nice!

Well, we got around that major hurdle, and now my good friend that watches our kids and my wife are taking the kids to the Twin Cities for an overnight-er themselves. Everything worked out after all. 

So, the "green light" is on. I'm going to The Fargo Adventure Ride on Thursday/Friday, and then onward to the Sol Sessions in Wisconsin Friday till Sunday morning. Big riding , big miles in the car, and big fun with friends. I am excited.

Maybe we'll even run into some Trans Wisconsin riders, eh? That'd be cool!

In other news, The Renegade Sportsman author, Zach Dundas, does a bit of an article for Good magazine online here. Zach is exploring the rising popularity of these events, which to the average citizen may seem bizarre, twisted, and insane. He quotes Tim Ek, posts the T.I.V2 video made by Jeff Kerkove, and has a bit of a Q&A with me as well. Check it out for a perspective that comes from outside the little niche of gravel grinder freaks.

Maintaining Part II

More rain, more maintenance! I got to looking at the frozen titanium pinch bolts for the eccentric bottom bracket and broke two 5mm wrenches before saying 'no mas!

Dang! I guess all that snow riding froze the little buggers into place......forever! Galvanic corrosion is like that. I suppose I could try the "hot wrench", but that doesn't appeal to me on several levels.

34 X 20T gearing is what I am stuck with for single speeding now. Not the end of the world, mind you, but it does go against "T-6 Brent's Rule Of Single Speeding". I'm supposed to be on to an 18 tooth cog out back now, (actually, a seventeen tooth cog!), and this gear I originally set the Dillinger up with was with snow riding in mind. Well, what can ya do? I guess I'll have to make up for it by taking the Dillinger to somewhere with steeper, or longer climbs.

Actually, that sounds quite fun. 

More maintenance to be done yet, so back down to The Lab!

Maintaining Part II

More rain, more maintenance! I got to looking at the frozen titanium pinch bolts for the eccentric bottom bracket and broke two 5mm wrenches before saying 'no mas!

Dang! I guess all that snow riding froze the little buggers into place......forever! Galvanic corrosion is like that. I suppose I could try the "hot wrench", but that doesn't appeal to me on several levels.

34 X 20T gearing is what I am stuck with for single speeding now. Not the end of the world, mind you, but it does go against "T-6 Brent's Rule Of Single Speeding". I'm supposed to be on to an 18 tooth cog out back now, (actually, a seventeen tooth cog!), and this gear I originally set the Dillinger up with was with snow riding in mind. Well, what can ya do? I guess I'll have to make up for it by taking the Dillinger to somewhere with steeper, or longer climbs.

Actually, that sounds quite fun. 

More maintenance to be done yet, so back down to The Lab!

Maintaining

This is a weekend where I have to stick close to home, so I am not going on any adventures this weekend. This is becoming a weekend that I am spending on some maintenance. Not like I don't have a slew of bicycles needing it!

So project #1 was to get the Fargo back together, since I robbed parts off of it to get the Dos Niner up and running for last weekend. I decided to leave the Dos as is and I went ahead and scavenged an old Shimano cartridge bottom bracket, old Shimano five arm 110/74BCD crank, and some old touring bike chain rings to cobble up a 2X crankset. I found a 44T ring and a 28T granny that I matched together, slapped on the Fargo, and whattya know? It seems to work just fine, (field test still needed), and that old cartridge BB spins like a champ.

This nearly matches what I was running on the Dos Niner, which is a 44T/29T set up. My chainline is juuuust about there on the Fargo, but I think the slight bit that it is off shouldn't be an issue. It is going to be used mostly for gravel pursuits this summer, so that gearing should be fine. That done, I threw on the next bike to be worked on, the Dillinger.

I had taken the big, 120mm fork off, slapped the Dillinger fork back on, and put on a different wheel set. Trouble arose as I needed to tension the the eccentric, which I found had frozen pinch bolts. Gah! Penetrating oil applied, I had to leave it for another session. Most likely tomorrow.

There is more needing attention. Things like switching out a tire to another rim for tubeless use, hack another light mount, and clean up the Gryphon which has dried up limestone goo all over it. (Joy!)

It's gotta be done sometime or another! 

Maintaining

This is a weekend where I have to stick close to home, so I am not going on any adventures this weekend. This is becoming a weekend that I am spending on some maintenance. Not like I don't have a slew of bicycles needing it!

So project #1 was to get the Fargo back together, since I robbed parts off of it to get the Dos Niner up and running for last weekend. I decided to leave the Dos as is and I went ahead and scavenged an old Shimano cartridge bottom bracket, old Shimano five arm 110/74BCD crank, and some old touring bike chain rings to cobble up a 2X crankset. I found a 44T ring and a 28T granny that I matched together, slapped on the Fargo, and whattya know? It seems to work just fine, (field test still needed), and that old cartridge BB spins like a champ.

This nearly matches what I was running on the Dos Niner, which is a 44T/29T set up. My chainline is juuuust about there on the Fargo, but I think the slight bit that it is off shouldn't be an issue. It is going to be used mostly for gravel pursuits this summer, so that gearing should be fine. That done, I threw on the next bike to be worked on, the Dillinger.

I had taken the big, 120mm fork off, slapped the Dillinger fork back on, and put on a different wheel set. Trouble arose as I needed to tension the the eccentric, which I found had frozen pinch bolts. Gah! Penetrating oil applied, I had to leave it for another session. Most likely tomorrow.

There is more needing attention. Things like switching out a tire to another rim for tubeless use, hack another light mount, and clean up the Gryphon which has dried up limestone goo all over it. (Joy!)

It's gotta be done sometime or another! 

Peanutbutter Roads

David Pals and I did another stint of night time gravel grinding and despite the heavy rain earlier in the day, it wasn't too bad out there.

We headed out of Toledo again, and I had a route sort of planned in my head, but once again it was foiled. Oh well! We found some pretty cool roads though.

The one thing about riding in Tama County is that you don't get that leisurely pace where conversation comes easily. Too many hills one right after another! We're either huffing it up a steep hill, or we're hanging on as we fly down the other side, catching our breath before huffing it up one more steep hill and starting the process all over again!

That's why we have the "art of the stop" down pat. We will stop, catch our breath, turn off the lights, and just soak it all in. The fire flies are spectacular right now, by the way, and the night time sky is always awe inspiring.

Then it's decision time on what way to go. We pick a direction, sometimes talking it over, others with no verbalization at all, and we go on for awhile, huffing, coasting, repeating, until another stop.

The roads seemed to get progressively worse on this ride. We found a B road, and that was actually ride able, but we found a gravel road afterward that was so thick and sloppy, we had to pedal going downhill! Now that just ain't right!

The road was so slow, and energy sapping, I thought I must be paying penance for T.I.V6 or something! I at least got a taste of the flying mud on the downhills, and the grinding, slow going everywhere else.

Well, we cut the route short a bit, since we were working so hard anyway. David and I chatted for awhile afterward, and then we made our separate ways home. I'll miss the night rides for a bit. David is doing Trans Wisconsin, and I'll hopefully be in Minnesota. Might be a bit before the night time gravel grinders get going again, but we'll get back to it.

I just hope the roads are drier next time!

Peanutbutter Roads

David Pals and I did another stint of night time gravel grinding and despite the heavy rain earlier in the day, it wasn't too bad out there.

We headed out of Toledo again, and I had a route sort of planned in my head, but once again it was foiled. Oh well! We found some pretty cool roads though.

The one thing about riding in Tama County is that you don't get that leisurely pace where conversation comes easily. Too many hills one right after another! We're either huffing it up a steep hill, or we're hanging on as we fly down the other side, catching our breath before huffing it up one more steep hill and starting the process all over again!

That's why we have the "art of the stop" down pat. We will stop, catch our breath, turn off the lights, and just soak it all in. The fire flies are spectacular right now, by the way, and the night time sky is always awe inspiring.

Then it's decision time on what way to go. We pick a direction, sometimes talking it over, others with no verbalization at all, and we go on for awhile, huffing, coasting, repeating, until another stop.

The roads seemed to get progressively worse on this ride. We found a B road, and that was actually ride able, but we found a gravel road afterward that was so thick and sloppy, we had to pedal going downhill! Now that just ain't right!

The road was so slow, and energy sapping, I thought I must be paying penance for T.I.V6 or something! I at least got a taste of the flying mud on the downhills, and the grinding, slow going everywhere else.

Well, we cut the route short a bit, since we were working so hard anyway. David and I chatted for awhile afterward, and then we made our separate ways home. I'll miss the night rides for a bit. David is doing Trans Wisconsin, and I'll hopefully be in Minnesota. Might be a bit before the night time gravel grinders get going again, but we'll get back to it.

I just hope the roads are drier next time!

Bluebird Skies

After the weekend's blast furnace ride it was nice to enjoy a beautiful, warm, breezy summer day in Iowa. I headed up to the Camp and hit the trails which were a mix of small muddy patches, tacky dirt, and cool air under the thick, lush trees.

The bugs were even somewhat absent this finest of days and I thoroughly enjoyed the sweet little window of time I had to ride.

I rode the Blackbuck single speed with the 34 X 18 gear. I was a bit afraid that I was going to suffer mightily because of the weekends madness and my not being used to that tall a gear on steep stuff. Well, happily I was able to climb a lot more than I thought I would be able to, and without back pain. Good stuff. Sure, I had to walk a couple steeps, but I was more than pleased with my abilities especially after frying my legs in Kansas. 

I've got the Blackbuck set up now with the big, monstrous Specialized Purgatory 2.4's. The tires are mounted on Gordos, which make them look like monster truck tires against the svelte steel tubing of the Blackbuck. It really looks like a "fat tire flyer"!

Adding to the retro-look is the new Mountain Goat Cycles "Goat Horns" handle bar I am checking out. These are much like the Rawland Elgokse I also checked out last year, only the bar is permanently attached on the Goat Horns in the traditional manner. Chromed, "Bull Moose" style, and solid. These make the cruiser-ish lines of the Blackbuck even more neo-klunker-style. Almost made me want to polish up a set of old SunTour ratcheting top mounts and run gears on her. Almost!

Anyway, after playing cat and mouse with a deer for a bit, I high tailed it back home to do some chores. Ended the day grilling out with my family.

Hope your day was as good as mine!

Bluebird Skies

After the weekend's blast furnace ride it was nice to enjoy a beautiful, warm, breezy summer day in Iowa. I headed up to the Camp and hit the trails which were a mix of small muddy patches, tacky dirt, and cool air under the thick, lush trees.

The bugs were even somewhat absent this finest of days and I thoroughly enjoyed the sweet little window of time I had to ride.

I rode the Blackbuck single speed with the 34 X 18 gear. I was a bit afraid that I was going to suffer mightily because of the weekends madness and my not being used to that tall a gear on steep stuff. Well, happily I was able to climb a lot more than I thought I would be able to, and without back pain. Good stuff. Sure, I had to walk a couple steeps, but I was more than pleased with my abilities especially after frying my legs in Kansas. 

I've got the Blackbuck set up now with the big, monstrous Specialized Purgatory 2.4's. The tires are mounted on Gordos, which make them look like monster truck tires against the svelte steel tubing of the Blackbuck. It really looks like a "fat tire flyer"!

Adding to the retro-look is the new Mountain Goat Cycles "Goat Horns" handle bar I am checking out. These are much like the Rawland Elgokse I also checked out last year, only the bar is permanently attached on the Goat Horns in the traditional manner. Chromed, "Bull Moose" style, and solid. These make the cruiser-ish lines of the Blackbuck even more neo-klunker-style. Almost made me want to polish up a set of old SunTour ratcheting top mounts and run gears on her. Almost!

Anyway, after playing cat and mouse with a deer for a bit, I high tailed it back home to do some chores. Ended the day grilling out with my family.

Hope your day was as good as mine!