Gary Fisher Makes Road Bikes?!

[new_rider]

A slight detour on the path to road bike nirvana...

I was developing an emotional bond with a Trek 2 I wanted to buy, when I stumbled upon an odd discovery: Gary Friggin' Fisher makes road bikes! Yes, THAT Gary Fisher. Mr. Pro Caliber Gary Fisher. Mr. Mt. Tamalpais Gary Fisher. The master.

Makes road bikes. Curious. Now, I already have a Fisher mtn bike. And I will tell you this. The geometry is perfect. Perfect. It's like wearing a custom made suit for an off the rack price.

Just reading the press for his Cronus/Ion/Rail trio of road bikes, the story is eerily similar: great handling, dialed-in geometry, super stiff frame (for better or worse). Now that's the hype.

You tell me the real deal. Anyone own or test ride a Gary Fisher road bike? This is my new standard.

 

[jmunsters]

While it's not directly a road bike, I test rode the Erwin today actually. I'm a slightly taller lad and the extra weight did show in the flex on the steel frame versus some of the aluminum bikes I had a go on. Comfortable ride, but I didn't want that on an incline.

I did enjoy it however. Unfortunately, the price versus frame/components didn't seem to make sense to me, but I am still a newbie so take that with a grain of salt. I did however fall in love with the cyclocross genre, and you may enjoy that yourself coming from a love of the Fisher MTBs.

I was hard pressed to find someone in the 50 mile radius that had a built Gary Fisher cyclocross or road bike. Luckily I did find one and I'm glad I had a go on it. It wasn't quite for me, but I would never discount it. If it were an aluminum frame with a tinge better components it'd be sitting in my place tonight.

 

[kausbose]

Yeah I have ridden the Cronus Pro. I was considering to get that between that and the Madone 4.7. The Cronus is suited very well towards "heavier" riders. I know a guy that has ridden a Cronus Pro for as much as I do (Got it the same day as my Madone) and weighs about 250lbs. He is actually one of the owners of my LBS. He swears by it. He recently broke it in a crash. Someone hit him. I wanted to ride SRAM's and the Madone was available in SRAM so I went with it. But IMO they are amazing bikes. Finally another tid-bit for you. Trek Cycle Co. owns and manufactures Gary Fisher bikes, both road and off-road. In case you weren't aware of that, i.e.

 

[alienator]

Perfection is in the eyes/butt of the rider.

Don't rely too much on press releases and bike reviews. Press releases are for increasing sales of bikes, and bike reviews are for selling magazines. Neither is dependent on truth.

 

[new_rider]

What did you think of the Fisher ride? Fast? Stiff? Harsh? Comfy?

Yeah, I remember the 'consolidation.' Not sure I want to be reminded of that, lol.

Yeah I have ridden the Cronus Pro. I was considering to get that between that and the Madone 4.7. The Cronus is suited very well towards "heavier" riders. I know a guy that has ridden a Cronus Pro for as much as I do (Got it the same day as my Madone) and weighs about 250lbs. He is actually one of the owners of my LBS. He swears by it. He recently broke it in a crash. Someone hit him. I wanted to ride SRAM's and the Madone was available in SRAM so I went with it. But IMO they are amazing bikes. Finally another tid-bit for you. Trek Cycle Co. owns and manufactures Gary Fisher bikes, both road and off-road. In case you weren't aware of that, i.e.

 

[oldbobcat]

You tell me the real deal. Anyone own or test ride a Gary Fisher road bike? This is my new standard.

Fisher markets their road bikes as a new kind of endurance bike, like the Specialized Roubaix, but different. The geometry is more conventional with more moderately extended head tubes, standard steerer angles, and no Zertz. That Fisher makes three different fork rakes to work with the various frame sizes and head angles shows exceptional attention to detail.

It seems to work. The Presidio cyclocross bikes that I tried (57 and 59 cm) steered as if by telepathy.