OLD Gary Fisher MTB questions

RonSonic said:

Any disagreement that this'll make a cool errand runner and occasional trail
rider for a big old guy?

Nope, that's a cool old bike.

The brake placement is stupid though, but it was the fashion in the early
ninties (I think).

Such a beastie would make a pretty keen single speed urban assault
vehicle. 😄

RonSonic said:

So there's this ancient rigid Hoo Koo E Koo for sale in my price
range, says made in Taiwan right on the head tube. All Deore stuff on
it with the back brake under the chainstay. I'll get a better look at
it soon, but in the meanwhile can anyone tell me.....

Is this brake location as silly as I think it is?

About how old is this bike - I'll be able to look at date codes later
- but for now can anyone place it within a few years?

Any disagreement that this'll make a cool errand runner and
occasional trail rider for a big old guy?

My brother's got a comparable era Fisher -- maybe a notch above the Hoo Koo,
IIRC. I think he bought his in about '90 (???)

Wait....actually, this is his:
http://www.firstflightbikes.com/86Montare.html . 1986!!

Same funky location for the rear brake. I just tuned it up for him and rode
it around for a couple of days.

The bike is basically an excellent bike--relatively light, stable, handles
well. He had a Rock Shox fork on the front that--lo these many years
later--still works exceptionally well.

The rear brake seemed to /catch/ a lot more mud than my XT canti's do--just
the problem it was designed to /prevent/ from my understanding--but it had
ample power for the limited riding I did with it.

I think you'd enjoy this bike....

Thu, 06 Jan 2005 16:49:31 GMT,
<[email hidden]>, RonSonic

Quoted message said:

All Deore stuff on it with the back brake
under the chainstay. I'll get a better look at it soon, but in the meanwhile can
anyone tell me.....

Is this brake location as silly as I think it is?

About how old is this bike - I'll be able to look at date codes later - but for
now can anyone place it within a few years?

The rear brake is a U-Brake which also dates the bike to 1986-88.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_u-v.html#ubrake
--
zk

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In article <[email hidden]>,

RonSonic said:

So there's this ancient rigid Hoo Koo E Koo for sale in my price range, says
made in Taiwan right on the head tube. All Deore stuff on it with the back brake
under the chainstay. I'll get a better look at it soon, but in the meanwhile can
anyone tell me.....

Is this brake location as silly as I think it is?

_ Yeah, pretty much. However, in the words of Abe Simpson

"It was the style at the time."

_ For a bike to ride in the mud and dirt it makes about as much
sense as wearing an onion in your belt. I've converted my Hoo Koo
E Koo from that era to a drop bar 26" fat tire touring
bike. U-Brakes make some kind of sense for that kind of bike.

Quoted message said:

About how old is this bike - I'll be able to look at date codes later - but for
now can anyone place it within a few years?

_ Most likely 88 or a year or two earlier.

Quoted message said:

Any disagreement that this'll make a cool errand runner and occasional trail
rider for a big old guy?

_ It will be just fine for that. One thing to be aware of is that
the frame is spaced for 130mm rear wheels, but will work with
135mm wheels. Also, you can't use V-brake levers, but if you
want to drop a little weight you can get some very nice
Ritchey levers at

http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/brakes.html#leversup

You can easily drop a pound from the bike by replacing the steel
handlebars and stem. A Nitto Dirt Drop stem works well on this
bike. Guard the thumbshifters with your life,( or
sell them on ebay to finance other upgrades ). Lastly, replace
the BioPace chainrings, once worn they are very very prone to
chain suck[1]. Salsa 110 BCD chainrings will work just fine with
that Deore crank.

_ Booker C. Bense

[1]- before that they just suck period.... %-).

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I used to ride a Fisher Celerity of about that vintage. Fisher made some
good bikes--the HooKooEKoo is a better bike than the Celerity. The brake
location had some advantages, which I am not still clear on--neater cable
routing, and possibly more rigid. But the enemy was mud, and the idea went
away. For your intended use, it should be fine.

BTW, I have ridden the HooKooEKoo trail on Mt. Tamalpais, after which the
bike was named. The trail was named after an indian tribe.

Thanks for the info guys.

Picked up more here than in the near hour browsing and googling before I posted.

Yeah, this should be a fun one. I'll let you all know how it goes.

Ron

Quoted message said:

So there's this ancient rigid Hoo Koo E Koo for sale in my price range,
says
made in Taiwan right on the head tube. All Deore stuff on it with the back
brake
under the chainstay. I'll get a better look at it soon, but in the
meanwhile can
anyone tell me.....

Is this brake location as silly as I think it is?

The brake is what was called a "U" brake, with the location chosen because
the chainstays don't flex as much as seatstays (and they hadn't yet figured
out how to deal with that by changing wall thicknesses). Not a bad idea, but
perhaps not a good idea to put a brake in a location where it's going to get
heavily fouled with mud.

As for the bike overall, the main Fishers to avoid were the ones with the
snaking seat tubes (bent, not straight). Those tended to fail even when not
subject to a whole lot of abuse.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
IMBA, BikesBelong, NBDA member

"RonSonic" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

So there's this ancient rigid Hoo Koo E Koo for sale in my price range,
says
made in Taiwan right on the head tube. All Deore stuff on it with the back
brake
under the chainstay. I'll get a better look at it soon, but in the
meanwhile can
anyone tell me.....

Is this brake location as silly as I think it is?

About how old is this bike - I'll be able to look at date codes later -
but for
now can anyone place it within a few years?

Any disagreement that this'll make a cool errand runner and occasional
trail
rider for a big old guy?

Thanks

Ron

"RonSonic" wrote...

Quoted message said:

So there's this ancient rigid Hoo Koo E Koo for sale in my price range,

says

Quoted message said:

made in Taiwan right on the head tube. All Deore stuff on it with the back

brake

Quoted message said:

under the chainstay. I'll get a better look at it soon, but in the

meanwhile can

Quoted message said:

anyone tell me.....

Is this brake location as silly as I think it is?

Even sillier than you ever thought possible. I've got a similar arrangement
on the '86 Stumpjumper that I commute on in winter and MTB on in summer. I
basically don't use the rear brake. U-brakes are apparently useful for BMX
bikes, so you can still buy pads and whole brake assemblies.

Quoted message said:

About how old is this bike - I'll be able to look at date codes later -

but for

Quoted message said:

now can anyone place it within a few years?

I remember seeing U-brakes on bikes in 1986, something that stupid couldn't
have lasted more than a year or two.

--
mark

mark said:

"RonSonic" wrote...

Quoted message said:

So there's this ancient rigid Hoo Koo E Koo for sale in my price range,

says

Quoted message said:

made in Taiwan right on the head tube. All Deore stuff on it with the back

brake

Quoted message said:

under the chainstay. I'll get a better look at it soon, but in the

meanwhile can

Quoted message said:

anyone tell me.....

Is this brake location as silly as I think it is?

Even sillier than you ever thought possible. I've got a similar arrangement
on the '86 Stumpjumper that I commute on in winter and MTB on in summer. I
basically don't use the rear brake. U-brakes are apparently useful for BMX
bikes, so you can still buy pads and whole brake assemblies.

Quoted message said:

About how old is this bike - I'll be able to look at date codes later -

but for

Quoted message said:

now can anyone place it within a few years?

I remember seeing U-brakes on bikes in 1986, something that stupid couldn't
have lasted more than a year or two.

Thanks.

The brake seems to belong in the "what were they thinking" museum of the
ill-considered. Good to know that a replacement is possible when it breaks. Even
if it is in a silly location, I'll still want a back brake without brazing
bosses onto the seat stays. Paul makes a very fancy brake that looks much like a
U brake that doesn't fit the same studs.

Ron

Fri, 07 Jan 2005 15:13:08 GMT,
<[email hidden]>, RonSonic

Quoted message said:

The brake seems to belong in the "what were they thinking" museum of the
ill-considered. Good to know that a replacement is possible when it breaks. Even
if it is in a silly location,

My Maruishi polo bike has a rear U-Brake mounted on the underside of
the seat-stays. It's strong and stops well despite the X-over wire
passing around the seat tube. It's a PITA to adjust and collects lots
of glop. One mounted under the chainstays would be worse yet.
--
zk

RonSonic said:

back brake
under the chainstay.

If you use it as a runabout, consider some fenders, if they fit, they
might mitigate the brake location problem.

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In article <[email hidden]>,

maxo said:

RonSonic said:

back brake
under the chainstay.

If you use it as a runabout, consider some fenders, if they fit, they
might mitigate the brake location problem.

_ That's a very good suggestion. There is a lot of space for
fenders on this bike even with 2" tires.

_ Booker C. Bense

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Booker C. Bense said:

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In article <[email hidden]>,

maxo said:

RonSonic said:

back brake
under the chainstay.

If you use it as a runabout, consider some fenders, if they fit, they
might mitigate the brake location problem.

_ That's a very good suggestion. There is a lot of space for
fenders on this bike even with 2" tires.

Thinking hard on that. I had it out on a bit of a shakedown run. The rear der is
damaged and the freewheel worn. I'm thinking real seriously of single-speeding
it and maybe fenders.

Ron

RonSonic said:

I'm thinking real seriously of single-speeding
it and maybe fenders.

Is it ancient enough to have a thread on freewheel? Then grab a bmx
freewheel, a single speed chain, and some short chainring bolts for around
$30 and do it! :P

Replace the weight you took off with the fenders and it'll ride correctly.
😄

Actually that bike with some relatively skinny street tires, like some
1.5s, and set up as a single should promise to be a really delightful
bike. Single speed + fenders = virtually zero maintenance.

maxo said:

RonSonic said:

I'm thinking real seriously of single-speeding
it and maybe fenders.

Is it ancient enough to have a thread on freewheel? Then grab a bmx
freewheel, a single speed chain, and some short chainring bolts for around
$30 and do it! :P

It does have a thread on FW! Hooray! BUT..... That stupid rear U brake is in the
way!!!!!! We'll see if I decide that's a SS deal killer for me or not.

Quoted message said:

Replace the weight you took off with the fenders and it'll ride correctly.
😄

Quoted message said:

Actually that bike with some relatively skinny street tires, like some
1.5s, and set up as a single should promise to be a really delightful
bike. Single speed + fenders = virtually zero maintenance.

Or leave off the fenders, go with some light narrow tires for cx and trail
blasting. I'm in Florida we can do that stuff with one gear.

Ron

RonSonic said:

I'm in Florida we can do that stuff with one gear.

You can clear a manatee with a 38x14?! Wahooo!

Like I mentioned in another post, you can just use a chain tensioner
or even make one yourself with some some old derailleur bits and an
official Stanley brand mending plate. 😄

Like your idea of the skinny knobbies and single--it'll make it a bit more
like a CXbike--if your gears or tires run out, just get off and run. :P