Hey folks! I have the fortune of being able to thrash a Gary Fisher HiFi Deluxe 29"er for a bit courtesy of Gary Fisher Bikes. This is through my gig as a writer for Twenty Nine Inches, so that's my disclaimer on this. You can take it or leave it. I'm just giving Ridemonkey the first write up as a way of trying to help out my fellow 29"er freaks, mmmkay?
Allrighty then! The HiFi line up is well represented in Gary Fishers 29"er bike line up for '08 with three different models. The Deluxe is the middle bike in the three model line. It comes spec'ed with the great SRAM X-9 stuff, Avid Juicy brakes, and of course, the Fox F-100 29"er fork with exclusive G2 offset.
I've ridden the G2 geometry Fishers before, so I wasn't a total stranger to the new handling package. The bike was easy to set up and after dialing in the air pressures on the shocks I was off. The bikes I had ridden before with the Fox G2 forks seemed a bit harsher than a Reba, but this particular fork was as buttery smooth as any Reba I have ridden. The chassis of the Fox fork is a bit more rigid too, so that was a plus here. The rear worked really well and was easy to find that sweet spot between feeling too plush or too stiff using small air pressure adjustments. I thought the suspension was very active and you could dial in just enough compression damping control with the lock out lever that you could eliminate fork dive from braking into corners but have a decent amount of small bump compliance. Sharp, sudden bumps are still felt, so it isn't totally isolating you from the trail, but you still have a greater amount of control, which is great.
Now as far as G2 geometry is concerned, you would probably have to ride it to really understand, but it isn't so much a "quicker" handling bike as it is an easier to steer bike. Fisher has developed G2 in 29"er form to give a feeling of a 26 inch wheeled bikes front end without the twitchyness that some XC bikes have. Slow speed handling is excellent and fast decsents are not a big deal. You don't have to overcorrect in turns, and you can nail your lines better. It's just an easier bike to ride than most 29"ers out there today.
I let the four guys I was riding with on Saturday take a turn on the HiFi. Two of them ride 29"ers regularly and two are complete noobs to 29"ers. The two guys that have 29"ers were immediately impressed with the handling. They could tell right off that the HiFi was an easier bike to steer than their Salsas were. (Mamasita and Dos respectively) They liked the handling without any idea of the G2 philosophy, which I purposely didn't talk about beforehand. The other two guys said they thought it "rode real nice". They didn't think the big wheels felt weird or anything, at least they never mentioned anything to that effect. Everyone of the four guys remarked how well the HiFi climbed, which sort of took me by surprise. One of them, a guy that normally rides a Cannondale Prophet, thought the HiFi clawed it's way up far better than his rig The Dos rider thought the bike climbed better than his rig too. I asked about stiffness and got a resounding thumbs up from all of them. They ranged in weight from 160lbs to about 200lbs. None of them thought the bike was flexy at all.
I think the HiFi is perfect for long rides over rough terrain where climbing traction is a must. By the way, the tires are Jones ACX tubeless ready units which have great traction. The conditions the day of our ride were frozen dirt with a layer of leaves that were either coated in snow or wet. (Loose over hardpack). Several roots and a few rocks were encountered.
The bike could be ridden as an endurance racer quite effectively. The out of the box set up is a bit shorter and more upright than previous Fishers due to the G2 geometry tweaks. The weight of the Deluxe is just shy of 28lbs at 27.8lbs, so not a pig and it could easily go south of that weight with a few judicious choices in componentry.
Nits: Well, just a few things. The wheels are Rhythm Comp units which are tubeless compatible, but the bike doesn't come with the necessary rim strips and valve stems, which I think Fisher should supply with the bike. Just my opinion there. The way the rear damper is nestled under the seat tube brace makes it hard to reach the ProPedal lever during riding, especially with winter mits on. It probably isn't too bad with summer gloves, but it's virtually impossible with full finger gloves that are insulated. Your mileage may vary there. The supplied Bontrager grips are too thin and are not very comfy, again a personal nit pick on my part. Finally, I absolutely love Jones ACX tires for trail type rides that demand a tractable tire, but I just would like to see a wider version released by Bontrager. The volume of the current model is a little anemic, especially for rockier terrain.
Okay, that's my exclusive first write up for Ridemonkey readers. Hope you enjoyed that. If there are any questions, I'll try to answer them. Thanks!
