[klunky]

As for the Fishers, damn do they look like they suck. Let's see...single-pivot, way up high, that thing sure should pedal great...not!

erm the king fisher has its pivot in line with the chain ring?? last time i checked that was the best position for pedaling efficiancy?

The Diesel rocks by the way it handles better than many other Top brands of DH bike ive ridden

 

[Private Joker]

Yes the Diesel does rock...oops wait>... I own one.
Overpriced?...hell ya...I would never have bought the frame for 2800...that's insane, but it is an elegant bike that corners and handles like no other DH bike I've had....it's like a pocket rocket..It's just too bad Trek overpriced it causing very few to be sold. I'm just worried what will happen if I need to replace this one...since they are now discontinued...hmmm...

 

[binary visions]

Whoa whoa whoa whoa! *cough cough* Horst link *cough cough*

Now they are... They didn't used to be that way!

 

[Bulldog]

Now they are... They didn't used to be that way!

You say that like it's something new this year!

 

[Lizard0fthetrai]

Picture of the king fisher?

 

[Kornphlake]

ventana still uses the turner walking beam w/o a horst link, last time I checked ventana bikes were pretty well respected, of course nobody actually owns one with the exception of the chamuco and cuervo which fell into the realm of affordability. I really think this bike will be marketed to former trek customers, suppose you are a xc guy who's always ridden trek bikes and you walk into your shop thinking you might try out a long travel trail bike. Well the sales man now has the option of showing you a high end heavy duty trail bike from the manufacturer you most trust, being a loyal trek guy you just might buy one. Sure any of us will balk at the idea but somebody who isn't as heavily into the dh/fr scene might think the bike is just great, heck even some of us might think it's just great.

 

[math2014]

Me thinks that this is a pure FR bike and not a trailbike... according to NSMB at least

 

[Bulldog]

Me thinks that this is a pure FR bike and not a trailbike... according to NSMB at least

You are correct. I don't know anyone who needs a 7" "trailbike" anyways. Never seen XC like that. The Sessions are meant to be pounded and to see some airtime. A go anywhere, pedal-able FR bike.

 

[Lexx D]

I'd ride one. The only people who bash trek are people who never had to deal with them. My friend broke a bruiser and i called for a new one, they had none left so they gave us an 8500 frame and that broke(keep in mind that this is a light weight xc frame being jumped by a 250lb rider) they still gave us a new frame. The easiest company I ever had to deal with when I worked in the shop.

I'll have to check one out. I need a FR bike and this may fit the bill.

 

[math2014]

I'd ride one. The only people who bash trek are people who never had to deal with them. My friend broke a bruiser and i called for a new one, they had none left so they gave us an 8500 frame and that broke(keep in mind that this is a light weight xc frame being jumped by a 250lb rider) they still gave us a new frame. The easiest company I ever had to deal with when I worked in the shop.

I'll have to check one out. I need a FR bike and this may fit the bill.

Same here, Trek beeing the richest should have a good CS and support. Now this 77 looks like a very modern and refined version of chaparral or konas. I just hope they made a 88

 

[ILikeFood]

I just bought a Session frameset (haven't received it yet) to replace my Banshee Chaparral. I did feel a bit "weird" buying a Trek, but after seeing Shandro's up at Whistler last year I was sold.

I have a full-on DH bike, but this bike is for heavy trail riding and some free-riding/dirt jumping. The Chap is a great frame, but heavy for what it is...I need to pedal to the top of the local "epic DH" rides, and I want the stable platform with the 7". I should be hooking it up with a Marz 66, which hopefully will be a good match. Compared to the Chap with a Z150 I should get more travel and save at least a few pounds. And yes, it'll have a double with a bashguard

So I'm kind of a "Trek doubter" that bought one, I'll keep you guys posted...

-f00d

 

[bballboy388]

Gary Fisher also has two new DH/FR lines coming out. Not just rip offs of the Deisel this time either.
Ill try to scan some pages, but Im warning you, im not very "tech-savvy".[/QUOTE]

have you noticed that the new gary fisher bike looks alot like the crappier bighit?
it looks like the same geometry and not a lot of people like that.

 

[lovebunny]

yeah jus like the 24 bikes le dude. yet alotta people like htose and their insanly overpriced. i guess its all marketing. no matter what theres gonna be people who cant seem to analyze what suspention designs work and what dont

 

[arboc!]

have you noticed that the new gary fisher bike looks alot like the crappier bighit?
it looks like the same geometry and not a lot of people like that.[/QUOTE]

yeah have you also noticed it looks like the orange 223 or most all single pivots.... gosh! Idiot!
im not saying its a good bike, but i think people just bash gary fisher for the sake of bashing it. I would like to know if any one who hates it has any eperience with it.

 

[mobius]

Just because they look good doesn't mean ****. You gotta know about the tubing quality and such as mr. castle just pointed out to me (credit due). I think it'll be interesting but the trek won't be anything innovative but the frame alone might be a decent FR frame but nothing amazing. The Fishers look okay, the hardtail looks kinda cool but for the price of the hardtail they could be spec'd a bit better then they are. The single pivot looks okay but it's nothing great but it is nice seeing fisher in the FR market i kinda like gary fishers quirkyness to bad it's kinda just a division of trek now.

 

[zedro]

...but i think people just bash gary fisher for the sake of bashing it. .

Just like the Diesel. They made a fairly exclusive model with exclusive quality and very exclusive price...unfortunatly it had 'Trek' painted on it. Now if it had 'Foes' instead....

 

[punkassean]

WOW, what a pointless thread this has been!

Insert any bike brand or model in the blank and repeat for 4 pages...

_____sucks! _____it's just a copy of_____! _____sucks! _____it's just a copy of_____! _____sucks! _____it's just a copy of_____!

All the Kona nay sayers, have you owned or extensively ridden one in the past few years? They are great bikes at reasonable prices, they work very well and are ridiculously reliable. They just don't like to promote based on hype like other companies...

Oh yeah, Trek and Gary Fisher freakin' suck!!!

 

[arboc!]

bastard, i wanted to ramble some more!

 

[zedro]

They (Kona) just don't like to promote based on hype like other companies...

gee, and that's the reason i DON'T like Kona....ever read one of their catalogues or dealer guides?

 

[ChrisRobin]

Trek is easy to deal with. When I was working in a shop it was too simple getting help from them. Kona on the other hand was like pulling teeth when it came to garbage like crooked frames, linkage plates twisting...etc. (mind you, this isn't a fair comparison since Trek is massive compared to Kona).

I think I'll always end up owning a Trek just because they were always amazing to us. I still have my 01 Bruiser that's collecting dust.

 

[Rik]

ovalized horizontally at the seat tube, and then "twist" to ovalize vertically at the headtube

Heh, sounds like what GT did, about 10 years ago
I am not going to comment on the bike itself, just this thread....

I :heart: brand bias :love:

 

[BMXman]

Yes the Diesel does rock...oops wait>... I own one.
Overpriced?...hell ya...I would never have bought the frame for 2800...that's insane, but it is an elegant bike that corners and handles like no other DH bike I've had....it's like a pocket rocket..It's just too bad Trek overpriced it causing very few to be sold. I'm just worried what will happen if I need to replace this one...since they are now discontinued...hmmm...

It's funny because when most of my friends found out a I was riding a Trek they all kept asking WHY? I was kept saying "why not?"....I didn't realize I rode with such brand whores until I got this frame....but yeah I'm lovin mine....been even better since I added a few upgrades ....D

Old

New

 

[punkassean]

^ Nice!

 

[punkassean]

gee, and that's the reason i DON'T like Kona....ever read one of their catalogues or dealer guides?

Zed, I managed one shop in a two shop chain that combined is Kona's largest volume single dealer in the world.

I have been to their product launches the past two years at Whistler and had meetings with their product guy (Pat White) to help guide the spec. You can thank me for the Pig headsets on higher-end Kona OB bikes (in lieu of those cheesy Dia Compe MX's they were using) for the past few years and for speccing decent Sun rims on their lower-end bikes instead of cheap Mavics. Good Mavic is good but cheap Mavic can't match the price point of Sun at the same quality. I know Kona inside and out and have had long conversations with one of the founders (Dan) about their general principles etc. Kona is a solid company and everything they put in their catalogue they believe in. They actually listen and take care of their riders, employees and shops which I have not seen in many other companies. After years of riding their bikes in all types of conditions I have been very pleased, the only reason I went for a Specialized this time is because Kona doesn't have a bike for me this year because my wants are a little different and I know FSR works well from many previous experiences. In my new bike I was looking to have one do-it-all bike and the Enduro just does that better than a Coiler which I would have had to modify heavily (air shocks etc)...

Which of Kona's ads are so ridiculous and hype filled, I don't follow the mainstream mags to closely? I'm not asking you to like them, I'm just explaining where I'm coming from.

 

[zedro]

Kona is a solid company and everything they put in their catalogue they believe in.

Which of Kona's ads are so ridiculous and hype filled, I don't follow the mainstream mags to closely? I'm not asking you to like them, I'm just explaining where I'm coming from.

never read their ads (i dont read bike rags), just their catalogue spiels and got a look at their dealer material. It really doesnt matter if they believe what they write if its still BS. This has to do with their claims of their suspension design, especially when comparing to the different model years (like when Stinkys went to a regressive design in the 2001 and later model years for example).

This is also the same company that released the Stinky9 before the designer was 'done with it', because i'm guessing the product manager wanted it out the door (this is insider info and had to do with some problems my LBS was having with them). Then theres the release of half-year models which seem to be Beta models (like in the case of the 2000.5, a frankenstein of 2000 and 2001 design with some one-off parts).

Konas stuff is ok, but the quality isnt all that high and they seem to thrive on an image of cool paint, funky names and pretty catalogues. Their product on the other hand has remained pretty static (yeah yeah, stick to what works yadda). Kona used to have price on their side, but thats seemed to have disapeared.

 

[dw]

Whoa, Donnie, that bike is looking CLEAN!! Nice, I like it!

 

[BMXman]

thanks..just got my DRS in from JP...once that's on I'll touch nothing until it breaks