As you could probably gather from our previous posts, one of the most exciting things about flying up to Canberra for Trek World (besides the free coffee) was the chance to meet and chat with Gary Fisher in person. An extremely charismatic guy, Fisher has made his living from designing and innovating new products for the mountain bike world, whilst more recently becoming a powerful advocate for bicycles as a sustainable form of transport for governments all over the world.
For 2011, there are some big changes to the Fisher brand, with a streamlining project bringing their bikes into the Trek range as the aptly titled “Gary Fisher Collection”.
A big thing about the new approach with the “Gary Fisher Collection” is that Fisher comes up with the crazy ideas that might be a little too risqué for the standard Trek lineup, and the Trek engineers find a way to implement those ideas into a line of bikes for people willing to try out the new innovations. There is a lot more streamlining between designing, marketing, testing and engineering the bikes now, as well as the reduction in “product overlap” that existed before when some of the Fishers and Treks were designed to do the same thing (think Roscoe vs Remedy). The end result is that we are seeing better-designed and engineered bikes with the Fisher name on them.
Something tells me that Gary has gotten quite good at posing for cameras over the years!
With a couple of exceptions, there have been frame improvements, suspension overhauls and a host of brand new features that have been implemented across the Gary Fisher range. The first thing that we noticed however, was just how damn good these bikes look in the flesh! Honestly, the pictures online do these bikes no justice, as the matte finishes and subtle “Trek” lettering on the downtubes just ooze class.
The flagship of the Gary Fisher Collection; the Superfly 100. A carbon-fibre 29er duallie, this bike was the most talked about bike on the demo day and had a lot of people going up to Fisher and telling him he has built the best bike they had ever ridden!
The alloy 29er bikes in the Fisher range have received some big changes for 2011, along with a price decrease that has narrowed the gap between their bikes and the mass-produced brands, that we think will make the choice a no-brainer for a lot of mountain bikers. The Paragon was our best selling 29er for 2010, and it has some awesome new frame features for 2011 to make it even better. Like the rest of the Fisher 29er hardtail range, it has been bumped up to 100mm travel up front, and uses the tapered steerer tube or “E2” as Trek likes to call it. This aids in cornering and frame stiffness up front, by using a larger headset bearing on the lower part of the head tube.
The massive “E2” head tube that increases frame strength and stiffness up front. The fork uses a tapered steerer tube that is a larger diameter at the bottom and tapers to a standard diameter for the top bearing. Clever stuff.
There is also the new press-fit bottom bracket that uses bearings that directly press into the frame, rather than using the traditional cup design. This reduces weight, improves bearing life, and allows the Trek engineers to create a larger BB shell with a bigger interface with the down tube to increase frame strength and stiffness for better response under power.
The massive bottom bracket shell and down tube on the 2011 Paragon. The frame is stiffer than a traditional design, and with press-in bearings, you’ll get better bearing life.
We’ve really seen the Australian 29er market mature in the past 12 months, and part of that reason is that we are able to get our customers on demo bikes to actually feel the difference in how they ride compared to standard 26” bikes. A few local magazines have also run shootout competitions for 29er bikes in recent months, with Fishers bikes consistently coming out on top due to their G2 geometry design. Because of the custom fork offset, Fisher 29ers are able to maintain their stable handling, whilst never feeling like you’re pushing around a tractor, which you tend to get with other brands 29ers.
An explanation of the 29er theory and the G2 geometry used on the Fisher 29ers. Yes, they roll smoother. Yes, they are more stable. Yes, you should try one.
Thanks to the new Trek move into Australia, we are going to be seeing a lot more 29ers around, as they are bringing in more models for 2011 and more volume to drop the prices. We will be getting the alloy X-Caliburs and Paragons, the carbon Superflys, the dual suspension HiFis and the WSD Mambas, as well as having demo bikes available for those mountain bikers who need to have their scepticism put to the test.
Pretty much straight off a plane, into a Blue velvet suit with a Coopers in hand, now that is what I call class!
Not one to rest on their laurels either, Trek have really stepped up their game for 2011 too, with frame revisions across the board bringing their bikes right up into that boutique level. The XC racing range of bikes; the Elite hardtails and the carbon Top Fuels, have all been lightened and refined to bring you not only some of the lightest XC bikes on the market, but bikes that actually ride well and handle with confidence.
The visually stunning Trek Elite 9.9 SSL. With a lighter carbon fibre for 2011, frame weights continue to decrease, whilst keeping some seriously trail-impressive geometry for a fantastic ride. This is no skittish XC hardtail.
The 2011 Top Fuels have received the “SSL” treatment, or “Super Sexy Lightweight” as the Trek carbon engineers originally called it. Custom Fork and Shock tuning have kept the bike incredibly composed and balanced between the front and rear wheels, though the bikes low weight (sub-9kg for a 100mm duallie!) means there is nothing faster for travelling at warp speed on XC race circuits.
This bad boy features every technology and acronym that Trek could throw at it: OCLV SSL carbon fibre, ABP braking, carbon EVO link, Full Floater suspension, E2 steerer tube, integrated seatpost, press-fit BB95 and internal cable routing. This is the Formula 1 of mountain biking.
We also got a chance to drool over the 2011 XTR componentry, which looks slicker than ever with its polished finish. The full build features on the top-of-the-line Elites and Top Fuels, and keeps Treks ethos of providing complete bikes that are not only superlight, but are strong, durable and handle better than anything else.
The trick XTR drivetrain. I want, very, very much.
Although I may not historically have a burning passion for road bikes, I was mysteriously drawn to a number of the Trek road bikes that were on show for us, that were both visually and technologically impressive. A new model for 2011 that we like the look of is the Madone 3-series, which brings the full carbon Madone frameset into a sub $3k package with a Shimano 105 groupset, which we like to call the “Giant-killer”! As with the entire Trek Madone range, the 3-series features the highest quality carbon fibre available, along with a gorgeous tube design that is a big reason why they ride so well.
The biggest problem that engineers have when designing a road bike is being able to balance weight, stiffness and ride quality. Build a frame that is superlight and stiff, and it will rattle you teeth out. Try something that is buttery smooth to ride and uses a superlight tubeset, and it will flex like a noodle.
The Trek Madone focuses on these 3 key design elements, and by combining its extensive knowledge from producing carbon fibre frames over the past 2 decades, with some exclusive manufacturing techniques and frame designs, the Trek designers are able to produce one of the best handling road bikes on the market. The semi-integrated seat post, the E2 tapered steerer tube, the press-fit BB90 bottom bracket, internal cable routing and OCLV carbon fibre make this perhaps the most advanced road frameset on the market.
The beautiful 6-series Madone with the new internal cable routing system. It just looks fast doesn’t it?
The new 6-series Madones have had a revamp for 2011, being dressed up in the lighter SSL carbon fibre to further drop weight, whilst actually improving the ride. Trek have been producing carbon frames for a long time now, and their handbuilt US-made OCLV frames are some of the few that are built outside of China and Taiwan.
Nothing quite like a good graph and stats to make you look good!
If you asked me a week ago if I thought time trial bikes were cool, you would have had to pick me up off the floor after laughing hysterically in your face. Now I’m not going to go so far as to say the new Trek Speed Concept bike is cool, but it is hard to argue that it is one impressive machine after seeing it in the flesh.
There are lots of details and features that have gone into this bike that I could probably do a whole blog-entry by itself, though I’ll wait until we become a Triathlon store before I do that.
This is a serious weapon. Everything has been designed to make this bike go faster, even an integrated water bottle and tool-box are aero-sculpted!
Well, that will go some way to giving you an insight as to what the show was like, though there are many, many more bikes that we were impressed by. Keep an eye out on our Facebook page for a full album of photos from Trek World, as there are just too many to post here.
Next up for the blog, the Demo Day!
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