Comments on: Gary Fisher Bikes Press Camp: The History Of Fisher 29″ers

By: Carl Celle

Carl Celle — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 04:02:01 +0000

to “keep” our industry / lifestyle alive.

By: Carl Celle

Carl Celle — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 04:00:46 +0000

I was living in Crested Butte, CO from 1999-2001. At that time there was a guy named Wes that made custom Ti bikes at his shop, Willits. It was there that I first got to ride a 29er mountain bike.

I did a quick search and found his site: http://www.willitsbikes.com/Willits.html

We just got to remember that it takes both the small fabricators and the big brands to our industry / lifestyle alive.

By: t0m

t0m — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 02:12:39 +0000

If I came across as anything but thankful to those who got us to where we are today then I should have rewritten it. Here we are with 29ers being widely accepted, loved, and even winning Nationals -and there’s a real DH tire on the way for several real DH frames- 3 years ago I’d have said no way could 29ers blow up this fast.
Fisher deserves all the credit he gets, and even more for not claiming any “fatherhood”. Fisher also has been a key player to 35 years of evolution of all MTBs. GT, you have my real appreciation for running an intelligent and interesting blog of all things 29″- you’ve done this for a while now.

By: Lee T

Lee T — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 00:50:01 +0000

X2.

By: Guitar Ted

Guitar Ted — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 00:22:48 +0000

@t0m: Well, no one is arguing the point that several influences came together to produce the “modern 29″er”, as I like to call it. What came before 1999 was more prelude than the actual show. But be that as it may, Gary Fisher himself was adamant that several folks were to be credied, and that he himself is very aware that he did not necessarily “Invent” anything regarding 29″ers. (By the way, he personally holds the same to be true of mountain bikes proper)

The marketing and legendary tales that sprang up around that are just that. Marketing and Legend. If folks could just take it for what it is and see beyond it, they would see a very important contributor to what we have as off road machines be they 26 or 29 inch wheeled contraptions. That’s what Gary Fisher is to the bicycle world.

In the end, it is only of historical importance to trace roots, and for us to learn the lessons of those history makers that had successes and failures. If we fail to know our history, we fail to make a better future today.

So, that leaves us with these big wheeled bikes. And I for one am grateful to all involved in that long and storied history.