Twenty Nine Inches has just taken delivery of a 2010 Rumblefish II. The Rumblefish is the new two model series in the 29″er line up for Gary Fisher Bikes which is geared towards the Trail rider with a 15QR Fox fork with 120mm travel up front and 110mm travel out back damped by Fox’s DRCV unit which is a Trek/Fisher exclusive.
The Gary Fisher Rumblefish II as it appeared at the Fisher Press Camp Twenty Nine Inches attended back in September 2009.
We were invited to test ride the Fisher Rumblefish II back in September of last year and you can check out our initial impressions of the ride here. Grannygear also had a short test ride at Interbike on the Rumblefish II. You can read what his impressions were here.
Since we have some previous experiences with the Rumblefish II, this review will be a tad different in that we will dispense with the Out Of The Box and First Impressions posts we normally would do. We will post up a bit of a refresher on the features of the bike and then an update with my impressions and thoughts about riding the Rumblefish on my home trails versus what our initial impressions were back in September.
Look for the “Rumblefish Features” post here. I’ll recap the salient features that the Rumblefish brings to the table, and then a few weeks later I’ll pop in with an extensive ride report.
See the Final Review for this bike here.
Note: This bicycle was provided to Twenty Nine Inches for test/review at no charge. We are not being paid or bribed for this review. We will strive to give our honest opinions throughout the review process.
Anxious to throw a leg over this bike. Never have ridden a fs 29er off road for more than 1 mile. Wonder if my aching body will fall in love?
It would be great if you could compare to the Stumpy 29.
Neither one is readily available in the real world, I am going to have to order one and hope for the best.
Too bad you can’t buy one before August….
I’m one of the lucky ones. Orderd mine last year and got it in November. I have the Rumblefish I. First the bike is a real head turner. Everyone takes a few moments to check it out. As for the ride. I LOVE IT. The Bontrager tires both got wasted on rocks in PA. Cut the sidewalls all up. Traction was great. Just wish the sidewalls were thicker. The bike handles very well. I have no problems in the tight twisting singletrack that I ride. I have cleared rock gardens and obstacles on the Rumblefish that I never cleared before. I’m really glad I ordered mine early.I have beat the bike pretty hard at times, and have yet to bottom out the shocks. I heard they are about impossible to get a hold of right now. So, for now, I am like the only Rumblefish around. And that is pretty cool.
Really excited to see your review of this bike. I demoed one about 5-6 months ago and can’t get it off my mind. This may just replace my GF HT 29er before it’s all over with. Since most of my riding is just out for the fun of it, I’m leaning hard toward this bike. The local Trek/Fisher Demo rep banded it as the perfect all day Pisgah bike and I think he may have been correct.
@sean and To All: Sorry folks. Spam is going to be deleted from now on. The comments on Twenty Nine Inches are not a forum for classified ads. Thanks.
mtbkski – the FR3s are weaksauce? Where in PA do you ride? What tires are you using now?
oops, I guess they are 29-3s
I was lucky to get a Rumblefish 2 as well. I am new to the 29er tech and have moved into it from a Giant Reign 0 130mm front and rear. Before that I had a GF cake dlx 1. I found the rumblefish from the cake a very easy transition as they feel real similar. Got to say I do not miss the travel from the Giant. I thought I would but I was wrong. I also am a bit skeptical about the tires as well. Waiting for Continental to make the mountain kings ust. Overall the best bike I have ever ridden. Tight trails no problem, climbing is easier once you get the momentum rolling, and downhills are smooth and fast but feel like you are in slow motion. What can you say? Fisher has the 29er thing dialed in bigtime.
Anyone have any suggestions for wheel set upgrades for the Rumblefish?
I’ve been riding the Rumblefish II for near 600 km so far, here my opinion:
*** Disclaimer: I’m really hard on my bikes…***
I chose the Rumblefish over the Hi Fi specialy because of the solidity of it. I dont mind the extra weigth since i’m no longer competiting, just riding and training hard.
This is a fun, comfortable ride. Really. I can bike for 4-5 hours of hard riding without any discomfort. The 29er wheels improved my riding skills, especially climbing technical terrain. And going down is a blast !!! The rear fork work really well, and the pivot thing make powerfull braking possible at any speed, on any terrain.
On the negative side, as much as i like the 29 inches wheel, i frequently need to have them readjusted, and one time i bend the front wheel so much that i could not finish the ride. My advise would be to improve the overall solidity and stiffness of the wheel. I’m currently working on that. I’m open to suggestions, by the way !
So far, this is the best bike i ever had and i really love it. Sure, you never gonna be first of your gang climbing a non technical road, but they’ll eat dirt in the trails !
I’ve had my RF II since March 2010. Simply said – best bike I’ve ever ridden. Regardless of where I find myself i.e. Bend, OR, Ashland DH, or Hood River Post Canyon, the RF II provides the best all-mountain experience for any given moment. Caveat – I too was a bit incredulous about 120/110mm travel – but coupled with 29er wheels, most everything is easy navigated through.
In terms of wheel set – I’ve purchased Chris King ISO 15mm LD (Large Diameter) Hubs, Salsa Gordo Hoops (36 hole), DT Swiss Champion Spoke, on Maxxis Ardent Tires. My vision with the LD Hubs and 36hole Hoops is a much stronger wheel that will foster an increase in performance while negotiating technical terrain i.e. obviously with CK Hubs.
- JJM