In a stunner that probably no one saw coming, (unless you were on the inside), Gary Fisher Bikes has been “absorbed” in a marketing sense by Trek more fully. Now called the “Gary Fisher Collection”, the line of Gary Fisher bikes is now found on Trek’s website and not only that, but the bikes will have Trek head badges and “Trek” in an outline font on the down tubes of many of the bikes. Here’s an example with the Rumblefish II (click on image to enlarge)
Update: We have learned now that Gary Fisher Bikes no longer exists as a brand. It will now be a model line within Trek’s offerings. More on the story can be found here.
Okay, so much for the marketing angle, what about the bikes? Well, the highlights include another model added to each of the carbon bikes from 2010, so two Superfly and two superfly 100 models with different spec. A new aluminum hard tail frame debuts, the Rig goes to sliders, more lower priced 29″ers, women specific models, and finally, the ultimate shop rat employee purchase bike, the Sawyer. Here are some highlights:
Here we have the “elite” Superfly models which will be spec’ed with top of the line components. There will be lower spec’ed alternatives in both flavors as well. Total of two Superfly 100′s and two Superfly hard tails with the Superfly single speed offered as a frameset once again.
Here we have the Paragon which debuts a new frame featuring the E2 steerer and press fit bottom bracket just like the carbon Superfly.
The X-Cal is back (top) with an added WSD choice (bottom). WSD is Trek’s woman’s specific design line. There will also be a Mamba WSD 29″er as well for MSRP $879.99
In single speed news, the Rig is back, (top) with sliders instead of the traditional eccentric the model has been offered with previously. There will now also be a less expensive alternative in the Marlin Single Speed, which also uses sliders and will retail at $599.99!
The Fisher Collection by Trek will also offer this Marlin geared bike fot the same $599.99, which is the lowest priced 29″er now offered by Trek/Fisher, (Or whatever we’re supposed to call these bikes now!)
While all the above bikes are cool, the one that made my heart go “pitter-patter” was this one. The Sawyer, which is described on the website as the model that “celebrates 10 years of Gary Fisher creating 29ers”, is a steel framed cruiser bike that will come geared but has sliding drops much like the ones used on the Rig and Marlin single speed bikes. My prediction? This will be a very, very hard to get bike! Shop rats will be “EP-ing” this bike in droves. The Sawyer will retail for $1429.99. (Did ya catch the “29″ in the price? No co-incidence, I am sure!)
We’ll have more on this ground breaking development in the days to come and more on the bikes as well. Stay tuned!
Ohhhhh…the Sawyer!!! How VERY cool! My fav of the bunch.
grannygear
I notice on the Trek website it says the Sawyer has split drop outs. Does this mean it could potentially be used with a belt drive system?
This will NOT help my cunning plan to score a used GF Superfly 100 this fall.
RIP (sort of) Gary Fisher Bicycles.
The Marlin SS has a eccentric according to the new website.
Not thrilled with the paint this year.
@ Nick –
If you look at the pic above (zoomed in), you can see the split. I would say yes… yes you could.
It needs a Carnegie’s bar too.
The “Gary Fisher Collection,” hmmmm, sounds like the Martha Stewart Collection at Macy’s.
@ Joel –
You have compared two people I previously thought could never logically be involved in the same sentence. Well done.
After looking at the spec sheet, it may not need a Carnegie’s… already has a bar w/ 25 degree sweep (Bontrager Trivia). Couldn’t tell from the photo on this page.
Since it comes with gears… wish it had the XX instead of the X7.
I’m kind of digging the paint. Doen’s look as NASCAR inspired as a lot of modern bikes.
*doesn’t -> noticed it just as I clicked Submit!
@JT: Click on the photo of the bike and check out the drop out.
Bontrager Crivitz, 25 degree sweep sounds good!
Well, I guess this is Trek’s “solution” to not having 29ers in their line…
@MG: It would be pretty redundant from a manufacturing and marketing perspective to brand what they already had for 29″ers as Treks. Of course, they could have done something different, but then again, they would be splitting resources that could be directed in a more focused manner on one brand.
I can totally see why the decision was made, and I think it bodes well from a rider point of view. From a nostalgic, retro, romantic point of view, it totally sucks.
I have mixed feelings right now, but in three years I’ll probably say it was the smartest thing they ever did.
The new colors are pretty drab.
I did not foresee this development. I DID foresee Trek coopting GF to put out their own 29ers. I just thought they’d be rebadged GFs. So I take part credit for being almost right, even though I know next to nothing about the bike industry except what I can glean off web forums. I guess this makes sense from a business perspective so they don’t have two wings of their company competing with each other ala Chevy and GMC. But its gotta suck for Gary. One day you’ve got your own brand and doing cutting edge things, and the next day you’re just a “collection”, absorbed into the Mother Ship. At least the Trek racing teams can now ride full fledged Gary Fishers without “branding” problems. Hmmm. When’s the official Lance Armstrong “collection” of road bikes coming? Soon, I imagine.
Yes, that Sawyer is quite snazzy. Fully offroad capable, I trust? I sense a future TNI review in the works. Is it just me or are full rigid bikes (even ones with GEARS) making a comeback? Big wheels and renewed interest in steel (thinking Haro Beasley, as well as all the 29er examples) seem to make it viable again. Increasing popularity of “gravel grinder” and “all rounder” type riding is probably driving that trend too.
Any chance of a Ti version of the Sawyer? Put me down for one.
Just went to the website for a closer look:
Interesting choice of drivetrain on the Sawyer. 2×9 – 32/22 up front with a 12-36 cassette. That’s a nice LOW low. Bet the crankset plays well with one of those new Sram 10 speed setups.
Wow, looks like Trek’s getting into the long bike game under the GF banner. Not a 29er, but an interesting development. First Surly, then Kona, now Trek. Trek is the Big Time. I bet Specialized has one out by Interbike. Chalk one up to Surly for boosting another trend into the mainstream.
Still a lot of overlap between the “Gary Fisher Collection” and the rest of the Trek lineup. I suspect that will decrease as they continue to develop the concept. Wouldn’t be surprised to see it become something of a “skunk works” following Gary Fisher’s evolving interests. A few years ago it was 29ers, now its utility bikes. Maybe recumbants are next?
Gary’s looking dapper, as always.
Gary’s got style for sure. He is a very cool guy to meet.
grannygear
What is going to happen to all GF dealers? There is a locale GF dealer and a locale Trek dealer. Will Trek dealers start carrying GF models? or vice versa? Its a smaller town and I would hate to see my GF dealer have to close he has supported the brand for years!
Sad to see this. Sure, sure, GF was Trek, etc., etc., But the GF brand had so much more panache than the Trek side of things. From the design, web site, race team, and other marketing. Over the years I’ve come to identify Trek as all things Lance and road. And GF as the 29er, mountain bike racing side. Then again, maybe that’s why they are doing it! To remind folks that the indeed make mountain bikes! LOL
I do hope the above bike pics are just in the early stages. They have nothing on the look of the ’10 Superfly’s. Lame looking.
Oh well, what do I know? Trek makes millions, and I’m some shlep with an opinion.
This is interesting. When I read this in the morning I thought Fisher was selling out. But I agree with GT, this may be a smart move. Either way Fisher is still making $$. I do like the Sawyer the most. This year’s paint was ok but next year’s isn’t.
Why doesn’t the Gary Fisher Collection (GFC) go retro with the colors? Bright yellows and pinks like of days of yore?
Also, when is the new Bontrager fork coming out. That Sawyer fork looks cool, big rake?
I’ve been biting my tongue about this for a little while now, but this is about international sales, guys. The bikes are the same as they’ve always been and will continue to evolve along their respective development cycles. The SF 100 is still a sweet ride, the Cronus represents one of the best buys on the market for a sub 1000g road frame, and the Superfly, well, still flies.
If anything, moving away from being boxed in as a “traditional” brand could bring about more fringe concepts, especially for a mega brand like Trek. Look at the models like the Sawyer and the Transport, for example.
The bottom line is this: If you like the bikes for what they are, then this shouldn’t matter. If you’re concerned that Trek discontinuing the GF brand name is somehow disingenuous toward Fisher’s legacy, that ship sailed in ’93.
@JC: You have some great points, and as a matter of fact, they were underscored in my conversation with Gary this afternoon. More “fringe” concepts with a faster track to development. Should be an interesting ride.
And we’ve been promised a Sawyer for a test/review once they become available, so look for that on TNI in the coming months.
Just found out my LBS is losing the line now due to this news. I hope he is able to pick up another decent brand. Trek blows.
Will there be any 29er versions of up-to-now Trek bikes like Remedy and Fuel Ex because of the merge?
@DavidCopperfield: I’m betting that whatever the next evolution is, THAT will be what we see as the new FS design. I think that for the present time you will see what we have now with a trend to “thinning the herd”, as it were, from this “merger” of Fisher and Trek product.
Once that happens, and the next evolution of Trek’s suspension product is in the bag, we’ll probably see a more uniform line from 26 FS to 29 FS product. My guess is that the shorter travel stuff to up to 5-6 inches will eventually become all 29″er with only the Free Ride and DH models remaining 26″ers.
Mind you, that is a complete guess on my part.
@Bummed: I get that this is bad news for those Fisher dealers that had a Trek dealership local to them. Was this the case for your LBS?
GT: More “fringe” concepts with a faster track to development? Ah ha! So this IS partly a bid to turn the GF brand into sort of a skunk works. I feel so smart now – I don’t know how I’m going to get my head through the door to go ride. I feel better for Gary now. Looks like he’ll have more latitude to get more creative with his designs and let Big Poppa Trek take care of keeping the doors open and the lights on. If one his “fringe concepts” strikes out, no harm no foul. If he hits a home run (maybe with the Sawyer – its pretty damn sweet), everybody wins.
interesting marketing move. crappy paint jobs.
After 20+ years in the bike industry i’m not backing it at all. This is just the first step in the death of the GF brand. I can almost guarantee it. My prediction…with in 3 years.
@Mark S: Umm……ah…..I hate to break this to ya, but the brand died as of today. From here on out, there is no Gary Fisher Bikes. Even Gary himself is calling them “Trek 29″ers” now.
Let’s face it, we have always been buying our Fisher bikes from Trek. Looks to me, with the likes of the Sawyer and the Cronus CX, the Fisher brand is not dead. Whatever Gary contributed to his named bikes’ designs, he still can, and will, I’m sure.
This is not a LeMond moment.
I like the graphics…very subtle and unique, still sets these bikes apart from the flashier Trek line. I think the Superfly Elites look awesome, but this is coming from a guy that has always liked understated, black graphics on bikes.
Been in the IBD biz for a LONG time and I’d like to be driving this train. I’d turn it WAY around…a LONG time ago…before it TOTALLY jumps the tracks…I’m practically speechless…and that don’t happen often…
My guess, is this is the last time you will see Gary Fisher on bike. 2012, they will drop the Fisher name all together. They are just slowly doing a way with the name, so not to offend. Just my take on it.
I don’t know if they’ll drop the GF name. It has a lot of history and respect behind it.
That said, I really wouldn’t be surprised either way.
As the self-proclaimed King Of Anti-Bling, I am obviously delighted to read about both Marlin models. Something about a low-end 29″er that fill me with warm fuzzy feelings.
A lady friend had the luck to obtain a discounted Mamba 29″, and it’s just an awesome bike. Honestly, I wish it we mine.
The big brand move seems to be especially bad for the loyal Fisher dealers, who in their limited volume, did bring Fisher 29″ers to be a profitable product range within Trek. So, time for Trek to accept the honors, while (I notice with fondness) giving Gary personally a lot of credit as well.
Competing brands will need to fill the gap emerging at the soon to be former Gary Fisher dealers. Luckily, those were all ready sooner than Trek themselves were. I wish the Fisher dealers all the best at finding alternatives. G2 fork offsets, however, seems to still be limited to Trek/Fisher?
Now where is the announced Bontrager G2 Carbon Switchblade fork we “all” need?
For those of you predicting the death of everything GF… I don’t think you’re right at all. Here’s why: The Gary Fisher name brings a lot of credibility and a lot of marketing power (much of it wrapped up in GF himself). Trek knows that, respects that, and wants to make sure the GF line continues to be a little different and a little more out there. To completely eliminate the GF name would actually hurt Trek… they’d lose the identity that they (as the parent company for many years now anyway) have put some serious dollars into building.
As far as former GF dealers go… how many dealers carried GF but not Trek, and won’t be able to add Trek? Is it really that many? I mean I feel bad for those who have that scenario… but honestly, I can’t think of any shops around me that are likely to be much affected by this.
I can think of three LBS that carry only Fisher and will be out of luck due to one huge TREK dealer within close proximity.
What ever happened to “We are gonna keep this 29er thing a Gary Fisher thing”…
So much for that huh!? And I think THAT was always a bad idea anyway!
IMO There should be a Trek 29er in addition to Fisher. Fishers have always had their own unique ride characteristics and that should remain. Trek needs to see that they are competing with Specialized, Cannondale, Giant, GT, Jamis, Raleigh, etc, and that a Trek 29er should have geometry different from Fisher and more like these other brands. What is so ironic here is that bike brands always SCREAM MORE, MORE, MORE !!! This might happen a little but not NEAR what it could be if the Fisher brand remained and Trek FINALLY saw the light and made a 29er. I am just blown away by this. I don’t care how “happy” Gary appears in the Trek video, he’s not. He’s paid well to act like he is (and he is QUITE a good one!). Two years ago, a road bike appeared with a Gary Fisher logo, and this was in a poor economy and wouldn’t it have made more sense for the company to have spent that money on a Trek 29er (the hottest thing since the invention of mtb suspension) and let Gary remain the MTB icon that he is.
I wonder WHO is making the decisions up there in WI.
Have you ever wondered how many Bontrager steel rigid 29ers they could sell if there was one?
I can’t believe all this…
@ Matt – I think you’re 100% right about the Gary Fisher name. It’s too valuable for Trek to lose. It will help them get ahead of the competition in more “progressive” areas like long bikes and the new evolutions of 29ers.
Can someone explain the dealer situation better? My assumption was that dealers who carried GF, but not Trek were sort of “grandfathered” in from the days when GF was an independant brand. Is that true? What are the chances that Trek would let those dealers continue to carry JUST the “GF Collection” bikes? My understanding is that usually Trek is VERY controlling of their dealers and has even muscled many shops into basically becoming exclusively Trek shops. The other dynamic seems to be that GF used to be an exclusively mountain bike brand. Right? So dealers that carried GF were focussed on the MTB market. With the GF line expanding to include road, cross, city, and utility bikes, is GF even necessarily a good fit for those shops anymore?
It’s interesting that people are so shocked and predicting the “end of a brand”. As has been said several times, Fisher as an independent entity stopped in ’93. While this is just the culmination of the events that began then, there is history that essentially shows there are two routes this could go. Keith Bontrager seems to be doing alright, as I see his name splashed all over when looking at any Trek/Fisher product. He’s allowed to innovate with his “flights of fancy” and Trek gives him the stage to place these successes on. Gary Klein, on the other hand, suffered under the Trek umbrella. He became the unfortunate by product of a corporation looking to innovate by overtake. He was left to become “big in Asia” with a loyal following and an unavailable product. Gary has several ideas that have proven themselves worthy of the attention and he will continue to innovate, with the “merger” providing a quicker route to the end user. The customer will be the one who helps to decide his fate as integral component or corporate collateral damage.
Agree that the Sawyer is a beauty, but to me it’s a bit of a turn-off when a big company tries to make money mass-producing near copies of smaller companies’ designs. See Lynskey Cruiser 29 or Blacksheep Stellar for reference.
My understanding of the LBS is that if you were previously a GF dealer, you are no longer a dealer. You could become a TREK dealer, but only if there isn’t one already in close proximity. This means that those smaller shops that carried GF only probably will be out of the fold if there is already an established TREK dealer nearby. In the larger centers (such as mine), the likeliehood of having a TREK dealer nearby is pretty good. That TREK dealer would now carry the GF signature line, in additon to their existing TREK line.
This is my understanding from other threads out there. This is not good for me personally as I don’t like the local TREK dealer (large, uneductated staff, etc) and I like the smaller guy I bought by GF off of (almost all service is free, small group of guys, all know their stuff). We will see how this plays out.
I have the same mixed feelings as GT. My Superfly suddenly became a Trek and that just does not feel right
.
The bright part: Bikeurope imported Trek and Trek only. All of a sudden the bikes (whatever name is on them) are available in Europe again.
They had to do that and this is probably the fastest and cheapest way. 29er sales are on the rise in Europe and they were missing the boat. This enables them to bring 29ers to the European market instantly, without having to set up a seperate marketing campaign dedicated to the Gary Fisher brand.
So I haven’t read any actual on shop guys opinions on here so here gos. I work at one of the shops being dropped by this whole thing. I will be the first to admit that yes this seems to make economic since for trek as a brand, but here in our shop where we have been a fisher dealer from the begining and have pushed 29′s for as long as I’ve been here. Its about the worst news we could get. Both myself and the other mechanic put thousands of dollars into bikes we no longer sale… What do I do with it now? I have ridden about every 29 out there and still come back to my fisher as my favorite. But that’s just my problem who I worry about is my boss, fisher makes up a huge part of our sales but because theres a shop 3miles away that sells trek we are done. WTF… This is Phoenix we have a Frys on one corner and a Safeway on the other. We don’t even want the rest fo the line just leave the fisher collection for us. All this being said and as upset about it as I am if we were able, I would fall right into the shop rat category because I would already have a sawyer on order that thing is amazing.
Very sad to see Gary done with; much the same future as Gary K by my reckoning. End of an era. RIP Gary.
A truly insane marketing move.
When big companies are scrambling to add brands to address different market niches you read this?
What are you guys on?
A big risk to trek especially if their headline road marketing tool – Lance – is hopefully and finally outed for the cheat that he was by the current investigation – then you need another outlet for your product for the disinchanted.
Technically and logistically sound but from a marketing perspective trully ridiculous.
RIP Gary. A long lineage and history gone. Collectors start buying !
Seems to me that the only real change is that some IBD get screwed out of the Fisher line. if you had a GF SF before, you really had a Trek SF. There is no difference. It’s not like Gary Fisher was driving the bus in Waterloo. He’s used for marketing. Trek has OWNED the fisher name for almost 15 years. Fisher bikes are nothing but Treks with Fisher painted on them. Sure, they tried to give the brands their own identity, but it’s like buying a set of Bontrager wheels and thinking that you’re not buying a set of trek wheels. Don’t want to break your hearts with this bit of info, but Keith Bontrager isn’t heading up the wheel department in WI either. they’re names that Trek BOUGHT and put on their products, plain and simple.
@packfill
Although Gary may not be figuring out the silly SRAM and pricing details behind all the bikes that bear his name, you may be underestimating his long-term influence on the bikes we’ve been buying, and loving. It’s a Fisher flavour.
Gary has been “mainstream” since Trek bought his brand, but it’s remained an edge. Really, the stuff Fisher 29″er have been showing the past years, is the equivalent of launching a space shuttle, back in 1969, and landing it on the moon. In bikes, we take little steps, and usually that step means “like last season, in a different color, and a vague marketing blah about enhanced performance of the same bike”. Fisher bikes has extra bite, and that’s why they’re being bought. Not in the numbers of the roadies that need fatties and get Trek, but still…
@JeroenK: “…The bright part: Bikeurope imported Trek and Trek only. All of a sudden the bikes (whatever name is on them) are available in Europe again…… This enables them to bring 29ers to the European market instantly, without having to set up a seperate marketing campaign dedicated to the Gary Fisher brand…..”
BUT: The EUROPEAN versions of the Trek website do not list any of the “interesting” models from the Gary Fisher Line. No Sawyer 29er cruiser; no cargo bikes etc.
Maybe that will change & the European dealers WILL get those bikes. That would be the intelligent thing to do, because I see dozens of cargo bikes and thousands of “normal” utility bikes here (Germany) every day.
However, “intelligent” is not how I would describe this latest move by Trek. The dilution of the Fisher name is completely irrelevant and incidental to any expansion by Trek into “new” markets (where “new” denotes such radical ideas as riding your bike to work in normal clothes).
Past experience suggests that U.S. dealers will struggle to get enough of the popular models and European dealers will get none. Or 1 shipment late in the model year and then get screwed over with a load of B.S. excuses.
You can make Photoshop images of all the innovative Treky-Fisher vapor-ware that you want to – But if you can’t deliver them to your dealers, what’s the point?
First off, major Congratulations to Gary Fisher. He has been at the vanguard of off road cycling since, well, since heand his friends started it (I’m not saying who was first.). Not only growing technology, but his own brand for so long is a tremendous accomplishment. Stellar job.
This Trek business, the way I see it, is just business. And honestly, most of us don’t / can’t get excited about that. The pattern has been there, the commitment has been immense and the follow through has been exceptional. Trek is doing thier part, too.
Bontrager, LeMond, Icon, and now GF. It’s their business model, it’s what they do, it’s what they need to grow and survive, and it has less to do with the things that we get excited about (how many replies above were about the new Sawyer, or at least the fork on it?).
Survey the landscape and pick who’s next.
Just wanted to say that Lynskey(remember when they were Litespeed) and Blacksheep and for that matter Curtis Inglis(Retrotec) did not invent the twin top tube bike, maybe credit should go to Schwinn Black Phantom. As always in the bike world the name changes and bikes rarely change. gary’s a nice person (he picks up bikes at the shop I work at, and is a super low-key dude, seen him at local cross races a bunch of times and he never draws attention to himself, just there to race)