This is the HiFi.
To be more accurate it's a 2008 Gary Fisher HiFi Pro 29er. How it found its way to my stable is somewhat complicated, but I'll try to keep it simple. Last year Andrew cracked his Specialized frame and needed a new bike. With intimate knowledge of Maryland and West Virginia trails and being a recent 29er convert the only bike I recommended was a full suspension 29er. The best bike for the price was the HiFi Pro 29er. Gary Fisher's Genesis 2 geometry makes their 29ers handle more like a 26 inch bike than any other bike I had ridden.
So Andrew went out and picked himself up a HiFi. At the same time he warranted the Specialized on the slight chance the company might actually replace the 10 year old frame. Kudos to Specialized, they did! Now stuck with 2 bikes and a credit card bill that needed to get paid off he needed to unload one.
Now for my side of the story. Up until last May I had ridden the same Santa Cruz Superlight frame for 8 years. I would just rebuilt and repaint it every couple years. I was dialed on the bike, so dialed if fact, that my tech and descending would usually smoke riders on higher travel bikes. In August of 2007 I rebuilt the Superlight with a longer travel 140mm fork in hopes of racing Super D (here). The geometry change resulted in nothing but carnage (here and here). Not wanting to add any more examples to my already numerous scar collection I rebuilt the Superlight back with a 100mm fork. Then the Superfly came into the picture. The difference between the Superlight’s 26" full suspension geometry and the Superfly, a 29er carbon fiber hardtail was as big as the Grand Canyon. Every time I got back on the Superlight after riding the Superfly the result was more carnage (here).
Fast forward to last September. I was on an overnight in Wichita, Kansas. The hotel is haunted and I was cowering under the covers trying to pretend I wasn't scared and when it hit me. Being a 29er and sporting the Genesis 2 geometry the HiFi is about as similar to the Superfly as I could get. If Andrew let me make payments on his credit card, he could unload the bike and I would have a full suspension that I wouldn’t wreck me every time I rode it. Still with me?
As with most crazy schemes the devil is in the details. How and when would I cheaply get the bike from Maryland to Colorado? How could I cheaply switch the drivetrain from Shimano XT to Sram XO to make the bikes as similar as possible? A few more months would pass, but we worked it out.
In December I went home for Christmas and rode with Andrew. We did about 15 miles on a bitterly cold day in the Frederick, Maryland Watershed. The Watershed is quintessential east coast riding. It's super technical and rocky singletrack that snakes through thick deciduous forests. Besides rocks there are tons of logs and creek crossings. The HiFi shinned. The big 29er wheels rolled over the basketball sized rocks like they were pebbles and the 100mm fork and 4 inches of rear travel soaked up big hits like shocks on a Cadillac.
To be more accurate it's a 2008 Gary Fisher HiFi Pro 29er. How it found its way to my stable is somewhat complicated, but I'll try to keep it simple. Last year Andrew cracked his Specialized frame and needed a new bike. With intimate knowledge of Maryland and West Virginia trails and being a recent 29er convert the only bike I recommended was a full suspension 29er. The best bike for the price was the HiFi Pro 29er. Gary Fisher's Genesis 2 geometry makes their 29ers handle more like a 26 inch bike than any other bike I had ridden.
So Andrew went out and picked himself up a HiFi. At the same time he warranted the Specialized on the slight chance the company might actually replace the 10 year old frame. Kudos to Specialized, they did! Now stuck with 2 bikes and a credit card bill that needed to get paid off he needed to unload one.
Now for my side of the story. Up until last May I had ridden the same Santa Cruz Superlight frame for 8 years. I would just rebuilt and repaint it every couple years. I was dialed on the bike, so dialed if fact, that my tech and descending would usually smoke riders on higher travel bikes. In August of 2007 I rebuilt the Superlight with a longer travel 140mm fork in hopes of racing Super D (here). The geometry change resulted in nothing but carnage (here and here). Not wanting to add any more examples to my already numerous scar collection I rebuilt the Superlight back with a 100mm fork. Then the Superfly came into the picture. The difference between the Superlight’s 26" full suspension geometry and the Superfly, a 29er carbon fiber hardtail was as big as the Grand Canyon. Every time I got back on the Superlight after riding the Superfly the result was more carnage (here).
Fast forward to last September. I was on an overnight in Wichita, Kansas. The hotel is haunted and I was cowering under the covers trying to pretend I wasn't scared and when it hit me. Being a 29er and sporting the Genesis 2 geometry the HiFi is about as similar to the Superfly as I could get. If Andrew let me make payments on his credit card, he could unload the bike and I would have a full suspension that I wouldn’t wreck me every time I rode it. Still with me?
As with most crazy schemes the devil is in the details. How and when would I cheaply get the bike from Maryland to Colorado? How could I cheaply switch the drivetrain from Shimano XT to Sram XO to make the bikes as similar as possible? A few more months would pass, but we worked it out.
In December I went home for Christmas and rode with Andrew. We did about 15 miles on a bitterly cold day in the Frederick, Maryland Watershed. The Watershed is quintessential east coast riding. It's super technical and rocky singletrack that snakes through thick deciduous forests. Besides rocks there are tons of logs and creek crossings. The HiFi shinned. The big 29er wheels rolled over the basketball sized rocks like they were pebbles and the 100mm fork and 4 inches of rear travel soaked up big hits like shocks on a Cadillac.
The HiFi's First Ride
(it still had the wheel reflectors)
The Watershed
When we got done the ride Mom and Bill came up for an early Christmas dinner. The plan was to break the bike down, package it in the hard case I brought home with me, and FedEx it to myself using my discount. Simple enough right?
The only problem was Mom’s VW beetle. The beetle is cramped without a 5 X 3 foot bike case. Add three adults, Christmas presents, and suitcases and cramped is an understatement. Comical would be a better description. I tried several combinations and found the best way to fit everything (including myself) was to squeeze the bike case into the back seat. It would only fit on the front half of the seat because the sloping roof line dropped quickly towards the rear end. That left about 12 inches of space for me between the case and the backrest of the seat. I managed to squeeze in through the trunk and cram down low enough to get the hatch closed. The 1 hour drive was crammed and claustrophobic. It was a test of mental and physical endurance and suffering. I entertained myself by seeing how long I could hold a certain position until what ever limb I was crushing at the time fell asleep.
Cramming into the Beetle
Safe at home I built up the HiFi and traded out most of the XT parts for Sram XO. I'll write a post about the source of XO parts soon. The Superfly converted me from a loyal Shimano XTR guy to Sram XO. I could have lived with XT, but I wanted to minimize the differences between the HiFi and Superfly, so XO was key. Other than the XO rear derailleur and shifters I swapped out the bike is basically stock. The HiFi’s high lights are carbon fiber seatstays, Fox F100 RLC 29er fork, Multi-link virtual pivot rear suspension with a Fox RP23 ProPedal shock resulting in 4 inches of travel front and rear. Full specs are here. I’m not a huge fan of Bontrager, but now both of my bikes are loaded with Bontrager bits so I better get over it. My only (rather vain) complaint about the bike is its color – Papa Smurf Blue. Here it is built up in its current form. It weighs in at 27.5lbs which is respectable for a 4” travel full suspension 29er.
Built up in Colorado
I haven’t ridden it since Maryland, but I plan on breaking it in on Colorado’s trails soon. The Superfly will be my race bike and primary bike. I want to train my upper body to be as fast on a hardtail as I was on the full suspension and the only way to do that is to ride the hardtail. I plan on using the HiFi for times when a full suspension will make the ride more enjoyable like the Monarch Crest trail, Porcupine Rim or Kenosha Pass. I’ll also race it at the Maryland State Championships and probably a lap or two of the 24 Hours of Moab, which I plan on doing solo this year.
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