Thursday, September 9, 2010

My one year report on the superfly SS 29er

Well, it has been one year to the day that I first straddled my Fisher Superfly Singlespeed. I have put more than enough time on this thing to warrant a review. This will not be as polished as the more talented writers out there, but it will do. This is a frameset only-with fox fork,headset and stem. Specs are as follows: Bontrager everything-Race X Lite wheels, stem, XXX Lite seatpost, cranks, bar, saddle, XXX Lite grips, and fork. Yeah, I dig this stuff. XDX Tires set up tubeless, Avid Ultimate brakes and 32/18 combo with sram pc850 chain. It is a singlespeed specific setup. That means no freakin' gears allowed! So just deal with it.
So here is what I think.

First race, First Win on the Fish!
I have ridden all sorts of "this is the ultimate ride" rides. Working in a shop allows that. Ti, steel, aluminum, metal matrix composites and of course carbon. Carbon is the magic material, the best of all materials in one. Lightweight, stiff yet compliant-did I mention light? I was a little apprehensive at first; being this is a 2lb 7 oz frameset in large (19"). I was looking to get a 19lb build and ended up with a 18lb 4 oz version instead-dag nabbit! I have put about 750 miles on so far. It has been race 350 of that. This bike is rigid. It is not for you if you are looking for the steel is real ride-I will post my Ferrous reviews as well. It forces you to be a finesse rider, but dont be fooled by its fragile feel, this bike is a climbers secret weapon. Get out of the saddle and mash.

This bike goes where you point it. I almost feel as if I'm cheating. This bike has great acceleration with little to think about. It is a little rough on pock marked trail and rockier sections, but I am riding a carbon rigid fork instead of the fox sponge. Bunny hopping is a breeze. Although I got a little cocky-no pun intended, well maybe-on my first attempt and lifted a little too high. The sliding dropouts are a huge improvement over the initial run of the frame. Never had an issue coming lose or slipping. I would suggest a little dab of grease to eliminate any creaking in that area. This bike rips on singletrack, just flys. The rear wheel stays put on the climbs. That has something to do with the XDX rubber too. This bike doesnt feel like my other 29ers do, I mean it feel more like a 26" in fit. That may be due to the fork axle to crown measurement. A suspension for will make it sit a little taller in the front.

I dont have any real complaints to mention here. If I had to nit pick about something, I guess I would have to see a version without the fork to save some dough, but that's it.

This year, the Fisher name is dropped and is now the Trek Gary Fisher Collection. It is the same exact frame as my 09. If you are looking for a no nonsense ss race steed, this is it.

1 comment:

  1. I wonder if you kept this set up or let it go? I have a 2010 with a mostly modern setup save the fork, which is a 29er Float Factory FIT RLC Kashima coating.

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