2007 Gary Fisher hifi Plus ?

Ladies -

I can get a deal on this:
List of components in my order of importance...
Frame - aluminium, 16''
Suspension - Front Manitou Relic Super Air w/lockout, 120mm travel
rear Fox RP3
Avid Juicy 3 hydraulic disc brakes
Componentry - Shimano XT rear derailleur + Deore shifters & front derailleur
Asymmetric swingarm with Four Barrel dropout pivots (whatever that is)
Wheels - Bontrager Select Disc | Bontrager Jones XR 26x2.25/2.2 tires - wheels any good? my dealer says they have industrial bearings and he says that's good...
Shimano Deore M540 Hollowtech 44/32/22 crank w/XT spline (whatever, not really relevant)


I've ridden a 17,5'' Trek Fuel EX9 which is a much higher $$$ class of course. I think the only difference that I will notice is the Fox Talas fork which you can lower (? know-what-I-mean) for steep climbs, the Fisher's fork can't be lowered. That sort of fork only comes in the high-priced "package bikes" of the Trek/Fisher provenance. adjustable travel is probably the word :o

I liked the Trek but I thought it was a bit on the large side, and I think I like them smaller. My new road bike is really on the small side.
Although side by side the frames are about the same length, the Fisher has a much shorter stem and that's by design. Says the dealer. I like it. It feels - responsive? I'm told I will only notice the lack of lower-ability (adjustable travel ) on the fork on the steepest of climbs?

Go, or no go?
I'm 172 cm = 5'7''
I want to ride forest roads, some light trails, mainly for winter maintenance training. Some day maybe an easy ride in the mountains, nothing too technical. I liked our local bike park but that would only be to "get the hang of it".
If I make a mistake, at least I want to make a medium-priced mistake rather than a 4000$ mistake. And after my first road bike buy, that was too large - I'd rather err on the side of small.

I've got one of the '07 Fisher Caliber cross-country bikes, which I dearly love. For the 2008 bikes, Fisher replaced the Race Day frame they used on the Calibers with the HiFi frame, essentially the HiFi is replacing the Calibers though you can still order the Race Day frame if you want to rebuild yourself a do-it-yourself bike.

I test rode one of the HiFi 29ers, and liked it. The big difference I saw between the two was the asymmetric chain stays on the HiFi, which look a little wierd, but seem to work at least as well as the symmetric stays on the older bikes. I stuck with the Caliber, though, I just liked it a little better overall, plus the sour-apple green color was kind of kewl compared to the pale-looking HiFi.

Where I bike, it's mostly flat with short, sharp rises, so it's debatable whether I get the full benefit of the dual suspension. I do enjoy it on a couple of local trails, though...

componentry wise? know anything about the fork?
Size wise? Although you're a guy, what do you ride?
where I intend to ride it's mostly not flat.... :p

I just recently rented both the Fuel EX8 and the HiFiPro 29er (you are talking about the 29er, right?) for a day to consider buying. I tested both on the same two trails. One which is somewhat level with lots of rock-gardens (from pebble washes to sharp-baby heads to basketball sized rocks), very uneven terrain, some technical steps. The other trail is much more hard-packed dirt with mostly roots, tight turns, berms, some technical ups and whoop-de-doos. In short, two completely different trails! Some might say that you really need two different bikes... anywho... I am 5'8" and tested the 17.5 Fuel and Medium Fisher. This is what I thought:

I liked them both, but in different ways. The Hi Fi was kind of like pedalling my couch, but in a good way. It sang on the rockgardens, in which I didn't even have to pick a line. Those 29inch wheels just blasted over everything I pointed it at. I had some difficulty making it through the basketball sized rocks, as this takes more slow-speed technical skills and quick handeling. Technical unlevel terrain is easy-peasy with any sort of momentum, but it was a bit more difficult to get rolling up to speed. I did have some difficulty controlling tight corners and switchbacks (though felt that I would just have to re-learn, rather than avoid them). Generally a very very squooshy pleasing ride. I had a terrible problem with the demo bike and chain skip/slap. The rental shop said that all the 29erHiFis have been having this problem and he thought that there was too much flex in the bike. My DH thinks that it is just a mismatched chain brand/use problem. Either way, it was annoying, difficult to really test on any assent and a little discouraging.

The EX felt completely different. It had a more typical 5inch travel feeling, with a bit more squish in the front than back and quick turning/acceleration. It felt more responsive than the HiFi, but not quite as stable. Diffinately more aggressive feeling (which I liked quite a bit). I liked the brakes a bit better on the EX. It was much quicker in turning, but much less forgiving going over any sort of rockgarden/ technical stuff. I could get it up to speed quicker for assents, but felt that I lost momentum much quicker, also. I thought that it felt as heavy underfoot as the HiFi, and the back end made quite a racket over bumps. You certainly couldn't sneak up on anyone with this bike. The ride felt more "perched on top" than "in the bike" IYKWIM? I also had a bit of problem with the standover... Even though I had 2inches easy when standing, I smashed my girly parts a couple times when biffed it on technical stuff. Don't really know what is up with that, except that maybe there really wasn't enough stand-over, or the sloope of the bar was getting in the way. Who knows.

In the end, if the HiFi hadn't had the chain problem, I might have gone with it. The confidence I gained from those big wheels was incredible. I might have changed out the stem for something shorter and also took out some of the stack in the front to make it a bit more aggressive. Sure, the ride on the hard pack tight corners wasn't in control, but I felt that I could have re-learned to ride the 29.

The EX geometry was good, but the ride was way less forgiving than the HiFi. The "perched" feeling really bothered me, as did the bruised girl-parts. Great bike overall though. Not too fond of the colors.

After riding many more bikes, I have decided to go with a 26 XC 4inch travel, more race inspired geometry. Felt that it had the agressive stance I liked a bit more, not so "perched" on the top of the bike, but in it, and with just enough squish to save my bottom. I hope that I like it. Only time will tell.

I had a pretty tight budget, and would have liked to have seen a couple more full-suss 29ers in my price range. I was too worried about the chain slap to buy the Hi Fi, but would have preferred the 29 to 26 for the type of riding I have around here.

Gosh, I hope that helps you a bit.

No, I'm not looking at the 29er. i'm looking at the 2007 Plus model. But I do not intend to ride nearly as technical stuff as you do.

The standover/fall margin is a good input, thanks.

After some deliberation I think I will go for it after asking LBS guy another couple q's about fit.

Sorry, I guess I get all those models mixed up. I did test ride a Plus, also, but didn't get to take it on the trails. I think that it will be a good ride for you! I thought that the geometry seemed more relaxed than the EX, nice and plush overall, which I think you are looking for. That fork should serve you fine! Sorry again and good luck, post pics of your new ride!

Hey THX, the answer I was looking for. See me become the scourge of trails.:eek:

Fascinating that you wrote such an erudite review as your first post here. See you around!


Edit - sold!