Hi ya!

I just purchased my first WSD bike. It's a Gary Fisher Tassajara GS and I bought it for commuting and light trail riding for the winter months as my road bike lies in wait for better weather and better lighting conditions. This bike is replacing my old MTB, a steel Schwinn Mesa.

First let me say that until I purchased this bike, every aluminum hardtail and road bike I tried got my teeth a'chattering! Just too rough a ride - I'm about 116lb so not a complete lightweight. But the GF is one smooth ride - and it's light. It's spec'd ok for the price. The fit is great. What I found with all my other "boys" MTB's is that I was stretched out and not much weight was over the rear wheel. Short steep climbs would produce a lot of spinning of the rear wheel. I'd have to sit down on the seat to get enough weight over the rear wheel, but climbing is awkward that way.

I don't know if it's the genesis design itself or the women's specific genesis design, but that rear wheel problem does not exist on the GF bike. I took it for a spin at the local trails yesterday and was able to climb steep hills in loose rocky conditions w/o a problem.

The other WSD touches of this bike (and all the other WSD bikes) are questionable - the saddle, yuck..too padded. The brake levers with "short" reach..they have the same reach as my Shimano LX levers (which I will be swapping) and the crank length is 170mm which is the same as my road bike so I'm used to that. The shock is a Manitou DIVA - yes a lady's shock. I'm not quite sure it matters though because this is not a free ride or downhiller bike. The shock should prove sufficient for the application.

So overall, the bike fits nicely, better than any of the small mens MTB's that I've had, but the "extras" seem inconsequential.