"Anything we do with two-niners flows through product manager [and semi-retired pro racer] Travis
[Brown] on the R&D side and Nat Ross on the race side," said Aaron Mock, Brand Manager for Gary
Fisher. "[Pros] Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski and Heather Irmiger are both racing two-niners."
Brown and Ross were already 29" wheel converts (with Brown being more
of a 'half convert' with his preferred '69' format), but winning over
Horgan-Kobelski and Irmiger required a more convincing argument,
especially given Irmiger's decidedly diminutive size. Gary Fisher has
demonstrated its commitment to making the alternative wheel format
a viable option for the die-hard racing crowd for 2008 with an all-new carbon
fiber 29er hardtail aptly named 'Superfly'.
Gary Fisher claims the Superfly is not only lightweight at just 1229g for a medium frame, but also
delivers ample drivetrain and torsional rigidity to match its impressive showing at the scale.
According to Gary Fisher, the Superfly derives its stiffness from key design evolutions that include a
carefully engineered lay-up schedule in its new all-carbon frame, larger head tube junctions courtesy
of a semi-integrated headset, asymmetric chain stays, a wider and flatter down tube underside near
the bottom bracket, a beefier-looking reinforced seat cluster design, and a return to a wider 73mm
bottom bracket shell.
The Superfly is also engineered with 10mm of rear tire clearance
(with a 2.25" wide tire) to allow room for mud build-up. To address
concerns about carbon's fragility, Gary Fisher has added stainless
steel armouring at key locations on the frame, including the driveside
chain stay and on the down tube just ahead of the bottom bracket shell.
The semi-integrated headset also has the added benefit of facilitating lower hand positions-a feature
driven by Nat Ross-but the headsets are still fully replaceable. Unlike fully integrated designs, the
bearing races rest on hidden internal cups that are pressed into the head tube, instead of directly on
the frame itself.
Some of the Superfly's design features, such as the complex tube shaping and semi-integrated
headset, also trickle down to other models in Gary Fisher's newly revamped 29er hardtail line,
including the aluminium Paragon, X-Caliber, Cobia, and Rig, and the steel-framed Ferrous 29.
Gary Fisher had already rolled out its ultralight 26" HiFi Carbon trail bike
earlier in the year at the Sea Otter Classic as the next step up from its
aluminium HiFi Pro, but production versions of the recently previewed 29"
version were finally available for riding for the first time in Idaho.
As mentioned earlier, Gary Fisher's updated G2 geometry will be
found on all 2008 models, although 29" versions also get a uniquely
offset custom fork crown (51mm instead of 46mm for 26")
to improve handling for the larger 29" wheel.
[Brown] on the R&D side and Nat Ross on the race side," said Aaron Mock, Brand Manager for Gary
Fisher. "[Pros] Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski and Heather Irmiger are both racing two-niners."
Brown and Ross were already 29" wheel converts (with Brown being more
of a 'half convert' with his preferred '69' format), but winning over
Horgan-Kobelski and Irmiger required a more convincing argument,
especially given Irmiger's decidedly diminutive size. Gary Fisher has
demonstrated its commitment to making the alternative wheel format
a viable option for the die-hard racing crowd for 2008 with an all-new carbon
fiber 29er hardtail aptly named 'Superfly'.
Gary Fisher claims the Superfly is not only lightweight at just 1229g for a medium frame, but also
delivers ample drivetrain and torsional rigidity to match its impressive showing at the scale.
According to Gary Fisher, the Superfly derives its stiffness from key design evolutions that include a
carefully engineered lay-up schedule in its new all-carbon frame, larger head tube junctions courtesy
of a semi-integrated headset, asymmetric chain stays, a wider and flatter down tube underside near
the bottom bracket, a beefier-looking reinforced seat cluster design, and a return to a wider 73mm
bottom bracket shell.
The Superfly is also engineered with 10mm of rear tire clearance
(with a 2.25" wide tire) to allow room for mud build-up. To address
concerns about carbon's fragility, Gary Fisher has added stainless
steel armouring at key locations on the frame, including the driveside
chain stay and on the down tube just ahead of the bottom bracket shell.
The semi-integrated headset also has the added benefit of facilitating lower hand positions-a feature
driven by Nat Ross-but the headsets are still fully replaceable. Unlike fully integrated designs, the
bearing races rest on hidden internal cups that are pressed into the head tube, instead of directly on
the frame itself.
Some of the Superfly's design features, such as the complex tube shaping and semi-integrated
headset, also trickle down to other models in Gary Fisher's newly revamped 29er hardtail line,
including the aluminium Paragon, X-Caliber, Cobia, and Rig, and the steel-framed Ferrous 29.
Gary Fisher had already rolled out its ultralight 26" HiFi Carbon trail bike
earlier in the year at the Sea Otter Classic as the next step up from its
aluminium HiFi Pro, but production versions of the recently previewed 29"
version were finally available for riding for the first time in Idaho.
As mentioned earlier, Gary Fisher's updated G2 geometry will be
found on all 2008 models, although 29" versions also get a uniquely
offset custom fork crown (51mm instead of 46mm for 26")
to improve handling for the larger 29" wheel.
| May 12-14, 2006 |
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Gary Fisher continues to win over racers to the 29" cause
| ELECTRONIC! Is this a glimpse of the future? |
Shimano's electric shifter - more pics & details
Gerolsteiner rider Ronny Scholz is a happy man after 2,500km on Shimano's prototype electronic
gear-shifting system. In the last days of Paris-Nice, Scholz told Cyclingnews reporter Hedwig Kröner that
he had had no problems with the system, "It's worked well," said Scholz. "No problems with the batteries
either."
Scholz' team manager Hans-Michael Holczer is also impressed and believes it's the future of gear shifting.
Holczer told Cyclingnews that Scholz had used the new system at the two one-day Swiss season-openers,
GP Chiasso and GP Lugano and believed that it gave him a considerable advantage when shifting on climbs
as it makes a shift within a quarter of a turn of the wheel. "So it's very efficient and even when your brain is
out of it in the effort, and your fingers stiff from the cold, you don't have to worry about getting something
wrong when shifting," Holczer added. More...
Gerolsteiner rider Ronny Scholz is a happy man after 2,500km on Shimano's prototype electronic
gear-shifting system. In the last days of Paris-Nice, Scholz told Cyclingnews reporter Hedwig Kröner that
he had had no problems with the system, "It's worked well," said Scholz. "No problems with the batteries
either."
Scholz' team manager Hans-Michael Holczer is also impressed and believes it's the future of gear shifting.
Holczer told Cyclingnews that Scholz had used the new system at the two one-day Swiss season-openers,
GP Chiasso and GP Lugano and believed that it gave him a considerable advantage when shifting on climbs
as it makes a shift within a quarter of a turn of the wheel. "So it's very efficient and even when your brain is
out of it in the effort, and your fingers stiff from the cold, you don't have to worry about getting something
wrong when shifting," Holczer added. More...
Eye Spy: Campagnolo's 2nd generation Electric gruppo
By Paul Mirtschin and Tim Maloney
By Paul Mirtschin and Tim Maloney
- While the Cyclingnews staff were prowling around the team bus area at last weekend's 46th E3
PrijsVlaanderen in Harelbeke, Belgium, our eagle-eyed editor Jeff Jones noticed something different as he
was admiring the SAECO Cannondale CAAD 7 team bikes.
It seems that Saeco's Giosué Bonomi was testing Campagnolo's Electric group in its first-ever
professional racing test and Jeff snapped some pictures of the second generation of Campagnolo Electric
group.
Last year, Italian amateur Emmanuel Sella of the Zalf Fior team used a prototype version in both training
and at the amateur Giro d'Italia, which led to the much-refined version we can see here. Campagnolo
probably felt that the 209 km Belgian semi-classic, with its numerous cobbled climbs and changes of
rhythm was an ideal testing ground for the second generation of Campagnolo Electric group, as it seems
Bonomi had no problems with the Campagnolo Electric group at E3 PrijsVlaanderen.
Electronic shifting is not new; Mavic's ZAP system debuted in 1994, while their Mektronic system is
still being sold. However, a lightweight, race-ready system that operates both the front and rear
derailleurs have been a long time coming. Until now, that is. More...
