Tuesday, November 3, 2009

2010 Gary Fisher Superfly 100 review

This weekend I was able to ride the new Gary Fisher Superfly 100 at Little Sac.  The Trek Factory Demo was set up with all the new Trek and GF bikes and since I'm in the market for a new mountain bike I was happy to see them.

When I arrived at the park the Superfly 100 that I wanted to ride was in use so I rode about an hour and a half on my bike to pass the time.  It's been raining quite a bit lately but the trails at Sac were in pretty good shape.  The low lying spots were muddy, but there wasn't anything that would prevent me from going fast.   

The guys from Trek were spending most of their time fixing flats.  I guess nobody warned them about the thorns at Sac.  There should be a sign that says "Go tubeless or go get a patch kit". 

Once I was finally able to ride the SF I was really happy with the way it felt.  I'm about 5'7" and 145 lbs and rode the medium.  It felt like the right size.  The riding position was very comfortable and felt very similar to how my Stumpjumper FSR is setup.  This was only the second time I've ridden a 29er and my first time on one with a full suspension.  The components were pretty good; Fox Float RP23 shock, Fox F100 FIT RLC 29er fork, X0 triggers and rear derailleur,  Truvativ Carbon Cranks and Bontrager Race X Lite wheels.   

I'm going to use my next bike primarily for racing and I want it to be quick.  On flat ground the bike felt very light.  In fact it felt almost jumpy.  When riding a 29er I feel like I'm much higher than when I ride my bike; like I'm perched.  It's really only a bit taller but the sensation takes a little while to get used to.

The first trail I rode starts with a nice long smooth gradual climb and I was able to ride it very quickly on this bike.  When I reached the twisty portion of the trail the bike was plenty nimble.  It turned very nicely and I was able to accelerate without much effort.

My only real complaint was how easily the rear tire locked up when applying the brakes.  It seemed like there wasn't much weight on the rear wheel so when I approached a sharp turn that required braking I usually ended up sliding into the corner.  The brakes overall performed very well; I went through several water crossings and they never lost power or squealed when wet.

On the rough downhills the suspension was great.  The bike never felt "twitchy" and handled all the rocks and roots very well.

I never used the lockout on either end of the bike, but I never really felt like I needed to.  When I stood to pedal there was a bit of bob but it was mainly on the front and nothing too concerning.  If I were to spend any time on fire roads I would lock them out but on the trail it's not worth messing with.

I ended up riding the bike for about an hour and my overall impression was very positive.  It's a great bike and well worth the price.  It's very fast and would make a great race bike.   I'm going to do another post that compares this bike to the s-works epic I'm considering, but as far as this review goes I would definitely recommend this bike.   

Here's a couple pictures:


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