Fun on purpose.

This bike is fun.  Trek/Fisher Stache 8

I bet most of us, when we really get down to it, ride because it is fun.  And unless you are truly driven or are in this for cash or acclaim, when it stops being fun we stop riding.  So here is a bike that, according to the builder, is all about 'fun'.

A 29er hardtail with a twist here...120mm fork with 51mm (G2) offset, 68.6* HT angle 72* ST angle, 17.5" stays, dropper post ready, 2.3 tires stock.  Long TT, long-ish stem.  Typical 2x10 XC gearing.  SO what is it?  AM hard tail?  No...not short enough or burly enough.  XC racer?  No, too heavy with that dropper post and big tires plus the HT angle...no, not an XC racer.  Endurance bike?  Well kinda over qualified for that too.  SO what is it?

Just a fun bike to ride in the way that maybe 90% of the people that do ride, ride.  That being, out with the gang, on the trail, up the hills, down the hills, across town, over the horizon, maybe fast, maybe not fast, checking Strava, checking in to life, checking out of life.

Why is this bike so different then, so 'more fun'?  Here is what I think.

• The relaxed HT angle and overall weight distribution works to keep YOU relaxed and smiling.  You are off the front wheel, back in the center of the bike.  So while this is against you in some cases, like steep seated climbs up a switchback, it is for you most all the other 99.9% of the rides. This is the first time I have been...wait...the second time I have been impressed with a bike that had a 51mm offset fork on it on purpose; this G2 Trek and an Ibis Ripley.
• It loves to just play down the trail, bopping off everything, taking rougher lines just for fun, whatever.  Speed feels really good on this, keeping in mind the hardtail limitations.  
• Dropper post.  Man, those things make a bike into a whole new animal and let you do things with your weight balance that a normal post will not do (unless you stop and drop, raise, drop raise, etc)
• Fattish tires.  More rubber is more gooder on trail rides.
• 120mm of travel and a 17.5" CS length.  Just right for anything short of full on BC log drops and yet you can sit and spin along, having some hope of getting up the steeps without needing to perch on the nose of a faux leather, ti railed suppository.
• The vibe is right.  Yeah it all just comes together to not be the 'nth' degree of anything but the meat of everything we like about riding.  In fact the closest thing to this I have felt in an FS is that Ripley 29er, but that was just a brief impression.
• No pretense of being all serious.  Trek seemed to get it marketing wise and I think riders will respond once they stop obsessing over perceived needs like under 17" CS lengths and 140mm forks on hardtails, and conversely, steeper than required 71+* HT angles and bike set-ups that only feel really good when we are trying to go very fast uphill or on some smooth course.

Like anything, this simple but slightly unique 29er is not for everyone but I really came to appreciate it and I had to think to myself that it was, more often than not, more fun to ride on any given day than many other bikes I have hanging around the garage.  And that was quite interesting to me, at least.  

Maybe to you as well.

And if I was to go out and order a custom bike right now, I would take the specs of this Stache 8 and have it rendered in Ti just for kicks.  And then I would ride and smile, having fun.

Leaving is Verboten.

Well, the time in France was over and we bid adieu to the soft winds and soft sand of the coastline, loaded up in the six speed diesel mini-van rental bus, and drove to the airport at Nice.  In the airport I enjoyed a crazy good chocolate muffin and a cappuccino and waited with the others for our flight to arrive.   The flight status board showed our plane on time at first, then 15 minute delayed.  Then 30 minute delayed.  Then it got worse.  The loudspeaker told us that there were issues at the Frankfurt, Germany, airport and that we might be quite late for our connecting flight.  We only had 90 minutes to make that plane change and that was looking grim.

The cool thing was hanging with Gary Fisher...yes, the Gary Fisher...at the Nice airport as we waited.  I have met Gary before on several occasions and I am always glad to see him.  Aside from any controversy on what he actually did or did not do as a founding father of Mtn Bikes, he was and is a bike nut of the first order and is a smart and creative person.  If you ride a bike, he is your friend.  Gary, we sure are glad you came along when you did.  Thanks for all you do and I sure miss your name on the downtube of a Mtn Bike in BIG letters where it belongs.

Finally on the tarmac in the plane, we were once again delayed by the removal of three drunk passengers.  And their luggage.  Oh my.  Quite tardy arriving at Frankfurt, it was obvious that our plane home was long gone.  There was a pre-strike meeting for all the ground crews that service the planes, so very few flights were moving.  Some lucky folks made it on another flight that afternoon, but not this little soldier.  Nope.  Seven hours and multiple lines later, I was re-booked on a later flight the next day and headed to a hotel courtesy of Lufthansa.  Well, how about that?  I had actually figured I would be sleeping in the airport, but the hotel room was a welcome relief.

The next morning I was headed home on a 747-400 double decker nicely stuffed into economy class.  I had been away from home a long time and I was feeling lonely and vulnerable.  I was drawn to a girl next to me.  Her big eyes caught my attention and her wonderfully shaped ears spoke of fine breeding.  I missed what she offered...a warm touch, soft breath, playful kisses, a wet nose.  Gotta have a wet nose.  I have to admit it...I stole a few looks and shared some meaningful glances between us.  I think she liked me.  But I felt the pangs of guilt for the lady I have at home.  That lab/greyhound mix just would not understand my airplane 'fling'.  So, I left it at that, turned back to my iPod and drifted off to sleep feeling lonely still, but virtuous.  What happens in Germany very nearly stays in Germany and I was headed home.

Tuggin' at the heart strings, Gary.

Most of the cycling world has heard by now of the hoo-hah surrounding the falling-off-the-face-of-the-planet of Gary Fisher bikes as a brand name separate from the parent owner, Trek bikes.  If you have been away, read more here.

I remember Fisher bikes most fondly from the era when the Mt Tam was still fillet brazed, circa the late 80s.  I still want one.  I have met Gary Fisher a few times, sat and had tacos with him and listened to him tell stories of the old days and talk about why he likes bikes and what the future holds for other folks like us who like bikes.

Gary, as far as I can see, is a genuine person and a cool guy.

So now we have the Gary Fisher collection by Trek.  You can speculate about what is good and bad about this 'absorption' of the GF brand, but I hope that it allows Gary to continue to be the visionary that he is at heart and we can benefit from that.

At least we will have this coming down the pike:

The Sawyer retro looking sweetness of a bike.

Dear Santa Gary/Trek - I likey.  Send me an XL please.  Even just a frameset.  I got parts.

Keep dreamin' GF.  The world needs more cool bikes and cool bike people.