nice weight to the rear of the bike allows for good climbing
Disadvantages:
the bike is heavy overall
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Recently Saab and Gary Fisher extended me a very unique invitation. On Saturday, May 20, 2000, they were holding an event called <I>The Gary Fisher/Saab Test Drive</I>. It was held at Green Mountain Park near Morrison, Colorado.
Green Mountain Park is one of the Denver area’s nicer mountain bike trails. It is also located two miles north of Bandemere Speedway. I’m sure it was no accident that Gary Fisher and Saab picked this location for their test drive.
I suppose I was extended the invitation because I am a registered owner of a Gary Fisher Big Sur mountain bike. I love my bike, and wrote a detailed review on it back on February 5th.
I brought my bike with me to compare my Big Sur to the newer Gary Fisher models head-to-head. I did this for a few reasons. First and foremost, I wanted to remember exactly how my bike felt in case I fell in love that day with a 2000 model year bike. Second of all, I knew I would be writing a review for Epinions.
To make the comparison fair, I rode the exact same trail with all the bikes I tested, including my own.
I have test-driven Gary Fisher soft-tails before and hated them. The “Joshua” frames were based on the Trek “Y” frames -- a disastrous design that lead to far too many people being launched over the handlebars. In 2000, they still make the “Joshua,” but have come out with a far superior design in the “Sugar” series.
<B>The make-up of the Sugar 2</b>
The Sugar 2 is the exact same frame as the Sugar 1. It is made from 6061 T6 double-butted aluminum. However, it lacks the carbon fiber stays the Sugar 1 carries. This bike is a somewhat light full-suspension bike. The Sugar 2 is outfitted with a Manitou Mars fork with 80mm of travel, a Cane Creek AD-10 rear-shock with 2-1/2 inches of travel, Shimano XT SGS rear derailleur and a Shimano LX front derailleur. The 9-speed shift system is a Rapidfire design. The braking system is Avid SD 20s, based on the “V” brake design.
Trek, the parent company of Gary Fisher, provides many of the other parts. For the last few years, Trek has been selling parts under the name of Bontrager, a company it purchased three years ago. The wheelset on this bike is Bontrager Race, outfitted with WTB NanoRaptor tires. It has a Bontrager Race crankset, and uses Time ATAC pedals.
<b>My test drive</b>
I am impressed. The Sugar 2 isn’t as light as the Sugar 1, but is still considered lightweight. However, my Gary Fisher Big Sur is extremely lighter, if you factor in all the upgrades I’ve put into the bike. This added weight was quite evident as I was climbing hills. The weight of the bike felt as if I was packing gold bricks in my Camelback and as soon as I got to the top of the hill, I was out of breath. I needed to rest at the top of the hill
At the same time, that added weight of this bike made it sit in the loose dirt better than my Big Sur. When I was climbing the hill, I never felt the back tire slide as if losing traction.
When taking bumps downhill, especially over rocks, that back suspension was very nice. It felt wonderful to have the shock of the trail removed from my body. It didn’t perform as well as the Sugar 1’s Rock Shox, but did an admiral job.
The front suspension was nice but a bit on the heavy side. I have a similar system on my Big Sur, but it is constructed from carbon fiber, not aluminum. The weight difference is evident, but the ride is similar.
The Bontrager Race crankset was okay but I didn’t really care for it. I am used to a Shimano XT crankset that is, in my opinion, is far superior. Perhaps it is just what I’m used to.
The brakes were excellent. They performed in a similar fashion to my Avid SD 25s.
I also, interestingly enough, found I preferred the Rapidfire 9-speed system to my GripShift 8-speed system. It was initially confusing to figure out how to change the gears, but that confusion quickly subsided. It was nice to have that extra cog to garner some speed on the flats.
The big question I have for Gary Fisher is why he chose Time ATAC pedals. The industry standard for clipless pedals is based on the Shimano SPD system. I didn’t have ATAC biking shoes, and quite frankly I don’t know anyone who does. As luck would have it, the test bikes offered a choice of pedal systems, and I was able to use my biking shoes for the test drive.
<b>My decision after the test drive</b>
When I compare the Big Sur to the Sugar 2, I find I definitely prefer the Big Sur. I prefer the lightness of the Big Sur, but I like the weight when I had to dig in loose dirt that the Sugar 2 provided. I hated the crankset on the Sugar 2, but love the one on my Big Sur. I prefer my shock system mostly due to the weight difference between the carbon fiber and the aluminum.
When all is said and done, I have decided to not upgrade my bike to the Sugar 2. It is priced at around $1400, but would require roughly $1600 in components, thus bringing the total price for me to $3000, which is far more than I’m willing to spend.
To be fair, my Big Sur is totally customized, and has the exact components I want, from the Spinergy Wheels to the Manitou SXR carbon-fiber shocks. The only component that is “stock” on my bike is the frame. However, I have invested close to $3500 to get the bike to my standards.
<b>My recommendations</b>
If you were dead-set on a dual-suspension bike, I would definitely recommend the Sugar 2. It is very well built and performs very well. At $1400, this bike is almost a steal.
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