Submitted by
Greg687
a Cross Country Rider
from Las Cruces, NM, USA
Date Reviewed: May 2, 2011
Strengths: Light, agile, still competitive
Weaknesses: Can't run discs on the rear.
Bottom Line:
Love this bike. I wrenched for the original owner in 2000, 2001, and 2002, so I knew the history. She stopped riding a few years back and I bought it from her. Still had the same cables on it from 2 the 2001 upgrade! I've been riding this bike several times a week for the last 3 years and love the handling and dependability. Granted, the original Bontrager crank was junk, and the XT chainrings had to be replaced alst year, but the shocks have never been overhauled, still original pivots, headset, and RaceLite wheels are still strong and true. I love the "Just Riding Along" comments on here. Even Wallyworld bikes don't fail like that, so we can all read between the lines. Don't buy a lightweight race bike if you are a heavy duty thrasher. There are rigs designed just for that. I had to put up my review to counter the poor ones, because honestly, everyone I know who has or had one of these loves them.
Bike Setup: All components replaced with XTR (and XT crankset) in 2001
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
sshallen
a Weekend Warrior
from Fort Collins, CO
Date Reviewed: September 28, 2009
Strengths: Lite Weight, Climbs great, Full Suspension, Durable
Weaknesses: None. I have more confidence with bikes with more travel on 3' and greater drops but still do them on this bike.
Bottom Line:
It's sad to see the last few reviews come in nearly a decade late and disrespect this bike. I've owned this bike for 10 years. I've punished this bike and had no issues, just basic maintenance and replaced a big chainring as I ground off several teeth running the gnar. I left the bike shop 10 years ago with this bike weighing in at exactly 24 pounds. It is light and is a great climber. I've tried everything on this bike - every technical part of Amasa Back and Porcupine Rim in Moab, the entrance into Horsethief Bench in Fruita, the downhill course at Northstar in Cali. It won't give you the confidence of a DH rig but that's not the audience for this bike. Just saying it is very capable if you know how to ride. As an XC racing bike it is awesome and that is the intended audience (with 1.95 tires). I've had thoughts of upgrading recently with a new XC bike but I cannot justify it, I still love this bike. I'll just supplement it with a large travel bike someday. The geometry of the bike sets up well for a taller rider. I'm 6'3" and the Sugar 1 XL frame is the perfect geometry for me and puts me out over the handlebars in an agressive riding position. Shorter people may complain as the FSR or AS-R may be a better fit for them, they felt too small for me. Love this bike - 5 star.
Similar Products Used: Yeti AS-R, Specialized FSR, Trek Fuel
Bike Setup: RS SID race, bontrager race lite, bontrager hubs. All the components that came with the bike that retailed for around $3600 in 2000.
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Andrew
a Cross Country Rider
from Duluth, MN
Date Reviewed: February 14, 2008
Strengths: Very good pedalling performance, sitting or standing. Very light weight. Good stand-over clearance with dropped top tube. Ceramic rims worked well, and never squeeled or chipped.
Weaknesses: Geometry. Too steep head and seat angles, 71.5 and 74. Bottom bracket too low, constantly clipping rocks with your pedals. Tire clearance very tight. Could not even upgrade this frame to a 2.0 tire, no clearance! No disc brake mounts. Very flexible. The light-weight Sid fork, frame, and wheels, accumulated to a very flexible overall bike. Handling felt even more insecure due to the steep geometry when added to the flexible chassis. The stock Bontrager crank is junk and would drop the chain often with very frustrating chain suck wrapped around the chain stay. Seriously stuck chains wrapped all up and around the chainstay, took a lot of work on the trail to unstick the chain and get going again.
Bottom Line:
This is a very late review of this 2000 Sugar 1 model. Nobody will probably read this unless they are looking at a used model on Ebay. This bike is very light at about 24 pounds. It pedals like a champ in any situation. It should, with only 2.5" of travel. It pedals so well, I put slicks on it and rode it on the street with no ill effects on my hill-climbing or big gear mashing. Take it off road and you'll notice that the head tube angle is too steep, the bottom bracket too low, and the tire clearance too tight to fit a decent 2.0 tire (seriously, you can't mount a 2.0 on the back. One will fit on the Sid fork though). Also, the cumulative ultra light weight design of the frame, fork, and wheels, give this bike the structural integrity of a wet noodle. Add the bike's flexible frame characteristics with its steep geometry and you get a bike that is a handfull to ride off road. I've been pitched over the bars numerous times on this bike and always feel like I'm going to crash every time I ride it. I have since sold this bike and got something stiffer with disc brakes.
Similar Products Used: 2004 S-Works Stumpjumper hardtail, like this bike alot except it doesn't have disc brakes. 2006 Iron Horse MK III Expert. Heavy for XC and pedals poorly out of the saddle.
Bike Setup: Stock 2000 model, yellow and red. Sid fork, Sid shock. Tried to upgrade to 2.0 tires front and back but couldn't because there is not enough room on the ultra-short chainstays of this model.
Strengths: With upgraded components this bike/frame is a light-weight, great handling XC racer. It climbs and decends extremely well, it's easy to loft over rocks and logs due to its short swing-arm and light weight and its generously sized top tube allows the rider great freadom to move back and forth on the bike. The bend of the top tube allows for lots of stand-over clearance. The geometry seems to work exremely well in muddy/snowey conditions. I've raced it hard for 5 years and have had great success with it although not without a fair number of problems.
Weaknesses: Frame alignment and weak swingarm design. I've resolved an ongoing shifting problem by installing the Gary Fisher ecentric swingarm bushing that compensates for the incorrect frame alignment. It's available from your Trek dealer. The entire frame has been replaced under warranty 3 times due to fractures (each time with an upgraded frame and shock design)and the forth and last fracture/failiure in the swingarm resulted in it's replacement with an all-aluminum, rather than carbon fibre unit, again under warranty. The torsional fracture always occurs in a counter-clockwise spiral in the short round tube just behind the bottom bracket and on the drive side(Note: this same fracture occurs on Kliens with the same design). The new replacment swing arm has about twice as much material in the critical area and has stood up well so far.The original controls (Sram brakes, 9.0 shifters and derailiurs)and cranks were not very good and things improved dramatically when they were replaced. Turn around time for warranty work has been extremely slow and is either a result of the bike shop or Gary Fisher,...it's hard to know where the problem lay.
Bottom Line:
I've really enjoyed riding/racing the Sugar-One but have been frustrated by the ongoing fractures and failiures. Faster warranty service would have alleviated some of my anxiety. I've basically moved on to a Yeti because of extended down-time due to repairs on the Gary Fisher.The Sugar-One has become my secondary/spare bike and the one I race/ride when it's really muddy (or on snowy and icey trails) due to its generous wheel clearance and the fact that the geometry seems to work really well in those conditions.So far the Yeti is proving to be a much stronger bike and has become my primary bike for XC use. I'm always surprised when a reputable manufacturer produces a bike with design flaws as glaring as the ones afflicting the Sugar-one. I hope that the new swingarm is the final solution to the ongoing fracture problem and that the frame alignment problem is corrected by the eccentric bushing kit.
Similar Products Used: I've raced a Gary Fisher Parragon hard tail with the same geometry and appart from the rough ride I liked the way it handled. I had absolutely no problems with that frame.I also now race a full suspension Yeti. The bike is set up with identical seat/pedal/bar measurements and handles well but actually seems to turn better in tight trails.
Bike Setup: I replaced almost all the components as they wore out.. King hubs and headset, XO gear shifting, carbon bars and avid brakes, race face cranks. The components never give any problems except for a race Face "NEXT" crankarm that snapped off unexpectedly and for no real apparent reason other than perhaps fatigue.
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Andrew
a Weekend Warrior
from Palo Alto California
Date Reviewed: February 18, 2006
Weaknesses: rear derailleur hanger snapped and i couldn't find new brake pads for it(at least none that fit)
Bottom Line:
I had gotten my old bmx stolen and the person who stole it left the bike(which was messed up) i started to fix up the bike when i went to ride it i switched gears the whole hanger busted off. If anyone can help please e-mail me because no one sell it without at least a 2 week wait.
Submitted by
George
a Weekend Warrior
from Merrimack, NH
Date Reviewed: December 5, 2002
Strengths: This is another update. I've had the bike 2 1/2 years now, approaching my third season. Not a happy time overall. A lot of down time. Fisher has been good on the warranty and my shop has been excellent in executing the fixes. When it works it climbs very well and is very fast.
Weaknesses: Broke (stress fracture) the rear triangle twice down low on the drive side exact same spot, from riding pedalling stress, not from jumps. I'm on my third frame now. I'm sure it will fatigue in time. After numerous failures (not from any crashes or big jumps) I replaced (with my own cash) the hub with Chris King. After countless drivetrain failures of all kinds including a free upgrade to the next years Bontrager cranks, I replaced it with Race Face Next LP (my own cash again). I replaced the front fork with the Z2 Atom because the original RS was just too rough especially in studder bumps. I put in carbon handlebars, the originals vibrated too much. The tires were changed long ago. The stock had minimal traction. Now, after 2 1/2 years, the rear wheel finally fell apart on me. The spokes let go and the rim simply gave out. (not from a hit, just from fatigue). The seatpost seemed a tad short so I got a Thomson. (I've had no problems with any replacement parts that I paid for and installed.) But the frame durability and flexion is still going to haunt me as long as I ride it.
Bottom Line:
A fragile bike that breaks a lot. The frame is too weak in the rear triangle. GF replaces it with the same design when it breaks, but no fix. The suspension design is weak and has WAY too much play side to side. There is nothing we can do about it. This will continue to cause shifting problems and worse. The original components, namely bontrager were weak and broke or just fell apart. When the bike works it does its job very well. Light and very quick and climbs. But I spent the last two years doing a lot of walking and spending a lot of money for replacement parts. Some say that the bike wasn't designed for mountain biking, just racing on fairly forgiving terrain. I wish Gary Fisher had clearly marketed it that way and had told its retailers not to sell this bike to guys like me who like to mountain bike. Sure I'm 210 lbs too. Sell it to light riders only and only for xc races then. I don't do drops, that isn't what breaks the bike. It is just standing on it going up hill or going down over bumpy sections stresses it out so much and that the rear end flexes too much and the stuff gets misalligned, stresses and finally breaks. When I get a more durable replacement I'll give the Sugar 1 to my girlfriend. She's about the same height but much lighter and isn't quite as agressive. The Sugar frame has ample stand over height too, she'll like that too. She'll probably get more miles on it than I did.
Similar Products Used: Several. I'm looking to change brands now. For year three I'll probably be on a Rocky Mountain. Hopefully it will be more durable and more reliable.
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Colin
a Cross Country Rider
from Toronto, Canada
Date Reviewed: September 2, 2002
Strengths: Great bike up until this year. A week before a 24 hour race I snapped the rear triange just below the main pivot on the cross piece between the chain stays. Do have to give Gary Fisher credit as they replace the rear trianle in 4 days with a 2002/3 upgraded sugar 1 rear end.
Now my friend has done the same with his Sugar 2, anyone else done the same as us?
Thanks
Bottom Line:
Love the bike, but now is squaks and we cant slove it :(
Submitted by
Steven Markin
a Cross Country Rider
from Armonk, NY, USA
Date Reviewed: December 5, 2001
Strengths: Best riding bike for x-country when it works
Weaknesses: It's a constant maintenance nightmare. The Bontrager components are simply garbage.
Bottom Line:
This updates my 10/14/00 review. I've had the bike for over a year now and wouldn't trade it for anything when it works. Unfortunately, I've had countless broken chains and shifts off the front chainring even with the new upgraded chainrings and cranks. The rear der. is also bent from the jams and chain breaks caused by the miserable Bontrager chainrings and cranks. In speaking with a rep at Fisher, I was offered an LX chainring and cranks. Not a bad deal for a $3000 bike ;-).
I'm visiting my LBS, which has been great, one more time before going ballistic. I'd really appreciate some of the great support from Fisher I've read about in the reviews. Too bad, it's a great design burdened by simply awful components. Buy the frame and build it up, you'll love it.
Overall rating is for frame only. My ratings for the components would be censored.
Bike Setup: Stock with Mavic 517 wheels and Chris King Hubs w/Mythos tires and XTR cassette; cranks and rings upgraded to Bontrager Race Lite Elite for 2001.
Strengths: very light and stiff and climbs like a mule!!!!
Weaknesses: racelite cranks suck....had a creak problem when it was a couple of months old, no rear disc tabs.
Bottom Line:
This bike rocks for both racing and normal xc riding...there is absolutely no pedal bobbing when in and out of the saddle on the climbs and it gets better traction on the climbs than my hardtail!!! I took off all the Bontrager crap and went with XTR and such...went with the '01 SID SL for the lockout, that made a big difference on climbing too...large frame w/hayes hydro frt at 23lbs....you can't beat that for a dual suspension. If you are looking to make the leap to dual suspension, get this bike...go with the '01 frame, its got disc tabs.
Bike Setup: '01 SID SL w/lockout, full XTR, thomson, easton CT2, hayes front, Spinergy Xyclone disc frt, Spox rear
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Thomas Johannessen
a Cross Country Rider
from Nannestad, Norway
Date Reviewed: November 4, 2001
Strengths: Great suspension, light, fast uphill and downhill. Responsive steering.
Weaknesses: Hugi hubs. Rear broke after 6 months. Front is causing trubble now, havent done anything about it yet.
Bottom Line:
I love this bike, It works great everywhere I go. If I had a million dollars I would still buy this bike. The bontrager components work fine for me, but there is ofcorse more expensive equipment out there that is marginally better. The wheelset is great, stiff and fast, but the hubs suck bigtime. This is the only disapointment with the Sugar. And who's to blame ? Trek... The WTB tires that came on the bike were not the right for me. I usually use Python airlight and Michelin Jet S. A fantastic bike. Go buy one !
Similar Products Used: Klein adept comp and race, Trek 8900 (with thudbuster)
Bike Setup: Standard.
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Bill
a Cross Country Rider
from Boise, Idaho
Date Reviewed: September 29, 2001
Strengths: Light, good climber
Weaknesses: Flexy rear triangle, Bontrager crank (kept dropping chain onto BB shell when I went for the small ring).
Bottom Line:
I demo'd this bike and rode my usual trails with it. Excellent climber, ascended much better than my current steel hardtail or any of the other bikes I demo'd. From my limited time on this bike I would say it'd make a great all-around xc bike and racer (very light weight) with one glaring exception: its tight single-track performance. The rear-suspension configuration yields a rear triangle that is very flexy in the tight, technical stuff. It wasn't intuitive, you had to pull the bike through the twisties, instead of steering it through with your hips. It was the first time I could really detect frame flex in a bike, and with this rig there was quite a bit of it, almost like I was driving a hook-and-ladder fire engine (just like Kramer in that one 'Sienfeld' episode!). Mind you, it was very technical and tight single-track, so maybe this bike would work fine for someone who spends most of their time on wide-open xc race courses, or blasting down fire roads. I took the Fuel on the same trail and it felt completely solid, no lateral flexing whatsoever. But mountain biking is a very personal experience, if you have your heart set on the Sugar line, don't let my observations, as objective as I've tried to make them, deter you from riding or buying. Just try to demo it on a twisty piece of earth before you do, and see for yourself. Peace out! (I've always wanted to say that in a public forum!)
Similar Products Used: All demos: Ventana Marble Peak, Trek Fuel 90, Rocky Mountain Element Race, Trek STP 200, Ibis Ripley
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
John G
a Cross Country Rider
from Westminster, Co.
Date Reviewed: September 8, 2001
Strengths: As those who love this bike say, climbs incredibly, and descends as well. It's a cross-country specific ride. I call it a hardtail with cush when I need it. Low bottom bracket height so I can dab like on my hardtail. It doesn't bother me that I can't clear as many logs, I want to be able to touch my toes to the dirt when I want without having to fall way over first. Under 25 lbs.
Weaknesses: I built up a Sugar 2 frame (I put this review in the Sugar 1 column because of the XTR components) and consequently can't complain about the component selection. So--weaknesses? One water bottle mount and, and...that's it. Oh,yeah, it sometimes throws the chain when shifting from middle chainring to granny, but not all the time. Do all fully active FS bikes do this?
Bottom Line:
The way my bike is built up (also includes a slightly longer stem than is usually spec'ed for a medium) it fits me perfectly (5'9 and 160 lbs) and has been trouble-free. It's the best bike I've ever had. I wrote a review last year and this is a follow-up. I read where the component selection sucks, according to some reviewers, on stock bikes and upgrading follows immediately. I can see the Gary Fisher/Trek conglomerate wanting to stay in-house and spec'ing American Made products, which I'm all for. Too bad they don't perform as well as a full XTR setup (which you should get, or at least the equivalent-performing for the $$ that a new Sugar 1 retails for.) I guess that I recommend building up a frame first off with the components of your choice, because it sure worked for me. The frame is awesome. Every ride I marvel how well this bike performs for my riding style (admittedly not much of a downhiller, but the Sugar makes descending tricky sh!t a whole lot more confidence-inspiring) and, since I love to climb, it's a joy at all times. Like I say, the components I have work flawlessly and it's only been in the shop once for repairs since I built it up. I threw a chain on Amasa Back and it sucked up past the frame down there and jambed bigtime. Solution was to file down the frame and add a spacer to the right crank. Now at least the chain can be pulled back to where it belongs. By the way, it's 8-speed, which works so well I haven't even thought about "upgrading" to 9-speed. All in all, I'm completely satisfied.
Favorite Trail: Porcupine Rim-backwards. I do it as an out and back from the river road. Try it!
Duration Product Used: 1 Year
Price Paid:
$950.00
Similar Products Used: My previous Schwinn Homegrown Factory sweetspot FS. It did what it did fine, but it wasn't really active full suspension. A Specialized M2 (a great hardtail) and numerous others in the foggy past.
Bike Setup: 2000 Sugar 2 frame ($950) and the entire gruppo from my Schwinn. XTR-cassette, brakes, shifter/brake, hubs, Rapid Rise rear derailleur ; Thomson seatpost; now a Manitou Mars 1 fork; XT crankset; back to my old Vetta TT Trishock saddle (years old but boy is it comfortable for my backside--I hope it never wears out; Conti Explorer Pro front, Cross Country 2.0 in back (too bad they discontinued this size--my all-time favorite)
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
George
a Weekend Warrior
from Merrimack, NH USA
Date Reviewed: August 28, 2001
Strengths: Update to my older reviews below. The only new news is that I went to Chris King Hubs after the third Hugi Hub failure! The rest of this review is a summary of my year on the Sugar 1.
When the Sugar 1 isn't broken, it is quick uphill. My bike shop has been incredibly supportive! Best support policy in the business. Great guys. Gary Fisher at least has backed up my shop with the warranty for every breakage. But I'm starting to put my money into better brand components. I'm tired of breakdowns.
Weaknesses: Frame (rear triangle broke); Chain rings (fell apart & shifts badly after a few hours in the woods); Hugi Hubs are worthless and will strand you. Front fork doesn't give confidence on small nor large bumps going fast. Tires no good for the woods.
Bottom Line:
More time in the shop than anything I've ever owned! I mean anything, even more than a Harley. Frame (rear triangle broke) from riding; Stock Chain rings fell apart for no apparent reason; Chains broke; untold shifts off the granny; Hugi Hubs are worthless I finally replaced the rear with Chris King after many miles walking home and three times in the shop. The squeaks now finally gone. Now I'm about to replace the front derailleur to XTR in hopes that it won't shift off the granny so much. After that I'll probably replace the front fork. It just doesn't give me confidence and doesn't take the hits nor high speed studders like I hope. I'm reading a lot of folks went to the Z2, well I'm thinking about it. If I had to do it again I'd either get another bike or just get the frame and build it. The stock Gary Fisher Sugar 1 supplied components just aren't any good. Before I bought I should have read the reviews by the guys that bought the frame and installed good parts, they seem the most satisfied. I've spend a lot of time in the shop with this bike and got to know some great mechanics and spend time riding my old Specialized hard tail while the Sugar got the repairs.
Bike Setup: Chris King Hub rear; upgraded to 2001 Bontrager Cranks & Ring Set; Survival Pros Rear (grippiest that fit); Carbon Bars (erase high speed vibration); Thomson Seatpost for a little more height.
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Submitted by
will
a Weekend Warrior
from denver, CO
Date Reviewed: August 15, 2001
Strengths: Love the geometry, love the weight, love being able to walk after a long ride, love the confidence (hopefully not hubris!) given by a responsive bit of machinery.
Weaknesses: Dang, there are some krappy components on this thing! Despite the efforts of a diligent mechanic (Ron at Campus Cycles; this guy is great and should be sought out), there are plenty of pips and pings and dropped chains, broken chains, broken rear derailleur hanger, bent chain rings, etc. For such an expensive bike I would think they could spec this a bit better.
Bottom Line:
this is my first real foray into FS (I thought they were only for wussies, but since have eaten that crow). I'm a 150 lb rider who doesn't ride too aggresively (no big jumps; I work with my hands and disability insurance wouldn't be keen on me breaking them). Lovely to ride when it's working, which is quite variable. i got this barely used (within my budget) but it has spent more time being serviced than my rocky mtn in its 8 yrs of use. I have reached new (still low) levels in my riding, in terms of endurance, technical riding, up and down. Fine as hell to ride, feel pleasantly tired but not beat up afterwards. Everything seems to break on this thing; I blame the bontragor components, although the rep. denies all. The rock shox are fantastic. I would not pay more than 2K for this bike, although I love it when it's working. Value rating is for when it's riding well, overall is for as is.
Similar Products Used: Tested lots: yeti, ellsworth, specialized, trek. had been riding a '92 rocky mtn equipe; damn that thing is sweet although the old back finds it not so friendly anymore.
Bike Setup: Bontragor (amazingly crappy) and xtr, hellbent bar, sid xl, rock shox rear.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
geoff brent
a Cross Country Rider
from mechanicsburg,pa
Date Reviewed: June 18, 2001
Strengths: bought as frame only. soaks up all of those fatigue inducing smaller bumps, climbs like a goat. genesis geometry great on singletrack. lifetime warranty.
Weaknesses: limited mud clearance
Bottom Line:
over a year of riding including wild 100, shenendoah 100 and 24 hours of snowshoe. running 1.9 tires helps with mud clearance (a little "Pam" cooking spray on the frame also work wonders to shed mud- don't get your brakes!) Takes the abuse out of riding with great singletrack and climbing ability. I don't ride "North shore like" trails, so 3" travel works well. Building bike allowed more durable wheel selection, as well as plush coil spring fork- one less thing to pump-up before I ride. I would give it a five but nothing is perfect, right?
I am looking for a stock 2000 GF Sugar 1 (yellow frame with red rear triangle) in a size Med or Lg (with the original spec'd parts or something very close). Something in good work Read More »
