Submitted by
Schick
a Weekend Warrior
from St.Louis, MO, USA
Date Reviewed: March 1, 2010
Strengths: great starter trail bike for the price; cool paint job; prime starter bike for upgrading
Weaknesses: crappy brakes, low end components are good for starters, but get old quickly
Bottom Line:
This is a great starter bike, same frame as other GF models.
But once you get used to trails, the components are outgrown quickly. good thing the frame is set-up for upgrades such as disc brakes. Once upgraded, this bike did quite well on some of the more advanced trails I had troubles with before.
Bike Setup: upgraded to full SRAM X.7 groupset with AVID Juicy discs. Rock Shox Recon
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Submitted by
jesot
a Weekend Warrior
from Kansas City, MO
Date Reviewed: July 25, 2008
Strengths: frame, name
Weaknesses: crank, fork, pedals, rear hub
Bottom Line:
Found this at a pawn shop on the cheap... Brought it home and found a bunch of problems with it. All of which were either cheap or upgrades I would have made anyway...
Didn't have the problems others have had with brakes. I did replace the pads, but after a little tweaking, the brakes are very good.
The Shimano shifters are solid, but I wrecked pretty hardcore and they broke, so I'll have to replace those.
Just discovered the rear axle is broken - somewhat sure it was like that when I bought it. Apparently it's a weird size that the shop didn't have, so I'm waiting for the part to come in.
Will probably replace wheels eventually...
Put a lot of work into this one, but I'm loving it and can't wait to get on some trails now that it's trail-ready. I'll probably start on a road bike project soon.
Bike Setup: Replaced crank with a low-end one (had to replace bottom bracket as it was broken)
Rock Shox Dart2 fork
Replaced pedals
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Submitted by
Lee Begaye
a Weekend Warrior
from Bismarck, ND, USA
Date Reviewed: August 2, 2006
Strengths: Frame, Paint Scheme, Price
Weaknesses: Crankset,Fork
Bottom Line:
Great Entry level Bike! This was my first mountain bike and still use it for trail/path rides. Replaced stock drivetrain and makes for a better bike. Bike is subject to constant wear and tear and still holding strong. Could say I got a excellent frame out of the deal!
Similar Products Used: Giant Yukon, Specialized Hardrock
Bike Setup: Shimano XT Front/Rear Deraillers Shimano LX Crankset Shimano LX brake/shifter pod. Shimano LX 8 speed cassette
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Submitted by
Jason
a Cross Country Rider
from Michigan
Date Reviewed: July 19, 2006
Strengths: Solid, lightweight frame
Weaknesses: brakes/seat
Bottom Line:
Good bike for the money. I took it on a difficult trail and it made it through. It could use some upgrades if you’re looking at hard-core trail riding (brakes-brakes-brakes)
Submitted by
p
a Cross Country Rider
from santiago chile
Date Reviewed: March 21, 2006
Strengths: great entrance level bike, stable and dependable components.
Weaknesses: a little heavy, components heavy and weak,
Bottom Line:
great first bike, it was mine and i still have it for town running, ran it hard for 2 years, changed out some components, crashed it hundreds of times and paint still pretty good. definitly worth the money.
Bike Setup: shimano 520 pedals, bar ends, changed out crank and put on rock guard.
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Submitted by
Dean Towles
a Weekend Warrior
from San Antonio, Florida, USA
Date Reviewed: July 22, 2004
Strengths: Fantastic Frame, Great Ride, Best Bike for the Pricepoint
Weaknesses: Components, Wheels
Bottom Line:
This is my first mountain bike. I have three road bikes, including a Trek 5500, but I wanted a bike to just tool around and run errands on. If you didn't know, Fisher is made by Trek. The Advance's sister bike is the Trek 4100 (same price point) but the Fisher has a better paint scheme, better geometry, and you jump from Acera to Alivio on the rear derailleur. Also, after testing riding both, the Fisher really does ride better. At this price point, the Advance is absolutely the best value going. You can't go wrong with it as an introduction to mountain bikes. P.S. If you ever considered buying a bike at Wal-Mart, DON'T! There is no comparison between the junk they sell and real bikes. Cough up the extra money and buy this bike. In the long run, you'll be very glad you did.
Submitted by
SAM
a Cross Country Rider
from St. Paul, MN
Date Reviewed: May 7, 2004
Strengths: Great Frame
Weaknesses: Drivetrain (from peddles to cranks to chain, to gears)
Bottom Line:
I found it cheap. Come on what are you going to buy for $200? Absolutely have to replace the crappy Alex rims that comes stock. They are junk. Buy for the frame and expect to spend a little dough on making it a great bike.
I bought on a very tight budget and now I may buy a new trail bike and keep this one as my commuter.
I really like how this bike feels. The frame is stiff. It holds up to great abuse. I do 4' drops on a regular occassion and I love to catch wicked air. So far so good.
Bike Setup: Mavic 221 rims w/Deore hubs, LX cranks drivetrain and otherwise stock.
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Submitted by
Ryan
a Cross Country Rider
from Lexington, SC
Date Reviewed: October 22, 2003
Strengths: Price, Frame, Paint, for the most part, the components are pretty good for a beginner. I love the way the bike rides.
Weaknesses: the pedals and crank are not very good, the components are cheap, but its also a pretty cheap bike so i dont know if thats really a weakness.
Bottom Line:
I bought the bike on a budget with small ambitions of trail riding. One year later and now I am all about some mountain biking, but I still love this bike. If I had to do it all over again, I probably would have spent some more money and gotten a nicer bike, but properly upgraded, this is a trailworty bike.
Similar Products Used: P.O.S. Mongoose full suspension, and an equally crappy DBX full suspension and a 2003 Giant Yukon Disk
Bike Setup: Serfas Grips, Giant pedals with toe clips, xt rear derailler Future Plans: Deore (or LX)Front derailler, Deore Crank, Panaracer Fire XC tires, new fork (maybe Marzocchi MX)
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Submitted by
Mark
a Cross Country Rider
from Austin, TX USA
Date Reviewed: July 15, 2003
Strengths: Frame, Great Paint Job, Gary Fisher Name
Weaknesses: Components, pedals, bars, 7 speed gearing, rear hub is unable to accomodate upgrades
Bottom Line:
Bought this bike because of the great frame, solid feel, unbelievable ride, but with complete intentions of ripping it apart and rebuilding with that personal touch. Just could not justify spending $$$ on GF Tassajara or Hoo Koo E Koo that has same frame materials only to rip its sub-par components off as well. Buy this bike, you will be happy, but be ready to spend some $$$ on upgrades.
Similar Products Used: Specialized Hard Rock, Trek, K2
Bike Setup: Complete Rebuild(Still In Progress: -Shimano XT Shift/Brake Levers -Shimano XT Front and Rear Derailers -SRAM 7.0 9 speed cass -SRAM 9 speed chain -Bontrager Mustang ASYM Front and Rear laced to Shimano XT Hubs -Specialized riser bars -Bontrager Race stem -Selle Italia Oktavia saddle -Salsa Juego de Fuego grips -Shimano duel cage pedals -Rock Shox Pilot front suspension
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Submitted by
Tommy Boy
a Cross Country Rider
from Toronto
Date Reviewed: July 11, 2003
Strengths: Looks, ride, $$$price, it's all relative.
Weaknesses: Brakes, pedals, it is what it is...entry level mountain bike. There is better outthere...it will cost you more $$$ though.
Bottom Line:
This Gary Fisher bike is a great for those starters who want a reliable, quality bicycle. It has a great frame and decent components for the price. But it didn't take long for me to relize that I could of put that money towards something better, like a thousand dollars more. If you could care less about upgrading or how many fancy components you can put on a bike then don't hesitate it's better then most around the same price.
Submitted by
sean lloyd
a Weekend Warrior
from carthage, ny, usa
Date Reviewed: June 17, 2003
Strengths: great lightweight frame and sweet paint job.
Weaknesses: drivetrain, drivetrain, drivetrain! The acera and sis mix sucks and the shifting is less than desirable.
Bottom Line:
This bike was a step down from my Fuji Suncrest and I bought it as transportation while on military assignment in asia. Bottomline, if you're new to mountain biking or just reliable street transportation this is the bike for you. It you want to hit the trails and rip it up forget about it.
Submitted by
Jeremy Coon
a Weekend Warrior
from Overland Park, Kansas
Date Reviewed: April 7, 2003
Strengths: Excellent frame, nice paint, and decent components for the price.
Weaknesses: The plastic things they are trying to pass off as pedals must go, this will definitely be my first upgrade. Likewise, the saddle could be a little more ergonomic.
Bottom Line:
All in all a pretty good bike for the money. I haven't had a chance to try some serious off-road yet but I think it will do decent... we'll see.
Anyway, I would recommend this bike to someone just getting into mountain biking who wants a good frame but understands they will need to spend some money later on upgrade components if they are going to get too serious.
Similar Products Used: Giant Boulder SE, Trek 800 series
Bike Setup: Stock
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Submitted by
Zeke
a Weekend Warrior
from Phoenix, AZ
Date Reviewed: February 13, 2003
Strengths: Durable frame, Wicked paint job, nice fork for the price, rims.
Weaknesses: Cheap plastic pedals, promax brakes have good stopping power but seem to wear quickly. Nothing that cant be upgrade fairly cheaply.
Bottom Line:
Great bike for the price. Very strong frame. Once ramped about four feet high on my friends bmx jump didnt bend the rims (im only 14 and 135 pounds) If you go buy this bike get some pedals and some better rim brakes while your at it, but you could put discs on it if you want. Ive taken it on some trails with no problems yet. Buy this bike...
Favorite Trail: Anywhere where the sun shines bright
Duration Product Used: Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$270.00
Purchased At: Mike's bikes, Newbury Park, CA
Similar Products Used: ParkPre Ltd Comp and C-Dale F400
Bike Setup: Standard factory set-up
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Submitted by
a-rod
a Cross Country Rider
from Toronto
Date Reviewed: November 6, 2002
Strengths: frame, wheels, headset...lots of things
Weaknesses: brakes
Bottom Line:
this is a very good bike for the average cross country rider. i have the 2002 model, and i have disc brakes on it and new front and back deraler. i got some sun rims and lot of new tings. but all in all it is a great bike. just dont use uit for jumps, trust me on this one.
