[ebertm]

Well, I did it. I went and purchased my new Gary Fisher HiFi Pro today at Revolution Cycles in MD. As of today, it should arrive at their store the first week of March. February is going to be a LONG month! I will post some feedback once my baby get's here.

 

[LIV2RYD]

Your gonna love it....

Good choice, I have one and it's been great! Got it in Oct and I ride it all the time. The handling is fantastic. Once you get your cockpit dialed in, get ready for best ride you have ever experienced. It's that good.....

 

[WEGOPDMtBkr]

I agree with LIV2RYD, you are going to love it!! I got mine at the end of October '06. It's my first FS bike. I've done a few upgrades since I got it. I took one great idea fom LIV2RYD and that was to have the shock flipped so that the propedal controls are now toward the front of the bike and on the bottom, which makes it a lot easier to access. I think LIV2RYD has some pics posted showing this mod.

I initially had trouble with ghost shifting as the bike flexed. Turns out after several attempts at solving the problem my rear shock was not tuned properly. I had way too little air in the shock for my weight (Weight in kit is 233 lbs). I added an AVID Rollamajig which helped with smoother shifting, but still had ghost shifting as the bike flexed. I finally had the shift cable and housing that passes on the right hand side of the rear shock shortened as much as possible. It is not attached to the frame in that area as it added to the flex of the cable and thus the ghost shifting. So now as the bike sits without me on it the cable is really straight and when I am on it, the cable has much less flex. The last thing I had done to improve the rear shock handling was to have the shock professionally tuned by PUSH Industries. It is now specifically tuned to my weight, riding style, and bike. I highly recommend getting your rear shock PUSH'd if you can. I've only been out on 1 ride since the PUSH'd shock came back. I have no more problems with ghost shifting and the bike feels that much better in terms of handling and keeping the rear wheel on the ground no matter what I throw at it. I'll post some pics when I get the chance.

I changed the tires as well. I'm now running Continental Explorer 2.1s. The OEM tires were lame and washed out on me a lot. I was never confident in them.

When your LBS builds your bike, you may want to put on new grips. The Bontrager grips are thin and are okay, but were too small for my hands. I now have an Easton CF Riser Bar with OURY Grips and red annodized ODI Lock-Ons. I'm planning on changing the stem as soon as I can figure out which size is the most comfortable for me. My LBS has been extrememly helpful with letting me try different lengths until I'm happy.

I love this bike!! The G2 Geometry is spot on!! Don't let the proprietary offset shock fool you.....It rocks!!

March will be here soon enough!! And just think....it'll give you time to purchase your upgrades and have the LBS build them right in when they pull it out of the shipping box.

Ride On!!

 

[mtboard]

I just got my Hi Fi pro on sunday. Looks like a million bucks. only thing I need now is time to go riding. it is raining here and I cant bring myself to knock the new off of it that way. I have heard the rollamajig suggestion a few times on this bike, will prob try it when I get to to ride a few miles. I will also be changing the grips to some sort of lock on. I just wish they would have spec'd better shifters for the price of this bike. I love the way this bike handled on the test ride and am really anxious to hit the trail.

 

[WEGOPDMtBkr]

I just wish they would have spec'd better shifters for the price of this bike.QUOTE]

What's wrong with the OEM shifters? I've had no problem with them and think they work really well! It's one area that I did not think needed an upgrade.

Congrats on recieving your HiFi Pro!! You'll love it!! :thumbsup:

Ride On!!

 

[mtboard]

finally

Rode the new Hi Fi Pro at Forest Park today. it was a mix of sunshine, snow, rain and everything in between. The trail was sloppy snot with a little goo mixed in for good measure. The bike rode perfectly and worked flawlessly. I absolutley love how this thing hooks up, stops, accelerates and everything else. The Hi Fi outclimbed me, I could not keep pedaling it up some of the steep stuff but that was only because my legs were too lazy from a long winter.

I did have two minor issues with the bike though. The front hydro brake hose kept rubbing against the tire because it is only held in place by a special zip tie. has anybody figured out a way to hold this hose in place so it dosen't move into the tire? The only other thing was the rear der. cable housing rubs against the propedal lever. Again it is held in place by zip ties which seems to be fairly common in newer bikes I've seen. Should I shorten this der. cable housing or add a few zip ties? any suggestions would be great.

This is by far the most fun, responsive bike I have ever owned. I had a blast while freezing cold and soaking wet.

 

[WEGOPDMtBkr]

Similar HiFi Pro problems

I did have two minor issues with the bike though. The front hydro brake hose kept rubbing against the tire because it is only held in place by a special zip tie. has anybody figured out a way to hold this hose in place so it dosen't move into the tire? The only other thing was the rear der. cable housing rubs against the propedal lever. Again it is held in place by zip ties which seems to be fairly common in newer bikes I've seen. Should I shorten this der. cable housing or add a few zip ties? any suggestions would be great.QUOTE]

I had the same problem with that front hydraulic brake line. I just played with it to move the entire hose and location of that ziptie.

That area by the rear shock where the rear der. cable housing is attached to the frame is the area that I had many problems with in the beginning. First, I noticed that the cable was not attached to the attachment point when it was built by my LBS. I went back and had them ziptie it to the attachment point. I then started to get 'ghost shifting' since the rear pivots and the rear der cable is attached, it actually bends quite significantly and this leads to the 'ghost shifting.' Recheck your air pressure. Also, remove the ziptie from that rear der. cable attachment point which is near the rear shock. Sit on the bike in full gear and see how much bend you get in the rear der. cable....Too much bend leads to shifting problems like 'ghost shifting.' If there is too much bend, shorten the rear der. cable housing in this section. It should be pretty much straight when off of the bike, so that when you do sit on it in full gear, the bend in the cable will be minimal. It took me about 7 or 8 rides to get everything set up correctly for this problem.

-My weight with gear: 234 lbs
-My RP23 air pressure setting as recommended by PUSH: 225 lbs
-Rear der. cable is not ziptied to attachment point.
-Rear der. cable is as short as can be, which means it is pretty straight without my weight on it.

Good luck with the setup of the rear der. cable! Once you get her dialed in, she really flies!! :thumbsup:

Ride On!!

 

[mtboard]

thanks for the tips, I will try that. When you flipped your shock did it take anything more than simply unbolting it and flipping it? how much did "push" ing the shock cost you and how long did it take. Did it really change the ride that much? Earlier I stated that I was dissapointed in the LX shifters. I am not disappointed in their performance but for the price of the bike I think they could afford to at least put on a set of XT shifters. Oh well, I still love the ride. thanks for the suggestions on the cable routing. I think the front hose could be better supported than how they set it up. I will play with a few ideas and let you know if I come up w/ anything better.

 

[Sweetwater]

The front brake hose on my HiFi is held to the fork with a zip tie about halfway up the fork. Originally, the hose then hung loose in front of the fork but it would hit the tire sometimes like you said. I just moved the hose behind the fork crown and the natural shape of the hose makes it rest against the crown. The hose hasn't come away from there on it's own and has stayed away from the tire.

I had to shorten the rear derailleur cable too, and definitely don't use the last attachment point. When I shortened the cable, I shortened it a little too much and the cables tended to flex towards the centerline of the bike when the rear pivots. I had to make sure the cable had a little rise in it between the frame and swingarm so the cable would flex up and down rather than side to side. This looks a little cleaner and the cables don't rattle against the frame as much in the rough sections. Hope that makes sense.

 

[ecrock45]

ebertm! Any updates man? post some pics too.

I saw a Hi-Fi Delux at a shop outside of Boston a week ago and the paint along the bike's left side of the headtube was worn down to shiny aluminum by the cables rubbing. Shop dude tried to tell me "it's a steal and has been ridden less than 4 times". Maybe so but that looked scary.

 

[WEGOPDMtBkr]

When you flipped your shock did it take anything more than simply unbolting it and flipping it? how much did "push" ing the shock cost you and how long did it take. Did it really change the ride that much?QUOTE]

I actually had my LBS flip the shock for me. I didn't have the tools to do the job. Plus it cost me all of $10 to have them do it. They only had a minor problem of removing the pressed in bushings from the rear of the shock. The bushings need to remain where they are as they are specific to that location. Now it's just so much easier to access the lockout/propedal switch. And the shaft is on the lower end which may help to keep crud from getting in past the seals, etc.

As for the "PUSH'd" rear shock upgrade it costs about $150.00 + S&H. I had it back in about a weeks time. If you check the MTBR reviews under the shock section, you will find reviews for PUSH Industries. It is without a doubt the best upgrade that I have made on my HiFi Pro thus far. :thumbsup:

FYI, I was trying to post phots, but am having a problem. Will keep trying.

Ride On! :thumbsup: