Gary Fisher on the El Ranchero

I was in a rush last week when I posted those photos from Trek World. I didn’t have time to elaborate on any of the bikes, but I was glad to see some good discussion about them in the comments. For those of you who don’t read the comments section (you should), I want to bring forward a comment left by Gary Fisher about the El Ranchero:

Hey – We will make a long bike, E bike? RIGHT on!
This is a concept bike, I have had a Extracycle and a pair of Bakfeits, one with the box and one with the long rear end for over 4 years.
Ross from Extracycle is my bud. Your point on the rack compatibility is right on, I am with you, the ID guys and girls get into there own ideas, this is good. It’s a proto after all. We will do steel.
The new alloy that Klein developed has much more ductility than before making Aluminum a better choice than before, however we have many years with steel, that’s where we started. What is gong on with what I call “Bikes that do things” makes us excited because of the $$$ but that’s not what we are about, we want to change the world.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
Love,

Gary Fisher

So there you have it- a bit more info about an upcoming Fisher long tail from the man himself. If you are skeptical about the authenticity of the comment (who isn’t skeptical on the web these days), I do have confirmation from a pretty solid source that it really was from Mr. Fisher. Thanks for the comment Gary.

Speaking of Trek World, Cyclelicious has a good post about the event and points to a nice photoset of pictures taken by Mark Stevenson. Mark, aka Guitar Ted, also has some good coverage of the show on his site that you can read here and here.


Comments

12 responses to “Gary Fisher on the El Ranchero”

  1. klunkerbill Avatar
    klunkerbill

    I want one. Looks like a tandem klunker!

  2. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    In our community bike shop we received a similar tandem (with 20″ wheels instead of 26″). We’ve been unable to identify its mfgr but it has a serial no stamped in it. It’s built for an adult and child, single speed coaster brake, 2 hand brakes. I will post photos if asked. It would be a good bike for a “name that bike” contest. We keep it as a loaner.

  3. Joel Avatar
    Joel

    Glad to see more long bikes, I just wonder about setting it up permanently (as opposed to optionally) for a passenger. I plan to build up an Xtra one of these days, but I don’t see carrying a second person as a more than once in a blue moon kind of event. That would specifically prevent me from buying something like this. Hopefully, since this is just a concept, they will have other options when they go to production.

  4. James Avatar
    James

    anon 12:21, yeah, I would like to see that bike. Send me a pic.

    Joel, my guess is that is just an idea/feature that was explored with this early prototype. I guess we will see if it makes it to production that way.

  5. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    "Ross from Extracycle is my bud."

    Oh yes Garry, Ross is your bud but the company he has been building for 10 years is Xtracycle LLC, not Extracycle. Also, as he's your bud, you should sign up for his open source design and produce a compatible longtail system that would extend the appeal of the concept instead of confusing the market with yet another proprietary bag & racking system.

  6. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    “Ross is my bud” Hey Gary, I would hate to have a bud like you who rips off Xtracycle, does not even know how to spell their name. Another case of Fisher’s lack of creativity and then claiming invention and ownership of something. Fisher’s bikes, like Fisher himself are flash, but no substance. Give it up old man and keep on smoking the dope.

  7. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    “Ross is my bud” Hey Gary, I would hate to have a bud like you who rips off Xtracycle, does not even know how to spell their name. Another case of Fisher’s lack of creativity and then claiming invention and ownership of something. Fisher’s bikes, like Fisher himself are flash, but no substance. Give it up old man and keep on smoking the dope.

  8. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    Nice double post. Wow, I dunno if Ross and Kipchoge would dig all the negative vibes going down here. Aren't there, like, a million long bikes coming on the market this year? Well, at least a couple. I guess we'll see next week at InterBike.

    Do you even know Gary? Your comments about "lack of creativity, invention claiming, flash and no substance" make me believe you have no idea who he is. True, his fashion sense can be outrageous, but c'mon. No doubt he exhibited more creativity (cycling or otherwise) before he graduated high school than you have in your whole life (Lightest Show on Earth, etc).

    "Give it up old man and keep on smoking the dope." What's that about? Are you his ex-wife or what? We all know that, like yourself, Ross, Kipchoge & Crew are straight, Republican, Dick Cheney-loving, non-hippie types. Please!

    If you want to bash Gary, why don't you catch him at his booth at IB or out on the trials? You might be surprised to find the "old man" really does love the bike and can still drop your sorry ass on the climbs.

  9. Joe H Avatar
    Joe H

    I can’t wait to see the final version. I like it better than the Big Dummy. Oh, and BTW, I have nothing but respect for Gary Fisher. I think the negative comments are from jealousy.

  10. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    I’m with any design that increases bike utility. Great looking bike, maybe prototype was to close to the heel of the pilot. I noticed passenger was riding on the rack! That’s what prototypes do, they reveal the blindspots! Many would prefer this design, and if racks interfaced with Xtracycle so much the better. Leave the personal attacks at home, and be proactive!

  11. John Garrish Avatar
    John Garrish

    any update on this bike? is it going to see the light of day?

  12. patrick Avatar
    patrick

    Any chance that we're going to see this debut at Interbike 2009? It's been a year and I haven't seen any press on this (and I'd love to buy one).

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