1984 Fisher Competition
Gary Fisher founded the company MountainBikes in 1979 together with Charles Kelly, to offer bikes increasingly popular for off-road use. From assembling clunkers to suppling proven specialty parts to building complete bikes based on Tom Ritchey frames, MountainBikes did everything in the early days. However, when the three-way partnership dissolved in 1983, Gary struck out on his own. This bike is a prime example of a top level Competition model from the early days of the company. Fillet brazed frame construction was contracted out to established builders such as Jeffery Richman, Mark Nobilette, and Tom Teesdale. At the time Gary pushed hard to get Tange to produce the first unicrown fork blades, to the extent that a decal was placed on the fork legs to indicate that they were "unicrown." Also interesting is the bullmoose bar, which Tom Ritchey had previously designed and made popular. On this bike the bullmoose bars have significant rise and are made of welded aluminum. Parts still adapted from other uses include the Magura Pow-R motorcycle grips and the Suntour MP-1000 BMX pedals. Dura Ace road hubs were used because they were the only option for Uni-Glide cogs.
The Build
Year: 1984
S/N: 18C5 Frame: Fisher Competition Fork: Fisher Unicrown Stem: Alloy Bullmoose Headset: Shimano 600 Bottom Bracket: Fisher Cartridge Bearing Handlebar: Alloy Bullmoose Shifters: Shimano M700 Front Derailleur: Shimano M700 Rear Derailleur: Shimano M700 Brake Levers: Magura Motorcycle "Shortie" Front Brake: Shimano M700 Rear Brake: Suntour XC Rollercam Crankset: Shimano 600 Chainrings: Shimano 28-38-48 Pedals: Suntour MP-1000 Hubs: Shimano Dura Ace Uniglide Rims: Araya RM-20 Tires: IRC Racer X-1 1.7 Wheel QR: Shimano Dura Ace Seatpost: Suntour XC Saddle: Avocet Touring II Seatpost QR: Suntour Grips: Magura Pow-R-Grip Chain: Regina Record Oro Cogs: Shimano Uniglide Bottle Cage: American Classic Extras: Breeze-Angell Hite-Rite |
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