Paragon

I received my 2009 Gary Fisher Paragon 2 weeks ago and I have been holding out on passing any judgment until I had enough saddle time to give an honest evaluation. That time is now.

First off the color…I have had a thing for white bikes I believed them to be plain and generic but wow the white has a iridescencent bass boat coating to it that when the sunlight hits it looks amazing.



After racing and ridding a Niner Air9 last season I was not expecting to notice much in the difference between the Air9 and the Paragon. Fortunately I was wrong wayyy wrong!

The 29’er platform offers many advantages with their larger wheels giving more surface contact, ease in rolling over small roots and rocks and carrying more speed and momentum. But there were always two things that I wish would go away. Those same larger wheels made it harder to maneuver around tight switchbacks and acceleration was poor.

Gary Fisher has taken care of the issue of maneuverability through employing his G2 Technology. Gary's proprietary G2 Geometry with a custom offset Fox F80RL 29 and the use of Bontrager Race Lite Big Sweep handlebars that have 12 degrees of back-sweep improve slow speed handling giving the impression that I am flicking a smaller 26 inch wheel through rock gardens and around tight single-track.

As for acceleration I am not sure how this has been accomplished. The Paragon is about pound and half heavier then my Air9 but for some reason I have noticed the ability to use less power to climb up steep climbs and more speed coming out the corners. The two frames measure up to be about the same dimensions but when I am ridding the Paragon it feels like I am ridding a 26’er. I don’t feel like I am hovering over the ground and trail.

Having never been a supporter of SRAM Components it was a hard sell for me to see the benefit of X9 versus Shimano XT while also having to relearn how to use my shifters. The X9 derailleur/shifter combination does have an almost metal/mechanical engagement that is quicker and more precise then the XT’s. I still need to remember which lever is which though. I ended up on a low gear during a few short steep climbs.

The only change I would have liked would have been to scrap the Custom Crank Brothers Candy pedals for an upgrade from the Shimano FC-M543-SK crank to a true LX or SLX level.

After several rides I am looking forward to this year on the Paragon. The bike is spec’ed well except for the crank and rides much lighter the scale would have you believe

Look GREAT for a GREAT Cause

A Little Bit About Team Fatty

Team Fat Cyclist: Fighting for Susan is a big ol’ group of cyclists (and a few runners and even one triathalete) raising money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation to fight cancer. There are now more than 360 of us. We’re the top fundraising team in all four event cities: Austin, Seattle, San Jose, and Philadelphia, so we’d darn well better have some matching outfits when we line up at the various LiveStrong Challenges.
40% of Your Fat Cyclist Gear Purchase Goes to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Yep, when you buy one of the Team Fatty jerseys, 40% of the price of that $75.00 jersey (ummm, that works out to…lessee…$30 per jersey) goes to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. And since we’ll be donating that through the Team Fatty fundraising pages, you’ll be helping us stay the top fundraising team in all four cities.

In the past I have always waited until Twin Six would release the the full order of the Fat Cyclist Jersey and every season I have been dissappointed when my size would be SOLD OUT.

So now that T6 has announced that pre-orders for the Summer 2009 jersey will start today I will have one this year. The Team Fatty jersey pre-order extravaganza is for one week only. It ends Tuesday, March 17, 5:00pm CT.

Eyewear Done RIGHT!!

Yesterday I came back from a hard day of work to find a package with familiar markings sitting on my desk. The markings were that of Ryders Eyewear. Inside I found several of the sharpest shades I have ever set on my face.



I first started wearing Ryders last season. They were a prize for winning the 4 Man at last years 12 Hours of Mohican. I wore them the next ride and then the next and the next...you get my point. They have a great fit, don't slide of my nose plus they look good on. A special thanks has to be given to the marketing dept at Ryders for first offering great swag at last years race and now for more pairs of my very own.

The last word...

Well at least he is honest...

8:50 PM Monday March 2, 2009

Registration for tonight is now suspended. The old SBO site crashed after being online for only 2 minutes. It is a site that is capable of handling 900 entries in 15 minutes so there has to be more than meets the eye going on here.

I am at a loss for words to describe my frustration for all of you who have spent hours trying to register for Iceman. I will be sending out the new plan for registration as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Steve Brown

Iceman Cometh?

First it was the the website being taken down Friday night. Then tonight I spent close to 2 hours tonight pressing F5 to register for the radio station concert ticket style on-line registration for the 2009 Iceman. Then I get the following message.

8:50 PM Monday March 2, 2009

Registration for tonight is now suspended.

Steve Brown

What does suspended mean? Is there going to be another day?