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TECH FEATURES: GARY FISHER CRONUS ULTIMATE
Road Bike Action
March 12, 2010
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You say you’ve never heard of the Gary Fisher brand before. Well, for some of you that’s understandable. There are a few things you should know about Gary Fisher: A) He actually exists, B) his real history is being a big name in mountain bike circles, and C) he’s not just some fat-tired carpetbagger looking to cash in on the burgeoning road bike market.
If you were to ask anyone in the bike industry what they know about Gary, they could respond with any of the following: A) He’s crazy (in a really good way), B) he enjoys being in the spotlight, C) he was a hardcore roadie before he played his pioneering role in the sport of mountain biking, and D) few people are as passionate about cycling as he is.
All of which brings us to the Gary Fisher Cronus Ultimate, which is the high-end offering in the three-model, Gary Fisher carbon road bike lineup.
THE FRAME
Being that the Gary Fisher brand is owned by Trek Bicycles, you could say that the GF line at times finds itself in the awkward position of aiming for self-realization and being good to their corporate patron.
From the beginning, Trek knew that the only way the GF line would prosper in the keen-eyed, discriminating world of road geeks was if there was an obvious level of differentiation between the two brands. Mission accomplished. Despite Trek being the big daddy in the Gary Fisher storyline, it is safe to say that the Cronus is in no way just a cobbled-together bike made with Trek Madone table scraps.
In fact, (aside from the Bontrager parts) the entire Gary Fisher line is marked with an impressive degree of unique features. Two (of three) key frame differences are that none of the GF bikes are made at the Trek factory in Wisconsin, and no GF bike uses the proprietary OCLV carbon that has defined the Madone from day one. The Fishers are made in Taiwan with a more standard variety of carbon. Fine.
The third point of differentiation with the Fisher is also what separates it from all other road bikes—their proprietary FCC. Just another silly marketing acronym, you ask? What FCC stands for is “Fisher Control Column,” and it refers to a unique front-end package designed to improve the bike’s overall handling. Key components of the FCC are a high flange hub that uses 25mm (versus standard 19mm) end caps to increase the interface between the front hub and fork, a wide hub with outboard-mounted spokes, a special fork to accommodate the wider/higher hub, and of course, the now ubiquitous tapered head tube. According to Gary, the combination provides a front end that is 27 percent stiffer than the competition. While the front hub retains standard hub spacing and any front wheel can fit the GF fork, the same cannot be said of the wheel working with any other fork—it won’t.
What our 56cm test bike had in common with Lance’s bikes is the BB90 bottom bracket. Owing to the extra-wide dimensions of the BB90, the bottom bracket affords the use of a massive downtube and box section chainstays. No integrated seat tube here, just a very traditional 27.2 post. Look for the Cronus in eight sizes. The Cronus also runs a taller head tube (180mm tall head tube compared to a 170 mm tall Madone head tube).
THE PARTS
Being an “Ultimate” bike, the Cronus pulls a selection of higher-end parts from the (also in-house) Bontrager catalog, including: Race XL Scandium wheels, Race XL carbon bars, Race XXX Lite seatpost and a Race XXX Lite carbon stem.
Owing to Gary’s vision of the bicycle as the single-most utilitarian antidote to all that ails the world, he designed the Cronus with “invisible” fender mounts so that the bike can be used as easily as a wet-weather commuter as a dry-weather racer. “Invisible” is certainly the key word, as we all know that no self-respecting roadie would ever be seen on a bike with the visible eyelets normally used for fender mounts. Another “race-utility” feature is the ample wheel clearance that will allow up to 28c tires.
THE RIDE
In this day and age when hype so often takes the place of substance in marketing consumer goods, it’s been a long time since we were able to happily embrace an acronym-based performance feature. In the most simple terms, Gary’s FCC is the real deal. On out-of-the-saddle, uphill sprints when your head leans over the front wheel is when you especially appreciate just how much front-end deflection is no longer a concern. The bike steers beautifully, and the rear end follows the front wheel’s lead every step of the way.
THE VERDICT
First of all, the bike is a looker. Everyone was smitten with the modernist graphics and white spokes. The bike’s overall craftsmanship rated as very high.
To be honest, we were surprised to find the Ultimate costing almost $3000 more than the lower-line Cronus Pro, which shares the frame and FCC system, but lacks all the higher-end parts. The kindly, world-embracing message that Gary has tried to convey with his quirky bike notwithstanding, the raciest of race geeks among us said they’d never pay that much for a bike with two such glaring anti-racing attributes: a tall head tube and fender mounts.
Due to their invisibility, the fender issue is not an issue. Tall head tubes, however, do tend to inhibit outright performance capabilities, so it is something to think about when choosing a race bike. Still, the Cronus is light, and the FCC pays real dividends in the turns. Simply put, the bike is a blast to ride. For any all-’rounder looking for a rock-steady ride, we’d jump on the Shimano Ultegra-equipped $3299 Cronus Pro, slap on a pair of slightly heavier, but more aero and cool-looking $1600 Bontrager Aeolus 5.0 ACC wheels and still have a grand leftover to splurge on some fine Italian dinners or some Texas-made alligator boots.
PRICE: $6,299
WEIGHT: 14.9 lbs.
INFO: www.fisherbikes.com
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