Tested: 2006 Fisher Fat Possum XO

Gary Fisher Fat Possum / / / $3,960
920-478-4678; fisherbikes.com

Back in Klunker Times, when bikes were built from scavenged pre-WWII cruisers and weighed 45 pounds, every downhill run was earned with painful uphill slogs. It was in this ether that Gary Fisher first made his mountain bike forays. So when the design team at Fisher, with so much modern technology at their disposal, set out to create an all-mountain bike, pedaling efficiency was as important as bump-eating characteristics. Fisher has long been a fan of the simplicity of single-pivot bikes, so this new creation, dubbed the Fat Possum, mixes modern shock damping with a classic suspension chassis. The result is simple six-inch-travel bike designed to go up and down anything. But don’t go mistaking simplicity for old-fashioned. The rear end pivots on huge 38-millimeter cartridge bearings and the rear triangle is an exercise in box-section construction and hydroform aluminum manipulation. There is a quiet elegance to the American-made frame, noticeable in everything from the dropouts to the forgings.

Controlling the squishies is Manitou’s Split RPA shock that offers simple platform damping through a series of shims and a large oil reservoir for smooth, balanced compression. Up front is the Maverick DUC32—a stiff, capable dual-crown fork. The rear end also is stiff, but enough torque applied on short, steep climbs occasionally forced greetings between the seatstays and monstrous 2.35-inch Bontrager tires.

With a SRAM X-O drivetrain and Bontrager’s best and shiniest components, the bike weighed in a hair over 30 pounds, although it rode lighter than the numbers would suggest. The rear-end snapped to attention even on standing sprints, the elevated chainstays eliminated chainsuck and chainslap, and the bike protested very little in the way of pedal feedback or stiffening while braking. It wasn’t a perfect little possum, but pretty close.

The Possum was happiest when trails got technical. A short, 22.5-inch toptube (on our medium test bike), with tall bottom bracket and tight-ish 43.1-inch wheelbase created a compact cockpit with a high and forward center of gravity. Normally, this would make for a firecracker of a bike, with the front wheel popping all over the trail, but the Possum’s 68-degree head angle slowed things down nicely. The bike steered crisply in corners, yet was surprisingly stable at high speed. When trails dipped, the Possum responded—it was not exactly plush, nor did it beg for more gas, but it conquered most obstacles, whether they were tight switchbacks, steep rock gardens or sweeping off-camber turns.

With its well-mannered climbing and handling, the Fat Possum is suited for all-day riding on long, steep technical singletrack. And if a few fireroad climbs or rock-strewn descents find their way into the mix, that’s all the better. —Lou Mazzante