More New Products for 2004

Gary Fisher Cake

4. Gary Fisher Cake

Here's the deal on Cake: Fisher is introducing six new Cake models. The Cake 1, 2 and 3 feature five-inches of rear travel paired with carbon fiber seatstays, sidepull brakes and four-inch travel forks.

The other three bikes are "deluxe" models...which boils down to a more freeride setup. The Cake 1_DLX, Cake 2_DLX and Cake 3_DLX come spec'd with five-inch travel forks and disc brakes. There are no carbon seatstays on the deluxe models either.

While there are plenty of models to get confused over, the basic gist of the Cake is pretty simple: one bike that does pretty much everything. Lightweight, single pivot, longer-travel, stable pedaling, yaddayaddayadda.

All six bikes come equipped with Manitou rear SPV air shocks. Five of the six bikes also come spec'd with Manitou forks. That's a lot of Manitou. Anyhoo, for my money, I'd steer over to the DLX bikes because if you're going to have five inches of travel under your ass, you might as well have a longer travel fork and some disc brakes to back that up. But, hey, that's just me talking again. Anyhoo, this looks like the first really interesting line of longer-travel Gary Fisher bikes in a looong time. Prices range from $3,299 to $1,539.

Specialized Stumpjumper FSR

5. Specialized Stumpjumper FSR

Specialized definitely updated their upper-end FSRs for '04. While the bikes have the same fully-active, four-bar linkage of yore, they also sport a split seat-tube and lightweight (5.6-pounds with paint and rear shock) M4 aluminum frame. They also come equipped with a new Fox Triad rear shock, which can be run in three modes: fully-open, fully-locked out and ProPedal (which is a sort of stable platform mode). Basically, this is Specialized's answer to the Santa Cruz Blur. A lightweight, efficient, ride-all-day trail bike with four-inches of travel, front and rear. I'm currently testing one for the magazine and, damn, it's a fine bike. There are seven different models--same frame with a wide range of parts, so that normal folks and rich folks can enjoy the same basic bike. Prices range from $4,120 to $1,470.

6. Eddy Merckx MX Leader

There were a lot of nifty gizmos at this year's show, but the one bike that stopped me dead in my tracks didn't feature disc brakes, stable platform valving or any carbon accoutrements. This new twist on the classic '70s-era Eddy Merckx bikes was my all-time favorite. Can I pay my mortgage and still buy an MX Leader? At $1,600 for the frame...no, definitely not. Damn.

Eddy Merckx MX Leader

Columbus Max tubing, lustrous old-school Molteni orange paint, nicely-shaped lugs, and that funky old picture of the "Cannibal" on the head-tube. If you're a heavier rider who likes the feel of steel, but doesn't want to stomp a lightweight steel frame into a pretzel, this is your pony. An ass-kicking, super-stout road bike that makes you (or maybe it's just me) get all giddy and warm inside. It's only available in 57- to 63-cm increments so short folks are going to have to gnash their teeth and bang against the gates on this one.

7. Hayes HFX Mag Plus Hydraulic Disc Brakes

Nope, these aren't brand new. Hayes unveiled these light hydraulic disc brakes last year, but they have yet to capture much of the limelight. That's a shame. They deserve some serious attention. In addition to the massive stopping power, easy maintenance and split-perch brake lever design, the HFX Mag Plus brakes also feature carbon-lever blades and an assortment of titanium bits and pieces, which help bring the weight down to a very competitive system weight of 368 grams.

Hayes HFX Mag Plus Hydraulic Disc Brakes

I've got a year of wear and tear on a set and they haven't done anything annoying to date (no fade, no leaking, no need to bleed them and spill DOT fluid all over myself). Sure, the Avids look cool, but it's hard to argue with Hayes' consistent performance. The XC version comes with six-inch rotors, but a downhill version with eight-inch rotors is also available. You're looking at a suggested retail price of $500 to buy the whole shebang (front and rear).