photo courtesy trekbikes.com.
Word on the street is that Trek is folding the Gary Fisher brand into Trek bikes to cut design costs and expand distribution. The Gary Fisher name will live on, however, as the “Gary Fisher Collection” from Trek. According to a news release we read, the man himself, Gary Fisher, approves of the move because of the promises of increased distribution.
The heart of the issue seems to be the financial implications of parallel development of mountain bikes, particularly 29ers, currently being shouldered by the two brands. Even if the two teams shared technology and designs, forward there would be very little differentiation between Fisher 29ers and Trek 29ers going forward, for example.
Current Gary Fisher owners should have little to worry about in terms of service and warranty support since the GF brand will remain owned by Trek. There may be some minor changes at the dealer level but those changes should only affect shops that stock GF brand bikes but not Trek. Read more at trekbikes.com.
