For most sports it is not uncommon to see the heroes - the celebrities of the game - on T.V. or video. The stars of football, baseball, even golf can be seen on any given night in highlights or interview clips on ESPN SportsCenter.
Although, you must seek them out through alternative media, even the pro cyclist can be seen on video giving an interview.
But mountain bike celebrities are rarely seen or heard. Instead you must read interviews in monthly magazines or increasingly find print transcripts on the Web (or if we're lucky - read their blogs).
That's why this interview of Gary Fisher conducted by TrailTapes.com is so cool. For those that don't know, Gary Fisher is one of the founding fathers of mountain biking. He started in the sport more than twenty years ago and has pioneered many mountain bike advances along with his friends/colleagues/business partners. Most of us know the name Gary Fisher as the bike brand now owned by Trek, but few are aware of the achievements that continue to come forth as a result of his leadership.
While he spends some time in this interview waxing nostalgic with stories from the 'good old days,' TrailTapes does a nice job of leading Fisher to his thoughts on the future of mountain biking and cycling in general. The fifty-six year old Fisher is as energetic as ever and left this viewer feeling as though the man can still bring fresh ideas to the sport. Fisher makes no apologies for bringing innovations to the sport that the customer has yet to request or recognize. After all, isn't that the very essence of innovation?
Fisher notes the rise of single speeds and cites several reasons contributing to this trend; not the least of which is the finicky nature of the mountain bike drive train. Gears require too much maintenance and wear down much too quickly compared to a bike's frame and the other components. He for-tells of a day when mountain bikes will be more like road bikes needing no more than a quick wipe down to be ready for the next ride. He also believes that we'll see cross country bikes in the 17 to 18 pound range and freeride bikes weighing in at about 25 or 26 pounds in the not so distant future.
Although, Gary Fisher's bike company is now part of the venerable Trek Bicycle corporation, this is not a man that has 'sold out.' Instead one gets the feeling that Fisher has carved out an important leadership role within the organization as the head of what amounts to Trek's mountain bike R&D division.
While you're visiting TrailTapes site be sure to check out their other episodes. All are extremely well done and you will be impressed with the high quality editing and production - a real value to the world of mountain bike media.
Note: RSS readers will need to pop out of their readers to watch the trailer embedded in this post. Also, note that this is just the trailer...the actual show and interview can be found on the TrailTapes site.
