1999 Gary Fisher Hoo Koo E Koo Review
Gary Fisher Hoo Koo Due east Koo review
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Gary Fisher, one of the founding fathers of mountain biking, is widely recognised as having defined industry standard geometry and set up the sport forth the trail towards what it is today. His Hoo Koo Eastward Koo may not exist the longest-established production mountain cycle – Specialized'due south Stumpjumper takes that honour – but through numerous incarnations has go something of an icon.
The '09 HKEK is new from the ground up, with reworked geometry and a swoopy new chassis design, but it aims to offer the aforementioned blend of value and spec equally its illustrious predecessors.
You could hands pick holes in the spec, or contend that it would be amend with this fork or that component., simply that would miss the point. This is one of the best treatment, most versatile trail hardtails out at that place, it looks fantastic and it'due south merely £800. What's not to similar?
Ride & handling: Totally anticipated, whatever the situation
Previous feel with bikes sporting Fisher'southward G2 geometry (see Frame below) had left us in a state of ambivalence about the whole concept. It seemed similar something of a double-edged sword to usa. On the one hand, we loved the virtually-instantaneous steering input and snappy responses, but on the other, all that liveliness seemed to have a nasty tendency to get out of hand at high speeds if the rider's attending wandered for longer than a nanosecond.
It turns out the issues nosotros were having may have had as much to do with the platform we were riding – Fisher'southward lightweight, mid-travel full-sussers – as the geometry. Flexible swingarms weren't doing the G2 concept any favours, as the Hoo Koo E Koo proves across doubt.
The new bike has the same low-speed agility that we associate with G2, with a perplexing blend of stability and manoeuvrability that makes a challenging climb a pleasance rather than a chore. Just a rear finish that's not decumbent to flexing one-half an inch sideways under duress endows the HKEK with the loftier-speed stability that its '08 stablemates seemed to lack.
This, in other words, is what G2 geometry was always supposed to exist nearly: totally predictable behaviour, whatever the speed or weather condition out on the trail.
Frame: Simple, functional chassis allows G2 geometry to shine
Fisher's designers accept resisted the temptation to overwork the HKEK's frame with needless hydroforming. Instead it flows gracefully from head tube to dropouts with a minimum of fuss and with such elegance that information technology's piece of cake to overlook the large workmanlike welds that hold it together.
The details are impressive in their simplicity and functionality. There's a graceful curve to the downward tube where it meets the head tube to disperse stress, and another where information technology meets the bottom bracket.
The seat tube clamp slot is at the side, away from rear tyre spray. The seatstay and chainstay gussets that replace the conventional bridges endow the Hoo Koo Eastward Koo with so much mud clearance yous could probably use it to turn fields. There'south even a tertiary bottle mount underneath the down tube.
All this loftier-tech aluminium wizardry is put together with Fisher's proprietary G2 geometry, the second incarnation of Genesis, which launched longer top tubes and shorter stems on an unsuspecting world more than than a decade ago.
G2 tweaks the original formula by increasing fork offset (with a custom crown that moves the fork legs further from the steering axis) and reducing the reach to the confined.
The fork offset reduces trail (distance between the tyre contact patch and the betoken where the steering axis meets the ground) which makes for quicker steering. Reducing reach makes information technology easier for the passenger to weight the front wheel, reducing the tendency of the original Genesis design for the front cease to wander on steep climbs.
Equipment: Naught flashy, only it all works well
For all its impressive frame credentials, there'due south little to get excited nearly in the Hoo Koo Eastward Koo'southward spec list. However, it all works well and, only every bit chiefly, puts this bike in your easily for £800.
An air-sprung fork would accept been nice for greater adjustability, but the RockShox Recon is good as coil-equipped units go. The white Bontrager saddle doesn't have long to get mucky either. But that'due south it for gripes – SRAM gears, Bontrager kit and Avid brakes do a sterling job.
Production Specifications
Product
Name | Hoo Koo E Koo (09) |
Brand | Gary Fisher Bikes |
Available Sizes | 50 M South XL |
Rear Tyre Size | 26x2.25 |
Pinnacle Tube (in) | 23.5 |
Standover Summit (in) | 29.5 |
Seat Tube (in) | 17.25 |
Chainstays (in) | 16.2 |
Bottom Bracket Meridian (in) | 12.25 |
Weight (lb) | 26.9 |
Weight (kg) | 12.2 |
Shifters | X7 |
Seat Angle | 71.5 |
Rims | Bontrager Duster |
Rear Tyre | Jones XR |
Brakes | Avid Juicy 3 hydraulic disc, 160mm rotors |
Rear Hub | Shimano M525 |
Rear Derailleur | SRAM X9 |
Head Bending | 69 |
Front Tyre Size | 26x2.25 |
Front Tyre | Jones XR |
Front Hub | Shimano M525 |
Front Derailleur | SRAM X7 |
Frame Textile | 6061 hydroformed alu |
Fork | RockShox Recon 335 gyre, 100mm travel |
Cranks | Shimano FC-M521 |
Wheelbase (in) | 43 |
Source: https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/bikes/mountain-bikes/gary-fisher-hoo-koo-e-koo-review/
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