Gary Fisher Releases New Autobiography

Dec 8, 2020 at 15:11
by Sarah Moore  
photo


PRESS RELEASE: Trek Bicycles

Gary Fisher, the man who transformed an industry and sold mountain biking to the world, has released a new autobiography detailing his life's work building a happier, healthier future for the world.

In Being Gary Fisher and The Bicycle Revolution, the most candid, comprehensive, and personal account of his life yet, Gary Fisher takes readers on a wild ride from his early days as a maverick kid bike racer through the Acid Test scene and Grateful Dead tours to the present-day world of mountain biking.

The new book is part history, part origin story, and part mind-melting photographic account of ingenious innovation, dogged determination, and boundless energy. Most importantly, it's an intimate portrait of a living legend and his legacy, and a meditation on the great gift of mountain biking.

"My story is about discovering how you can do things differently," says Fisher. "Did I ever expect mountain bikes to get this popular? Well, yes. But what I didn't expect was how far people would take them."

Being Gary Fisher and The Bicycle Revolution, a collaboration with cycling writer Guy Kesteven, is a book for mountain bikers, movement-makers, and anyone who loves getting lost in far-out tales of ideas that are so crazy they might actually work.

Fisher's new book ($39.99 MSRP) is available immediately and can be found exclusively at trekbikes.com and Trek retail partners around the world.

photo
photo


Author Info:
sarahmoore avatar

Member since Mar 30, 2011
1,379 articles
Must Read This Week
[UPDATED] Elite Finals Results & Overall Standings from the Fort William DH World Cup 2024
164994 views
Final Results from the Finale Ligure EDR World Cup 2024
69639 views
4 Tech Takeaways From the Fort William DH World Cup
57306 views
Extra Tech Randoms: Fort William DH World Cup 2024
55672 views
Frameworks DH Bikes Stolen in Milton Keynes, UK
44654 views
Day 1 Randoms: Bike Festival Riva 2024
39626 views
Now THAT Was a Bike: 2016 Pole Evolink
36714 views
Norco Race Division Updates on Greg Minnaar & Lucas Cruz's Injuries
36564 views
Sign Up for the Pinkbike Newsletter - All the Biggest, Most Interesting Stories in your Inbox
PB Newsletter Signup

128 Comments
  • 88 3
 GF has been alive longer than 93% of the riders who will be commenting.
  • 25 7
 Um... yes. I am nineteen. What's this "Acid test" thing about?
  • 30 1
 Lots of googling "Gary Fisher" right now. Or asking Siri and Alexa...
  • 14 12
 @AndrewFleming: I know who Gary Fischer is... and I don't own a Siri or Alexa Smile
  • 19 0
 Sheeet - don't you mean GF has been mtbing longer than 93% commenters have been alive? GF is 70 years old!
  • 29 4
 Why is a fisherman's biography on pinkbike?
  • 5 0
 GF Cake 4 DLX....My High School Crush
  • 6 2
 Well, GF’s GF hasn’t been alive for longer than the average high schooler, if that tells you anything about this guy
  • 2 0
 @rosemarywheel: Hang on a minute.....Damn those 70's, I can't remember now?
  • 7 1
 google Tom Wolfe his book of the same name is a great book and a true story
  • 9 1
 well, that puts me in the remaining 7% category . i was born in 1946 .
  • 4 1
 @HighMountainDrifter:

Hells Angels by HST is a great preface to Electric Kool Aid Acid Test
  • 3 0
 @SketchyD: HST was a great journalist and one crazy MF! All his writings are simply gold.
  • 1 0
 @rosemarywheel: it actually looks like a LSD tab
  • 1 0
 @rosemarywheel: If you have to ask you'll never understand
  • 31 1
 The true acid test is whether or not all you younger kids will still be on PB and out charging when you are in your 50s or like 95% of the people I grew up with that don’t do crap anymore and make fun of me when I’m in a sling or a boot because I don’t give AF and still ride hard.

I know guys that are 70 at the local trails that will bury most dudes on an XC rip through the woods.

These are things I never thought about when I was younger but it’s important to never grow up. Ever. And staying in your bike is one of the best ways to avoid it.
  • 17 0
 True. I’m in my mid-40s and at this point 90% of my friends just sit around and drink in their back yards. The other 10% I hang out with more because they still do fun stuff.
  • 15 0
 @mungbean: I drink in the woods after a good day of riding. Bridging the gap between cultures, so to speak.
  • 13 0
 @JohnTheWrench: Ahh a man of culture I see
  • 6 0
 @JohnTheWrench: this is the way
  • 31 6
 All proceeds of this book will go towards decades of unpaid child support to his children in Marin...
  • 4 16
flag DoubleCrownAddict (Dec 8, 2020 at 23:05) (Below Threshold)
 Our his ex that he cheated on. Dated a girl who told me this.
  • 30 8
 Dude has more bastard children than Genghis Khan and still is dodging that child support...sad day
  • 1 0
 Really? does he send them all bikes when they grow out of the old one?
  • 6 0
 It sounds like Gary was not just working on bikes during his off time...
  • 6 3
 @rosemarywheel: lmao no he refuses to acknowledge they exist. I knew a couple back when I lived in Marin. Sweetest kids
  • 2 0
 @RowdyAirTime: he likes to get down and dirty with the common folk
  • 4 1
 Is that true? Did that really happened?
  • 44 0
 @Narro2: If one dude who says he lived in Marin at some point said it's true on PB, I guess it is.....
  • 4 0
 @suspended-flesh: yeah that one dude said he dated a girl that told him. I mean if thats not confirmation, what is?
  • 27 10
 Oooh, I love well written fiction! Especially from the “inventor of the mountain bike”!
  • 57 1
 You'll love my new book then - "The Trash was Strewn About the House When I Woke Up - I Swear."
  • 13 1
 Met GF a coupe times, most memorable was in 2002 when he was hanging out with the GF demo bikes team at a race and promoting his 29'ers...most racers scoffed at big wheels then, but dude was living in the future, and here we are on 29'ers.
  • 9 0
 Gary Fisher has forgotten more than 94% of what pinkbike commenters will ever learn.
  • 13 0
 That’s because he burns mad trees
  • 6 0
 If you want to know more about how MTB started, especially the younger generations you should read "The Birth Of Dirt"
By Frank J. Berto. Like everything in capitalism most big companies and successful people def left a few visionaries lying on the dust to get thier "glory". Alot of people in alot of activities just dont get the credit they deserve. Like how that Australian dude landed the 900 on skateboard tripping on acid but Tony Hawk did it at X Games and is now know for it. when the Australian landed it years before now he is a washed up bum and tony hawk is on Forbes hahaha
  • 4 0
 Tas Pappas, def didn't in get any video games either...
  • 1 0
 Frank might have lived in the next town over but he wasn't involved AT ALL.
  • 16 7
 I want to buy it. But don’t want to support Trek
  • 3 1
 Same here
  • 1 0
 why not tho?
  • 1 0
 Ask Santa for it Wink
  • 1 1
 @mildsauce91: Trek is a Bike brand killer. Buys Gary Fisher Brand, leaves as is for a while. Then introduce "the Gary Fisher collection" on a few models, then gone and forgotten! Surprised Bontrager is still a thing, only a name though....
  • 2 0
 @Grealdo: ...T-rek also consumed Klein, the forgotten Gary...
  • 1 1
 @Grealdo: That's bidness though aint it? Better not buy anything from Amazon... or walmart....or Kroger, etc (USA here)
  • 2 2
 @mildsauce91: Not denying that, Gary made the decision to sell at the end of the day. I think people just dislike Trek's "Small family run business" kind of vibe when they go and do stuff like that.
  • 2 0
 @Grealdo: Gary's brand was struggling when Trek bought it in 1994 and then they built it up over nearly 20 years. The Fisher brand would not have been what it was without Trek. And he still gets a paycheck from Trek to this day. Hardly a "killer" for Gary Fisher.
  • 9 4
 Based on reading the comments it sounds like this would be better if it was about his bastard children and underaged love interests, could be a Netflix original. A whole series from the community of Marin's perspective and the stain that was left on them by the well hung father of MTB.
  • 4 0
 Hey PB how about a throwback Thursday show casing the Book "The Birth Of Dirt" by technical editor Frank J. Berto. If anyone else knows of any good books showcasing the history of MTB please comment them here I am always up for a some interesting bike history!!
  • 2 0
 Well there’s the movie “Klunkerz” and there’s “Fat Tire Flyer” the first magazine mtb magazine edited by the same guys that started it all.
Here’s a short film about the birth of bmx. Story by Kathy Sessler, team manager at SC Syndicate
  • 2 0
 youtu.be/Al21QZZONUU
  • 6 0
 I've met GF a couple times and you call tell he has tripped bawls in a good way.
  • 13 0
 Trek: we’ve settled on Y11 for model nomenclature
Gary: I will call him Joshua
  • 2 0
 I had a (94 I think) Gary Fisher Supercaliber (cool yellow gold tint colour) and not a bad bike for the day. Regardless who actually invented the mountain bike, Gary Fisher did play a big role, including marketing this great idea to the public. Here's a link on this: www.bikeradar.com/features/who-really-invented-the-mountain-bike
  • 1 0
 Your Supercaliber, the one with just a touch of red on the rear ? I wanted that thing so much.... That and the Trek Y-Five-0...
  • 1 0
 @okidou: Yes, that's the one. Unfortunately I can't find any pics on it. I bought it Squamish when I lived there from 93-2001. My next bike was a 2001 Rocky Mountain.Element Team SC (rare "Scandium" frame). These were both good quality (light) bikes back in the day, but sure glad bikes have gotten so much better since.
  • 2 0
 @RowdyAirTime:
That's the one I am talking about
www.togoparts.com/marketplace/uploads/large-adpic1-1570461974-31737.jpg
  • 1 0
 @okidou: Cool, that's it, thanks. However, I remember it being way more cool back then...
  • 3 0
 It is true the myth? When you telephoned Tom Ritchey's store, Gary would answer you saying "Ritchey Mountainbikes, good afternoon" I read it a long time ago in a spanish bicycle magazine...
  • 12 0
 My understanding is that Gary Fisher and Charlie Kelly opened MountainBikes, the first mtb shop and first commercial use of the term. Tom Ritchey was their frame supplier, and at the outset he had name recognition as a frame builder (road bikes) so they named the bikes “Ritchey MountainBikes”. Gary later split from Tom, bought out Charlie, started GF, and then sold it to Trek in the late 90s.

Maybe lesser known is that they sold 3-4 bikes to Mike Sinyard, who had them copied, and mass produced in Japan, becoming the Stumpjumper in ‘81 at (about half the price).
  • 10 0
 @MtnMark: Anyone reading any of these comments should watch Klunkers if they have not already!
  • 1 0
 @MtnMark: What an amazing story! Wish it were true. Where no one got their nuts cut off in battle for the brand...
  • 1 0
 @MtnMark: thanks for sharing.
  • 2 0
 @MtnMark: The bikes sold to Sinyard were made by Tom Teesdale
  • 1 0
 @MtnMark: I went into considerable detail about that in my own book.
  • 1 0
 @cyclist0: Wrong. Made by Ritchey.
  • 1 0
 @pinkbike can you guys put out an article with a comprehensive history of mountain biking? I only started riding a few years ago and while I can appreciate developments and notable events post 2016ish, I really don't know much about how the sport started, important people, important technological developments etc... It would be really cool to catch up about the history of the sport for newer riders.
  • 1 0
 @suspended-flesh: there's tons of great YouTube videos. I went down that road the other night and it's incredibly interesting. Lookup "bike boom" on Wikipedia. The whole history of the invention of the bike is super interesting.
  • 1 0
 Done.

www.amazon.com/Fat-Tire-Flyer-Repack-Mountain/dp/1937715167
  • 4 0
 Bigger fan of Jerry Frischer, thanks.
  • 1 0
 I too prefer the musical stylings of Berry Garcia.
  • 4 0
 @TerrapinBen: the cereal that takes 25 minutes to get through a bowl
  • 2 0
 Yep, still have my 2003 Gary Fisher Sugar 4+

I'd be interested to hear his history of the MTB. He was around at the beginning.
  • 8 1
 Mtb wasn't a new thing when he "invented" it. All he did was claim it. My dad and his friends were taking there 10 speeds into the forest and building trails in the early 60's. They sure as hell weren't the only ones as there's not alot to do in the country
  • 3 2
 @makripper: Many strapped makeshift wings to their arms and tried to fly hundreds of years ago, but they definitely didn't invent the airplane...
  • 2 0
 I still ride my 2009 Paragon weekly! Abide by it's limits, and it's a great bike!
  • 4 2
 @Jamminator: he didn't invent a sport. He just claimed it. You didn't supply a good comparison. Close could be the lightbulb. Edison claimed it but one of the engineers he employed figured it out.
  • 3 0
 @makripper: I didn't say he invented it, but he did seem to be a pioneer and helped get it going on a wider scale. But that's a from a cursory 15min read before his book arrived.
  • 2 0
 @makripper: with the Edison thing, wasn't it more of his idea but the engineer figured out the proper composition for a long lasting filament that really made it profitable?
  • 1 0
 @DylanH93: it was alot of people's idea
  • 1 0
 on today's mantra, 90s we were all on Flatbar Gravel Bikes :p

PS - I want to buy one online, and shipped from UE, otherwise, I'll pay 25% taxes. Could anyone care to post a link?
thank you!
  • 7 4
 After all these years and he is still trying to pump his ego. No interest here.
  • 3 0
 GF, if you remember the 80s you weren't there.
  • 9 0
 . that line was about the sixties NOT the eighties and was never really indicative of what happened . It was the psychedelic drug culture that WAS easily remembered in great detail, because the psychedelic experience expanded ones ability to perceive deeper levels of consciousness and RETAIN those experiences . Not sure how that saying became an expression of forgetfulness because those days are impossible to forget .
  • 2 3
 @Sirios: I take it you have never went on a night out & cant remember what happened then?
  • 2 0
 @aljoburr: Woosh ????
  • 1 0
 @Sirios: yeah whatever but have you noticed the purple dragon at the window while we talk? Haha I concurr what you mean
  • 1 0
 Kids used to drink a considerable amount then, and there was easily accessible mushrooms / hash / marijuana (although not as potent as today). The difference was the police were much more indifferent to alcohol use and driving. This is in Canada too FWIW.
  • 3 0
 I'm a "movement-maker" . Usually about 8.30 am after a coffee.
  • 1 0
 V.M. Varga would call it an inevitable hagiography, but there probably some bits of truth in there.
  • 1 0
 Looks like he's still in the Bay Area...shot was taken in SF in front of the California Street stairs...
  • 1 1
 This is certainly a work of fiction that I'll not bother reading. Best spend my time riding or working on one of my 13 bikes!
  • 2 1
 Meh. I mean he's a cool guy (from what I've read anyway) but I'll pass on the book.
  • 2 0
 Should't it be a Bikebiography.
  • 1 2
 For those of you old enough to know , the cover is 1960s psychedelic , similar to rock poster for Filmore west, the Avalon Ballroom and Winterland rock venues . Very Acidy .????
  • 2 0
 The cover is literally a picture of a sheet of acid. The original sheet actually had Gary sticking his tongue out with a square of the acid on it. You can find it easily on Google.
  • 2 0
 @PrincessBigWhip:

It'd be way more apropos if the book came out on bicycle day Wink
  • 1 0
 @SketchyD: Hell yeah, brotha. Miss you buddy.
  • 2 0
 Can't help feeling his story has already been told multiple times..
  • 2 0
 Gary Fishers a weirdo Steve Potts is the real deal
  • 1 0
 My first real “mtb” was a Garry Fisher Level Betty FH1. I rode that f*cking thing everywhere everyday
  • 2 3
 Nice photo but they definitely could've done a waaaaay better lighting job! This guy is a fucking living legend people... not a cash cow! Getting the book either way...
  • 3 1
 Les claypool vibes
  • 8 0
 Don't use that name in vain
  • 2 1
 Obviously gets dressed in the dark
  • 1 0
 Still ride my 1999 GF 29er as my rigid commuter.
  • 1 0
 I still ride my very 1st mountain bike, a 1995 GF HooKooEKoo
  • 1 0
 My first mountain bike was a 2001 Gary Fisher Tassajara! Loved that thing!
  • 1 0
 Sorry I meant 2002! But who cares, still loved the bike
  • 1 0
 Sweet! I'm so stoked to read that!
  • 1 0
 Guess he needs that $40 now.
  • 1 0
 My first new bike was a 97 Joshua X1. The hook was set.
  • 1 0
 How can I order this book in UK?
  • 1 0
 Any chance to get this over here in Europe?
  • 2 3
 I am kind of new to mountain biking but when i see his name on a bike i always think that is probably a pretty good bike.
  • 1 1
 Oh no...
  • 1 2
 Ok boomer
  • 2 0
 Okay zoomer living in moms basement
Below threshold threads are hidden







Copyright © 2000 - 2024. Pinkbike.com. All rights reserved.
dv65 0.045116
Mobile Version of Website