I’ve been looking for a new mountain bike for some time, frequently visiting our local specialist bike store Peter Handsford in Chandlers Ford. Sadly I just couldn’t afford the price tag on a bike that is suitable to replace my now 10 year old GT XCR 2000, with its great i-drive mechanism. Last week I happened to luck into a visit courtesy of my sons rather broken (and still under warranty) Giant Mountain Bike. They had an ex-demo Gary Fisher Roscoe 3 at just a little over half the RRP of £3k.
The spec of the bike is incredible, lots of carbon fiber making it very light. Hydraulic disk brakes and fully adjustable travel shocks. The handling of the G2 geometry along with full adjustable fox rear and front shocks makes it a great all-rounder. I test drove it down the Clarendon Way, my old GT XCR200, now 10 years old has taken quite a battering on the narrow downhill. It’s not too technical, but take it at speed early in the morning when its wet under tyre and its a heck of a lot of fun and quite challenging.
All in all, superbly impressed with my new Gary Fisher. Hope to get out on it soon for more fun.
I’m incredibly impressed by Peter Hansford, they really took the time to make sure that the bike was optimally setup for my usage and weight while also taking care to make sure that I bought the right bike. The only thing I’d say is, don’t buy a Giant bike if you want to play on muddy hills. My son is better off with my 10 year old GT!
