“Simple City” is the name of the Gary Fisher mystery commuter bike. Cycling News reports in their Trek World 2007 report that the Fisher Simply City was “one of the showstoppers” at the show.

Product Manager Chad Price and his team of ‘Chads’ (three in total) collaborated with Gary Fisher to create a cool new city shopper that blends the best of Euro city bikes and classic Schwinn townie that are so beloved in communities like Madison, WI and Davis, CA.

“We wanted to create a bicycle that was unique and featured the best of two worlds; useful for transportation and shopping, but lighter and faster than the conventional city bike “, Price said. “Simple City says it all; a simple city bike that has the best features, like the unique geometry we created so the ride is stable and comfortable under load and the adjustable front dropouts that support the optional ‘two bagger’ front rack”.

Arleigh provides some additional information on the Gary Fisher Simple City bicycle, and Bike Hugger Byron gives his views on this bike.

Now for some unsubstantiated rumors I’ve heard from people who may or may not be associated with Trek:

• Product release early 2008, perhaps as early as January?
• 3-speed will retail for $400, 8-speed for $800.

I’ll definitely look for this bike when I visit Interbike next month.

Arleigh went to Trek World in Madison, WI, where she snapped lots of bikey photos. Dr. Logan noticed this prototype Gary Fisher Commuter bike in the photostream.

This Gary Fisher commuter bicycle has Shimano’s Alfine shifter, Bontrager Satellite Plus reflective sidewall tires, a huge basket on the front, separate fender and rack mounts on front and rear (!), leather saddle and handgrips, full front and rear fenders and a chainguard. I don’t believe Alfine comes with a Coaster brake, but I don’t see a brake cable going to the rear so they must use something else for the internal gear hub in the rear. A hand brake controls the rim brake on the front wheel. Trek’s designer sensibly put a forward facing rear fork end on this bike for easy rear wheel removal.

Guitar Ted talks a little about this and another commuter prototype that he saw in Madison. G-Ted writes:

Fisher was showing off two prototype “townie” type bikes with a retro-ish/hand made flair. Sporting wrap around chain guards, full fenders, and internal gearing, these bikes were quite different and maybe even a bit out of place at the show.

I got a chance to chat briefly with Gary Fisher himself and I asked about these bikes. Were they something that Fisher will actually produce? I got a resounding “Yes!” in answer. It seems that we will most likely be seeing more of this type of utilitarian, work bike coming from Trek and Fisher in the future. I applaud Trek and Fisher for making an effort in this area and the bikes are certainly looking great so far.

In fact, I might even go so far as to say that they look every bit as cool as anything from the North American Hand Made Bicycle Show, where these would have been right at home.

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