The last long-travel trailbike we tested from Fisher, the discontinued Fat Possum, didn’t fare so well. Our test summed up the 2006 offering by saying, “…the Possum was disappointing. It often handled like a bike with half its travel. It’s not on par with all-mountain category leaders like the Specialized Enduro, Santa Cruz Nomad or Kona Coil Air.” Ouch.
Fast-forward three years and Fisher drops off a long-travel bike known as the Roscoe that bears no resemblance to the Fat Possum. Does it cure all the ills of its predecessor? There’s only one way to find out.
WHO IS IT MADE FOR?
The Roscoe is designed and spec’ed to appeal to aggressive trail riders. These riders want to challenge themselves on technical trails and will not shy away from pushing the envelope or hanging it out. What they are not willing to do is ride a bike that requires special tools to remove a wheel, offers limited gearing choices, or has a weight that falls in the shadow of the 40-pound region.
The Roscoe III is the most expensive of the three-model line, with the Roscoe I offered at $2970 and the II in the middle at $3850. The Roscoe I is the only bike in the line not to get the 15QR, front-axle-equipped fork, but all three share the same frame and Fox-made Dual Rate Control Valve (DRCV) shock that we’ll talk about below.
WHAT IS IT MADE FROM?
The frame tube designers went to town on every tube. The top tube is what Fisher calls a “flattened bell,” because its cross section looks like a flattened bell curve. They also added a one-piece seatstay for increased rear-end rigidity.
The headtube is tapered from 1-1/8-inch to a 1-1/2-inch tube at the bottom. This allows more creativity in shaping the bike’s downtube (because there is more surface area between the downtube and the head tube). The bike uses a OnePointFive standard bearing at the bottom and a 1-1/8-inch bearing at the top. Fisher claims they were able to save a little less than an ounce over a standard 1-1/8-inch steer tube and still increase stiffness and steering precision.
The frame uses Fisher’s Genesis 2.0 Geometry (G2). This is the geometry tweak that made so many riders fall in love with the HiFi. Fisher and their fork supplier (in this case Fox Racing Shox) developed a proprietary fork with a 46-millimeter offset. A custom G2 Fox fork with 5.5 inches of travel is used for the Roscoe models.
Fisher borrows from the Trek playbook and adds the Active Braking Pivot (ABP) to the Roscoe. ABP puts the rear suspension pivot concentric to the rear wheel axle. This is the only Fisher bike to get this technology.
WHICH COMPONENTS STANDOUT?
The Fox-made Dual Rate Control Valve (DRCV) shock is made just for Fisher and is easily identified by its secondary air chamber above the primary one. Why didn’t Fisher simply increase the volume of the air canister? Air shocks with large-volume canisters reduce the runaway ramp-up at the end of the stroke that a conventional air shock has, but you get a hammock effect (a distinct flat pocket during the shock’s midstroke) that is difficult, and maybe impossible, to correct in a bike’s rear suspension design.
Fox and Fisher suspension engineers got around this with a second air chamber connected to the primary air chamber that is only opened after the shock is past the mid-stroke problem area. This is accomplished mechanically when the shock shaft touches the Dual Rate Control Valve (DRCV) plunger.
The Fox fork employed on the Roscoe III introduces ProPedal, a familiar shock feature. The new RP24 system acts as a customizable lockout for the fork, much like the RP23 works on the Fox Float shock. The “R” means the fork has an external rebound adjustment. The “P” stands for ProPedal, while the “2” stands for the ProPedal being on or off. Finally, the “4” represents the four levels of ProPedal threshold that the rider can tune to his taste.
HOW DOES IT PERFORM?
Fisher makes setting rear suspension sag a snap. Literally. A sag-measuring tool snaps on the shock’s air canister and takes the guesswork out of setting sag. Now, if only Fox or Fisher would come up with a similar tool for the fork. Until then, a zip tie and a tape measure will have to serve.
The fork, as explained above, has so many external adjustments that the new Roscoe owner will have to set aside an afternoon to tinker with, test and adjust the fork to his liking. You’ve got infinite combinations of travel, rebound, compression and ProPedal adjustments to play with before finding your ideal setting. It is awesome that you have the ability to do this, but it is a daunting task. One tip: reduce the fork’s travel before you try to remove the air valve cap. It will save your fingers.
Moving out: The wide bar, effectively lengthening the top-tube, gives the rider lots of leverage and opens up the chest cavity. The Bontrager Rhythm Pro saddle is narrow yet comfortable and has a big nose. You find yourself in a comfortable, centered, trail-riding position, and Fisher even throws lock-on grips into the cockpit mix. The 2.5-inch-wide, flattened-bell top tube looks big enough to rest a can of Coke on, but we never made contact with it while pedaling.
Cornering: You know all the hype about Fisher’s G2 Geometry? Believe it. The wide bar contributes to the slow-speed turning performance, but even if you cut the bars down, this bike is a blast on tight, twisty trails. It feels incredibly light, and as long as you don’t run too much pressure in the tires, they back up the bike’s turning performance. So how does it do on high-speed stuff? You will have just as much fun as you did on the tight stuff. We found it easy to hold a high-speed line. When you push past the tires’ limits, both wheels break loose at the same time. This is one well-balanced package.
Climbing: The rider position makes transitions from seated to out-of-the-saddle climbing almost a subconscious effort, and both positions work well to get you up a climb. The bike feels light, and when things get ultra steep, you’ll appreciate that extra padding on the nose of the saddle.
Descending: The Roscoe III excels downhilling. You’ve got the amazing 15QR axle doing its job on the fork, the rigidity of the tapered headtube, the control of the Active Braking Pivot, the power of the Avid Elixir brakes, and the close-to-coil performance of the ice-cream-cone air shock all working in unison to give you control while you work your way down the mountain. While the Roscoe gets less than an inch more travel than the Fisher HiFi, it feels like a lot more because the ABP and DRCV shock bring so much to the package.
One more thing that showed up in all of the wrecking crew member’s notes was that the Roscoe III runs silently when descending. There are no clinking, chattering or metal-to-metal noises. Noisy bikes make a rider feel sloppy. The Roscoe III’s silent-running mode makes you enjoy the backcountry experience even more.
TRICKS, UPGRADES OR TIPS?
The Avid Elixir brake pads would sometimes rub the rotors slightly, making it feel like the brake pistons were not completely seating. While this drag was negligible at the pedal, it was annoying while climbing. A light squeeze on the brake lever would silence the noise temporarily.
While the Schrader valve on the DRCV shock fills both air chambers, it is wise to set the rear suspension sag, go pedal around and cycle the suspension a few times, and then check sag again. This insures that you have properly pressurized both air chambers.
There is nothing to upgrade on this bike. Fisher runs the full housing on the cables, the bar can be cut down to your preference, the saddle is fine, it has a chainstay pad, the grips are not afterthoughts, and the tires can easily be changed to tubeless.
Esthetically, the Roscoe would look better with a Fox 36 fork, but we strongly advise against such an upgrade unless you ride crazy, extreme, technical, stunt-filled terrain. It would be overkill in this application and add unwanted weight. The Fox 32 with the 15QR is a good match for this bike, even if it does look small compared to the bike’s frame tubes.
BUYING ADVICE
Fisher calls their Roscoe a long-travel trailbike. It is, however, with its 5.5-inches of travel, on the short side of a long-travel trailbike category that is inching its way into the 6.5- and seven-inch range. Limiting the Roscoe’s travel was not a bad decision on Fisher’s part. Quality travel trumps more travel every time, and the Roscoe delivers.
Longer travel trailbikes that come in at this weight are either a lot more expensive or have compromised durability. The Roscoe has a durable feel while still retaining all the responsiveness of a fun-to-gun trailbike. This is a bike that will make any true trail riding experience the best it can be. The longer and deeper you go into the wilds, the better.
FISHER ROSCOE III
Price $4950
Country of origin Taiwan
Weight 28.9 pounds
Hotline (800) 688-4324
Frame tested 17.5"
Bottom bracket height 13.75"
Chainstay length 17"
Top tube length 23.5"
Head tube angle 70°
Seat tube angle 72°
Standover height 30.5"
Wheelbase 45"
Suspension travel (front) 5.5"
Suspension travel (rear) 5.5"
Frame material Aluminum
Fork Custom Fox 32 F-140RP24 TALAS
Shock Custom Fox Float RP23 with DRCV
Rims Bontrager Rhythm Pro Scandium
Tires Bontrager XDX (2.4)
Hubs Bontrager Rhythm Pro
Brakes Avid Elixir CR
Crankset Shimano XT
Handlebar Bontrager Race Lite OS (28")
Shifters SRAM X.O
Rear derailleur SRAM X.O
Chainrings Shimano XT (44/32/22)
Cassette SRAM PG990 (11-34)
Pedals Weighed with Crankbrothers Candy C