Misleading Headlines

I am planning to "drop", in the way that hip-hop artists "drop" their new album, a post on my Gary Fisher Superfly very soon. The synopsis is that this is a super-awesome 29er that makes me giddy like a school girl. As are result, I was surprised to see this headline from the Bike Europe website,
which is an industry website that spends most of its time touting electric bikes (is Fabian Cancellara their spokesman? I kid.). Anyway, after seeing the headline I was slightly alarmed, but after reading the article, it sounds to me as if nothing much is really changing since Gary Fisher bikes are already carried in a lot of Trek shops anyway. Personally, I think that Trek just got jealous of how great the GF 29ers were while they continued to focus on those small wheel mountain bikes that are becoming quickly passe.
Rider Three

Trek Drops Gary Fisher Brand

MILWAUKEE, US – Trek announces a dramatic change in its brand strategy. As off immediately the icon brand Gary Fisher will disappear from the bike shops. The reason for this change is that the brand Gary Fisher is no longer profitable. According to Trek the volume of this high end segment is too small related to the costs of development, marketing and warranty.

The decision to drop the Gary Fisher brand is motivated by the dealers call for Trek 29-inch and Dual Sports models. Trek did not want to put engineers, product managers and designers for both brands parallel on 29-inch and Dual Sports projects.

The name Gary Fisher will not disappear from the market completely. The Gary Fisher Collection will be sold under the Trek brand and exclusively through Trek dealers worldwide. According to Trek, this new brand strategy is beneficial in terms of consumer exposure, availability through far more dealers than just the Gary Fisher dealers and larger marketing budgets.

The Trek - Gary Fisher Collection will feature a different look and graphic feel than the Trek mainline range. Trek will also differentiate both ranges in functionality. Gary Fisher is no longer the spokesman of just one brand, but has become the spokesman of the whole company.