User Guide

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SUGAR+ (INCLUDING SUGAR 29)
Evolution
The Sugar+ borrows heavily from the
hugely successful Sugar design, but expands
on that success to create a more versatile
bike. By providing a way to adjust the sus-
pension travel, the Sugar+ can exactly mimic
the design of the Sugar, or go into long trav-
el, adventure mode. And this magic act takes
only about a minute. The Sugar is lighter,
but one should expect that from a more
expensive bike.
Adjustable Travel
The Sugar+ allows you to choose from
two configurations. In short travel mode, the
Sugar+ has the exact same geometry and
travel as the Sugar (2.8” / 70mm). By moving
the rear shock into its long-travel position,
you increase the rear wheel travel to 4.1
inches (100mm). Then dial the fork to its
100mm travel position (some forks may offer
even more travel). The only change in han-
dling comes from a resultant 14mm increase
in bottom bracket height. The sweet ride of
Genesis geometry is still there. Even cooler,
you don’t have to change the pressure in the
rear shock, just the position!
Genesis Geometry
The Sugar incorporates Fisher’s Genesis
Geometry. Gary’s original concept was a bike
with better stability in situations where the
rider’s center of gravity rolled them forward
over the handlebars. As a by-product of his
innovative solution, Gary also created a bike
that better handles the higher speeds of
Pro racers. A sneak peek with a tape mea-
sure into the pits at a NORBA National will
reveal that many racers, on bikes with differ-
ent brand names, are borrowing from Gary’s
geometry.
Sybil link suspension design
The Sugar+ uses a special linkage to acti-
vate the rear shock, called the Sybil link.
The name “Sybil” was a taken from a famous
psychology case which profiled multiple per-
sonalities. The name Sybil can also be found
in mythology, a seer who could predict the
future. Either way, it’s a good description of
the capabilities of the Sugar+.
The Sybil link adds lateral rigidity to the
frame. The box construction with parallel
through-axles at either end means that the
link resists torsion applied by the terrain
pressing against the rear wheel. What all this
means is that the Sugar+ keeps the rear
wheel in line over rough terrain, so your
Sugar+ handles like a hardtail, but with the
extra cush you want in a long-travel suspen-
sion bike.
The pivot location and resultant progres-
sive suspension and compression ratio allows
the Sugar+ to be plush on small stuff, yet
not bottom on the big hits. The end result is
an almost invisible suspension feel; it takes
the edge off, but you don’t really notice the
suspension movement.
Less is more
While other suspension systems may offer
some similar benefits to those of the Sugar+,
they have some things the Sugar+ design
doesn’t have. They have tiny little pivots
crammed into the tight space by the rear
dropouts. Those little pivots add weight to
the bike, and at their attachment points the
frame has to be designed with extra rein-
forcements that also add weight. As an added
problem, if the pivots aren’t perfectly aligned,
they wear prematurely, so the extra align-
ment work adds cost to the bike.
Those dinky little pivots also have low tor-
sional rigidity, allowing unwanted flex. As
the suspension is activated on a bike with
imperfect alignment and pivot flex, their lit-
tle pivots will loosen up , which causes addi-
tional frame flex and squeaking.
Smart design
By carefully designing the pivot locations,
swingarm, and links, Fisher engineers were
able to create a suspension system that avoids
those troublesome little pivots back by the
dropouts. The key is finding the exact lengths
and arcs to do this without undue stress on
any frame members. Still, there is some flex
of the frame as the suspension is activated.
With each suspension stroke, there is a slight
change in angle of the chainstays and seat-
stays.
Without careful design, this tiny flexing
could cause fatigue of the frame resulting
in breakage. Fisher engineers used some of
our vast array of materials and manufactur-
ing technology to avoid welding in the flexed
area. Instead of welding, we use bonding
technology to join the stays and rear drops.
By using a space age epoxy adhesive, we
achieve incredibly strong frame joints that