Mid-Week C & V: 1996 Gary Fisher Hoo Koo E Koo

Well alright, this one has not reached the magical, mystical twenty-year mark quite yet (I believe this to be a 1996 year model), but due to its good bone structure there is little doubt it will get there. No matter how much dirt-laden abuse you might subject it to.

Makers of bicycles during the 1990s, and mountain bikes in particular, seem to have had a predilection for giving their models unusual names. None of that simplistic 'Red Ryder' type stuff, nor unimaginative number sequences, for those guys. Hoo Koo E Koo or Hakhalugi, for instance, are much more creative. Hakkalugi - well that is pretty clear, isn't it? Hoo Koo E Koo, on the other hand, has some twists and turns. First, there is the Hoo Koo E Koo Trail at Mount Tamalpais - an area closely tied to the Gary Fisher mythos. Beyond that, the Hoo Koo E Koo (or Hukuiku) refers to one of the large tribal divisions of the Coast Miwok whose ancestral lands include, you guessed it - Marin and Mount Tam.

Will the Gary Fisher Hoo Koo E Koo, with models produced between 1993 and 2010, ever be a highly sought collectable? Probably not, but who cares. You buy a bike like this to ride, and that steel frame means you will be able to ride this for a long time. I saw this one, and you can check it too, at the Claremont Velo (though I must confess, by now, it was a good two or three weeks ago).