The cycling world knows about the Gary Fisher-Subaru racing team, but now word is out that the automaker is launching its own line of bicycles in 2009, starting with a spendy steel hardtail XB model, reported to cost US$3,880.

Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., maker of the Subaru brand of cars, will outsource production of the bicycles to a Japanese manufacturer, to be made on a per-order basis. Only 99 will be made available, with the following component spec:

• Japanese chromoly steel hardtail frame
• RockShox Reba Race Dual Air suspension fork
• Shimano XT components (crankset, derailleurs, disc brakes, shifters, brakes, cassette, chain)
• Deda Big Bar handlebar; Deda Quattro stem
• Deda Metal Stick seat post; Mavic CrossRide wheels
• Michelin Country Rock 26 x 1.75 tyres
• Selle Italia C2 Gel Flow saddle.

BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Land Rover, Cadillac, and Jeep are just a few automakers to put their names on bicycles, and not always to great affect on the sales floor. Remember: Subaru spelled backwards is U-R-A-BUS.

 

almost 4K for a hardtail and you don't even get XTR components?

Fail!

 

at this price most packages ive seen from Giant, Specialized offer XT. shouldnt the frame be aluminum alloy though? steel is going to be heavy. ill pass on it and stick to a well known bike company to be safe

 

A steel hardtail made by Subaru for $4k?

I think making them on a "per-order basis" is probably a good plan on their part . . .

 

this is just silly

 

lol

 

some people prefer the flex of steel - especially on hardtails.

personal preference. I love the Aluminum of my FS, and the CF of my Road bike

 

$4K seems very unreasonable for a bike with these specs. I've been out of the bike game for about 5 years now, but that just seems astronomically high for a hardtail frame that doesn't use top shelf components.

 

Aluminum or CF ftw. But as a general rule of thumb someone thaught me, stay away from any bike with a car name on it. That includes Jeep, Chrysler, Hummer now Subaru and even lamborghini road bike. Price/package is always bad with these limited edition bikes.