Tuesday, February 28, 2006

29 inches, the research begins

OK, you might think I am being a little obsessive but I am actually considering another bike and I haven't even been riding a year yet but here is my selfish rationale. My first bike (TREK 3700), while its a mountain bike, its more of a recreational bike and its great for pulling Katie on the Trail-a-bike and soon I will pulling Elliot, and eventually Elliot and Brodie together, in one of those kiddie trailers. Now I could sell the Trek when I get the 29 incher but if I am going to put some serious coin into this bike do I want to stress it out with the kids or should I hold onto the Trek?

The other argument for holding onto to Trek is it makes a good loaner bike for anyone visiting that might want tool around the neighboorhood or accompany me on one of my rides in the neighboring forest. So I can't live without the TREK, and if one of the brood is big enough, they are going to inherit it.

My freeride and cross-stuntry bike that I am riding now is an '05 Giant AC and I love it. Love the adjustable rear travel and the feel of riding it. It's got the beefiness that I need for New England riding. However, since its full suspension, its not a true cross country bike.
That leads me to the future number 3 bike. I want something different, something special, and something for racing - yes, I want to start doing enduro races! Therefore, I have decided I want a 29 incher.

So it took me one day to decide on the TREK and I suppose that was foolish (I am an impulse shopper), but TREK was recommended to me by a co-worker, so maybe I didn't do too bad. Where I went wrong was the LBS (Local Bike Shop) whom I think I may have ranted about in an earlier post. It took me two weeks to decide on the AC. Cost and durability were the issues. Willingness to spend good money (triple of what I spent on the Trek) was important and getting my money's worth with something that could take big hits and alot of abuse was also key.

First thing is to find a frame, fork, wheels, brakes, gears, and lastly peddles and yes, I am going clipless.

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