BCBorn
Cruising
- May 11, 2011
- 25
- 0
Some history...
The last time I bought a frame and built a bike up was back in the mid 90's. I went from a chromoly Specialized rockhopper (bright orange) to a GT Zaskar LE frame. About a year after that build I went from the Zaskar to a Trek OCLV 9900.
I was fully involved in riding at the time. I would go to school once and a while, but would usually blow off classes to head to the local trails, and then hang out at the bike shop for a few hours to help fix some wheels, repack some hubs, etc. Life was about riding and living MTB.
After hauling the Trek to Japan and back, I sold it so I could buy a plane ticket for a third trip. Was married a few months later. A few months after that we found out a baby was on the way. A new bike fell out of the picture. Eventually I bought a Schwinn Moab in '99 or so. It was cheap, already built, and all I did was ride it now and again. No upgrades, no part swaps, fully stock. I drifter further and further away from riding, and eventually the bike was collecting dust and rust. When it was stolen about a year ago, I actually laughed to myself. The thief actually saved me the hassle of disposing of it. Don't know how s/he managed to ride away on it; flat tires, rusty chain, blown fork seals, all the signs of being abandoned. I know, how could I!
About a month ago I realized how much I missed riding, and decided it was time to get back into cycling. Not sure what the catalyst was, but I would hazard a guess it was the guys in the office all starting to commute into work. They now had an excuse to stink and be sweaty, and I didn't
So I bought a frame. For the first time in almost 20 years I was going to build a frame up.
But guess what, things have changed! What the hell is "free ride" and "all mountain?" What happened to the simple cross country hard tail and the downhill full suspension?
I think I am going to need some help with this build
Hopefully you will join me as I make some mistakes and try to navigate through the seemingly over complicated world of modern day MTB.
Thanks for reading. I promise future posts will be less story and more build!
The last time I bought a frame and built a bike up was back in the mid 90's. I went from a chromoly Specialized rockhopper (bright orange) to a GT Zaskar LE frame. About a year after that build I went from the Zaskar to a Trek OCLV 9900.
I was fully involved in riding at the time. I would go to school once and a while, but would usually blow off classes to head to the local trails, and then hang out at the bike shop for a few hours to help fix some wheels, repack some hubs, etc. Life was about riding and living MTB.
After hauling the Trek to Japan and back, I sold it so I could buy a plane ticket for a third trip. Was married a few months later. A few months after that we found out a baby was on the way. A new bike fell out of the picture. Eventually I bought a Schwinn Moab in '99 or so. It was cheap, already built, and all I did was ride it now and again. No upgrades, no part swaps, fully stock. I drifter further and further away from riding, and eventually the bike was collecting dust and rust. When it was stolen about a year ago, I actually laughed to myself. The thief actually saved me the hassle of disposing of it. Don't know how s/he managed to ride away on it; flat tires, rusty chain, blown fork seals, all the signs of being abandoned. I know, how could I!
About a month ago I realized how much I missed riding, and decided it was time to get back into cycling. Not sure what the catalyst was, but I would hazard a guess it was the guys in the office all starting to commute into work. They now had an excuse to stink and be sweaty, and I didn't
So I bought a frame. For the first time in almost 20 years I was going to build a frame up.
But guess what, things have changed! What the hell is "free ride" and "all mountain?" What happened to the simple cross country hard tail and the downhill full suspension?
I think I am going to need some help with this build
Hopefully you will join me as I make some mistakes and try to navigate through the seemingly over complicated world of modern day MTB.
Thanks for reading. I promise future posts will be less story and more build!