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New bike! And my shopping experience

4K views 14 replies 7 participants last post by  Montanadan 
#1 ·
I got one! Finally, for the first time in my life I have a truly nice bike! I set today aside to do just that...go find me a nice new bike. I've been researching and reading and asking questions on here, so I felt well prepared to go shopping for a ride. I visited 4 stores and rode a few bikes, including a 29er. In the end I chose my original choice, the Specialized Pitch 650b Sport. The 29er I rode was too big for me, but it was an opportunity to see how the 29s felt rolling. It was a Trek Excalibur. It was a sweet bike, but the forks were ass, and the mechanical discs were nothing to write home about. It threw the chain almost right away, but once I put it back on and shifted into more compatible gear matches it was actually smoother than the Pitch. But the Pitch felt stronger and lighter, the brakes are awesome and the shifting pretty excellent. I think the Trek had less drivetrain noise, but the mech brakes and fork, which did not have a lockout, spoiled the bike. If I were going to ride exclusively on pavement I'd spring for the 29s, but I'm happy I chose to stay on the 650b. I love it!! Thanks to everyone here who has provided awesome advice. Some of that advice was to utilize my LBS. I did and I couldn't be happier. The Spoke Shop in Billings, MT is just downright *****in. I dealt with a sales girl and mechanic, also a young woman. Both were super cool, ultra knowledgable, enthusiastic, and just generally pleasant and fun to be around. The entire shop just vibrates with enthusiastic energy. They even threw in a free Align helmet! Great place.
 

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#2 · (Edited)
I just bought one too. I got lucky. I know what you mean about a bike shop. I mean it is craziness to not think you are going to need them as a beginner that might not know all about bike care and tune ups. The internet option looked worse after being there, but they did offer to assemble and tune any bikes direct bikes for $80. Also fork rebuild is $80. I am glad I bought a better bike from them. I enjoyed taking it home that day. I enjoyed the free brake truing I got today though I did buy an underseat pack and a bike tool today. I actually do more trail backpacking style biking anyway and not so much real bike trails. I am glad I did not win the 2006 17 inch Giant Reign 2 I bid on, on eBay for 750. Sure. It was my size but I dislike full suspension and am not that aggressive. I like locking out my fork and bombing a hill while I jitter my own handlebars on purpose. It feels right. It feels good. I like it. Someday I may lose this fork for a fixed fork of some kind if I do not ever use it as intended or go on a real trail. Ride your bike before you buy it if you can. Only listen to what you know you like, but try some things out so you know for sure. I thought I liked hard tail with maybe even a fixed fork. I was right.
 
#3 ·
Cool, congrats!

A new bike is always so exciting!

And that's a nice looking bike too, I like white bikes.

Now lose the reflectors! LOL

(but get blinking front & rear lights if you plan on road riding at night)
 
#4 ·
Cool, congrats!

A new bike is always so exciting!

And that's a nice looking bike too, I like white bikes.

Now lose the reflectors! LOL

(but get blinking front & rear lights if you plan on road riding at night)
Thanks! I like it too, although I liked the black/white combo on the standard Pitch better...just reversed front my bikes paint scheme. But I went with the sport to get the better fork and juice brakes. For an extra $150 it was well worth it IMO. lol...Ya, the wheel reflectors are going bye-bye...I do have a light kit F n R, so that'll go on it.
Like battlelinefan, I thought I knew what I wanted and I was right. I think one of the biggest mistakes people make when buying a new bike is being over-ambitious and not honest with themselves. To my way of thinking, you don't need FS unless you're doing some serious downhill or fairly hardcore XC stuff. I'm not, and probably never will. I like the feel of an HT. The front susp is nice, but I kinda like locking it out too. This bike is lighter than an FS bike, which I will appreciate on pavement and trails alike. There is also less maintenance and things to break/go wrong. I'm not bashing on FS bikes, just saying that for my riding and my wallet, this bike was the perfect choice. I love it!! My wife wants one too...too bad she cant fit on it..but the Jynkx looks to be this bike with a drop in the top tube, so that might be perfect for her.
 
#7 ·
thanks...the helmet is matchy-matchy, but why not? It's got some brown on it now :) Actually our clay is more of a grey. I'm loving this thing. The saddle isn't uncomfortable, but my ass needs callused-up before I can do a whole lot of riding. I've probably put about 10-12 miles on it so far, all in town just commuting. I put a computer on it yesterday to keep track of mileage, speed, etc.
 
#9 ·
MmmHmmm...I'll look at my options there...thank you! I'm also in the market for a new headlight. The little Zefal taillamp works good...the cheapo headlight not so much. It casts a dim bluish light that does nothing to aid my visability. My nightly commute has some very dark sections and I'd like to see the potholes coming before I hit them. I'm trying to find a good 300-400 lumen light for in the $50 range. Proving difficult.
 
#10 ·
#15 ·
Thanks BR101! I really liked the looks of the Crave but it was a bit out of my price range. I like the Airbornes but I wanted something I could test ride first. Maybe in time as I learn how the frameset geometry affects me and my riding style, I'll feel more comfortable mail-ordering my next bike, assuming there ever is a "next" bike...I love this thing!
 
#14 ·
I ended up buying a Moon Sports XP400. I got it for over half-off from Nashbar. We'll see how it works when it gets here. Anything is better than that crummy little Zefal. As for the reflectors, they are still on the bike. I like the idea of the 3M tape, or we have fantastic reflector material at my work...might use a little of that. It's adhesive, very tough (designed for use on rail cars), and some of the most reflective stuff I've ever seen. I'm looking to replace the pedals in short order, so I'll loose those reflectors, but with a little tape on them I'll get that quality back. Since my bike is white already, I can almost make the strips of reflective tape invisible.
 
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