Hi
It all started about 8 weeks ago when I packed
up smoking, I found I had loads of excess energy and no where
to spend it, A mountain bike was purchased.
It was the best bike in the world, it must be, it cost
me £160 and had front suspension!
I haven't own a "push bike" for more than 20 smoke filled years
and £160 is a lot of money to me, bought from Halfords and called
the Apollo Transition it was a trusty 2 wheeled stallion and life
could not have been better. I then went on to buy all the necessary
accessories for "mountain biking".
Starting new hobbies is a hobby of mine, and I tend to jump in with
both feet and a blindfold on, I bought a mountain bike magazine (What
Mountain Bike) only to find the Apollo name not listed at all.
Some guy was giving advice on buying a new mountain bike and
says if you are buying a "bargain basement" bike for less than £200
don't buy one with ANY suspension !! The mag didn't really
recognise any bike under £200 Kona, Specialized, Muddyfox etc etc
all alien names to me. "OH well, maybe he is wrong" I tried to tell myself.
After about a week of riding, the pumping muscle
pain that I felt when I stopped peddling, was starting to fade and my [censored]
was becoming accustomed to the torture "Gel" saddle, this included an add
on layer of drawstring retained gel. Rides in excess of 5 miles were now
possible
Its amazing what you miss when driving a car, I have found loads of bridle
paths
and short cuts that I didn't know existed and ive lost count of the number
of rabbits, squirrels etc that ive seen.
Disaster struck at the end of the second week, the bottom bracket failed
and the cranks were flapping and clonking.
Why is it called a bottom bracket? its not a bracket , its a bearing.
Terminology
as well as technology has obviously moved on.
I took the bike back to Halfords, 2 days later and still no bike, I went
round there to see why not, after realising it wasn't their top priority
(understandably) I asked for my money back, a lot of ummms and arrghs
followed, so I asked about and upgrade, no problem.
The assistant then proceeded to show me almost every bike in the shop,
even getting some out of the warehouse for me to try, explaining to
pros and cons of the various bikes, disc brakes, full sus etc.
I ended up getting a GT aggressor in the end, although I almost bought
the Kona Fire Mountain. OK these are still classed as the low'ish
end of mountain bikes, but they are a world away from my first purchase.
Im not sure of the moral of my story, maybe its you get what you pay for?
maybe its look before you leap?
But its definitely stop smoking, ive never felt so alive 🙂
BoB