Hey folks,
I have a 2008 Rockhopper Disc 29'er that I bought last Spring and have (with help here) just about "dialed in" to me, fit-wise. (I talked myself into a 21" when a 19" might have been better for my 6'1" fatboy frame.) I have since changed stem and adjusted my seating position and handlebars/grips to where I DO find the bike to be both comfortable and enjoyable to ride.
LBS is all Specialized and I was coming back into biking after a ten year absence, so I was more eager than choosy when shopping for a new ride. I fell in love with the orange M4 frame with the bomber motif and I made myself like the big bike.
90% of the riding I do is on relatively mellow cleared trails and miles and miles of perfectly flat canal tow path.
All that said, after putting a few hundred miles on the bike in the last few months, I am starting to sense limitations in the suspension fork (RS Dart 3) and the brakes (Avid BB5).
In shopping around for upgrades, I am more than a little surprised by the price points, especially the fork.
I am also seeing lots of really cool steel, sometimes handmade, hardtails that remind me of my favorite bikes of yore.
Which brings me to my question(s);
- Is my RH worthy of perhaps $500-1000 (If I do wheels/drivetrain too) worth of upgrades or would I be better off selling this for say $500 and buying a $1000-1500 complete bike that already has the upgraded parts, more or less.
- I love to buy American and, even more so, local products and I have thus developed an attraction for the Pennsylvania-made EWR OWB 29er. Figure it would cost me almost $4000 for a top of the line build on one of those.
Am I crazy to even consider such a beast when I have a perfectly good (and possibly upgraded) RH to ride on my relatively un-challenging paths?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts on this obviously subjective set of questions.
Cheers,
Drum
I have a 2008 Rockhopper Disc 29'er that I bought last Spring and have (with help here) just about "dialed in" to me, fit-wise. (I talked myself into a 21" when a 19" might have been better for my 6'1" fatboy frame.) I have since changed stem and adjusted my seating position and handlebars/grips to where I DO find the bike to be both comfortable and enjoyable to ride.
LBS is all Specialized and I was coming back into biking after a ten year absence, so I was more eager than choosy when shopping for a new ride. I fell in love with the orange M4 frame with the bomber motif and I made myself like the big bike.
90% of the riding I do is on relatively mellow cleared trails and miles and miles of perfectly flat canal tow path.
All that said, after putting a few hundred miles on the bike in the last few months, I am starting to sense limitations in the suspension fork (RS Dart 3) and the brakes (Avid BB5).
In shopping around for upgrades, I am more than a little surprised by the price points, especially the fork.
I am also seeing lots of really cool steel, sometimes handmade, hardtails that remind me of my favorite bikes of yore.
Which brings me to my question(s);
- Is my RH worthy of perhaps $500-1000 (If I do wheels/drivetrain too) worth of upgrades or would I be better off selling this for say $500 and buying a $1000-1500 complete bike that already has the upgraded parts, more or less.
- I love to buy American and, even more so, local products and I have thus developed an attraction for the Pennsylvania-made EWR OWB 29er. Figure it would cost me almost $4000 for a top of the line build on one of those.
Am I crazy to even consider such a beast when I have a perfectly good (and possibly upgraded) RH to ride on my relatively un-challenging paths?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts on this obviously subjective set of questions.
Cheers,
Drum