Love this forum, but it makes me want the latest and greatest bikes oh so bad. I just bought my first mountain bike a year ago with the intention of not having to upgrade or trade up so soon. I thought I dropped a good amount of coin on a bike, but now that I fell in love w/ MTB and this forum, it makes me lust after >$5K bikes. Well I've found that everytime I feel this way, I find that hopping on my bike and going for a ride cures me (albeit temporarily) of this urge. I think once I demo something amazing, this cure won't work, but until that day, riding is the best cure!
The only cure for wanting a new bike is to just ride your own
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Yeah, having a top of the line bike is cool, but think about what this is really about. It's about the exhilaration and fun we take in while riding. It's about how it makes us feel. Enjoy what you have and just have fun. I rode 'beater' bikes for years and while I lusted for a better ride, I had the time of my life. It's about the experience.
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I started going to demo days with a bit more interest when I started seeing the light at the end of the tunnel working on my degree.
I did buy a bike a few months after going back to paid full-time work, though nowhere near $5000. But it's kind of amazing how often I got the wrong message at demo days. My real takeaway is that setup is hugely more important than what the part is, so long as it's good enough or the right size or whatever to be set up correctly in the first place.
I did buy a bike a few months after going back to paid full-time work, though nowhere near $5000. But it's kind of amazing how often I got the wrong message at demo days. My real takeaway is that setup is hugely more important than what the part is, so long as it's good enough or the right size or whatever to be set up correctly in the first place.
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225 Posts
heck I just bought a bike and want another. Bike is good for the most part but I wish I went with a FS bike.
Probably end up buying one next summer, wont be $5000+ though.
Probably end up buying one next summer, wont be $5000+ though.
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1,201 Posts
I rode the most on a crappy, heavy, overly stiff mid-90s GT Timberline with a softride 'suspension' stem. Youth and lack of money for anything better was great motivation to just STFU and ride. I lusted after fat tube Cannondales and air/oil Rock Shox. Those bikes and shock would be considered mediocre by today's standards. I bet having one of those bikes in like-new condition it would still ride damn good and be fun to ride. If you want an expensive bike and can afford it, get it- life is too friggin' short - if you can't, love the one you're with.
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18,009 Posts
Absolutely^^
I finally did get a new ride but less than a year ago I was still on a rigid steel bike with v-brakes and it's hard for me to imagine that anyone out on the trail was having more fun than I was, and if they were I doubt that it was because of the bike. My new bike is a lot nicer in many ways but I had just as good of a time on the old one.
No doubt fellow riders, being on the trail is IT! 2 thoughts; andrwswitch said it, set-up is major. From tire condition and pressure to saddle/bar/pedal if it fits we can move that bike, and work on the skills to turn faster and land smoother. 2nd the 'I want more' gene is well represented among us. My awesome new bike is only 7 months old and I'm spending time thinking about carbon frames as an upgrade.
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3,178 Posts
One sure way to end up as an 80 year old wal-mart greeter who can't afford to quit is to keep buying a new $5k bike every year. Ride what you got and enjoy the experience! 
Perfectly put. I think some individuals can afford the super expensive bikes on a regular cycle, but for the rest of us sometimes it's good to think about the big picture. I have a great job, making good money, but I also want to be able to do things like retire, travel, etc. Live within your means and enjoy what you have (it's the secret to a happy life)!
My favorite quote (Art Buchwald) "The best things in life aren't things"
My favorite quote (Art Buchwald) "The best things in life aren't things"
One sure way to end up as an 80 year old wal-mart greeter who can't afford to quit is to keep buying a new $5k bike every year. Ride what you got and enjoy the experience!
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When I resumed riding last year (after an 8 yr absence) I saw the new bikes and learned about the new tech and wheel sizes. My old bike is a 15 y.o. Cannondale SuperV700SX. But its a low mileage bike. So I decided I was just going to keep riding it. It could take anything that trail had to give it. So I rode it until last Sept. when the swing arm cracked. The bike shop mechanic told me about the lifetime warranty on the frame. But due to the bike's age there were no replacement arms available from Cannondale. So that's when I got a new bike because they gave me 40% off. So I bought a 2015 Scalpel 29 Carbon 3. Plus for a cost of roughly $220 I was able to fix the old bike too. I connected with someone on the Cannondale forum and he sold me a replacement arm (different design, same geometry) and I got the bike going again. So although right now I'm riding the new bike, I will also ride the old bike too.
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1,067 Posts
The only caveat I'd offer is that a beater exiles you in certain ways from increasing your circle. I was on a Sun Valley group ride one time where a really strong rider joined us. But he had a dated hardtail (elastomer fork) and not only had to work twice as hard to manage the trail, he just couldn't keep up with us on our FS railers. We felt really sorry for him and waited at junctions, etc., but it couldn't have been happy for him and it disrupted the rhythm of our ride. I'd hate to see any rider's options foreclosed simply because he chose to ride a beater, but that's the facts of life I'm afraid.
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5,578 Posts
I agree; there is indeed a line between a crap bike and one that will indeed bring one pleasure.
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I have been looking to upgrade from my 94 Trek 830 for the reasons you mention above. I got out of riding for some life reasons in the early 2000's, and am now able to come back. I found though that time and technology quickly "buried" my bike.
In my search for a new ride, I was overwhelmed with the options, and the amount of money that could be spent on a bike. It has taken me 2 years or soul searching; many thousands of lists; days of test riding; and finally getting my Bachelors Degree to filter it down to a Surly ECR. To me, it will be the last bike I buy....it should last me that long.
I agree with the OP topic in that getting out an riding what you have is the ultimate cure for GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome), but I believe that if you invest wisely, a new bike can be the permanent fix for GAS....I feel like I have "paid my dues" on my 830 and deserve the new ride. I also feel like the new ride is going to allow me to learn more about the skill of MTBing, as well as help me marry my two favorite past-times> biking and camping, to experience new things...
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If you think reading about expensive bikes makes you want them, whatever you do, don't go to any demo events and actually ride them.
My first fs bike, when I got back into the sport, was low priced with marginal shock, fork, and brakes, and it was heavy with noodly wheels.
I went to a demo event, and was almost through the event with my wallet unscathed, because I was only riding relatively low end bikes form the major manufacturers. While I could tell the bikes were better than what I was riding, they weren't enough better to make me think I needed to spend the money for a new bike. I was psyched to realize my bike was not the junk I had come to believe it was.
Then I took a spin on a pimped out carbon super bike. It was so much better than what I was used to riding, I was shocked. Everything about the ride was dramatically better.
Two days later, I bought a fairly well built version of that same bike.
That was in 2012. Still riding it today, and I've never regretted spending the money for it, but had I not ridden it in the first place, there is no telling how much longer I'd have been happy riding my first bike.
My first fs bike, when I got back into the sport, was low priced with marginal shock, fork, and brakes, and it was heavy with noodly wheels.
I went to a demo event, and was almost through the event with my wallet unscathed, because I was only riding relatively low end bikes form the major manufacturers. While I could tell the bikes were better than what I was riding, they weren't enough better to make me think I needed to spend the money for a new bike. I was psyched to realize my bike was not the junk I had come to believe it was.
Then I took a spin on a pimped out carbon super bike. It was so much better than what I was used to riding, I was shocked. Everything about the ride was dramatically better.
Two days later, I bought a fairly well built version of that same bike.
That was in 2012. Still riding it today, and I've never regretted spending the money for it, but had I not ridden it in the first place, there is no telling how much longer I'd have been happy riding my first bike.
Have truer words ever been written? I was on my 1st FS bike for over ten years, that is a long time when you're involved with racing. I kept telling myself the "fast guys can ride any decent bike faster than I would ride _____" fill in the blank with that years lust target. I did many rides just focusing on the trail and getting back to the truck happy with my old sled. It will feed the ego when you are railing around riders who are on something awesome.
Disk brakes, however are an example of worth-it. I did fine with V-brakes, but when I started riding (a then 6yr old) bike with disks I really liked the increased ability to brake late.
A tight bike that is set-up right is all it takes to love MTB.
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I rode both my mountain bikes today.
I had lots of fun on my '07 Upgradeitis Hardrock.
I had lots of fun on my '13 Kona Hei Hei DL.
I had lots of fun on my '07 Upgradeitis Hardrock.
I had lots of fun on my '13 Kona Hei Hei DL.
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3,178 Posts
Depends on the beater, but I know what you're saying. There is a certain point where gear is holding you back but that's not the case for most mountain bikers I'd say, me included.
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I like it as an excuse, though. There's a group that rides from my office regularly that I really can't keep up with on flat or descending technical stuff. But I only keep my old hardtail at work. So I never need to know if it's me or the bike.
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