I've been wondering how one knows when it's time to upgrade to a better MTB. What got me thinking about this is the incredible bikes ridden by the instructors of a beginner MTB clinic I'm taking now. One has an Independent Fabrications titanium 29er, one has a Santa Cruz superlight, you get the idea. We were doing some uphill drills the other night and they said that the bike will make a difference in the ease of climbing steep hills, hopping over logs etc., but I know that at this stage, it's my lack of skill (and excess weight), not the bike, that is holding me back, and probably will be for a very long while. And while I love mountain biking, I don't know that I'll ever be so into it that it will be worth buying a new bike.

So how do you know when you've outgrown your bike, or if you ever will? I've got a Kona Cinder Cone right now.

I'm always looking for an excuse to buy a new bike, but I just can't even imagine spending over $4,000 on a mountain bike (I can imagine spending that on a road bike, however...)