n + 1: my first MTB!

[Ered_Lithui]

After getting my cross bike in August, I decided it was going to be a very long time before I considered acquiring another bike of any sort. Then I started racing and having a blast, and within weeks I was lamenting the shortness of cross season and wondering how I was going to make it nearly a year with no off-road riding. But my boyfriend was skimming Craigslist daily on the lookout for a small mountain bike, and last week spotted an ad for a 1998 Gary Fisher Big Sur. I immediately texted the seller but was going out of town for the weekend so didn't get my hopes up. She volunteered to take it off Craigslist and wait until I could see it. Then when I did show up she quickly offered to drop the price, and I wound up with a $60 bike. (Yay for motivated sellers!) It needs a new chain, cassette, and cables, and the frame is pretty dinged up, but it came with some good wheels -- Mavic Crossroc UST tubeless. It's all I need right now for dipping my toe in.
*Excited*

[zoom-zoom]

Congrats...I see hours and hours of FUN in your immediate future!

That N + 1 thing is no joke! In 2 years time I have acquired...
1st road bike (entry level, aluminum, sold this Summer to a friend)
2nd road bike (mid-range, carbon)
1st CX bike (entry-level)
1st mtn. bike (1/2 original retail, since Cdale greatly overestimated how many petite size F5s they needed to make in 2009 and had a warehouse full of them to liquidate)

I didn't even think I'd like mountain biking...and wasn't sure I'd like CX. Turns out I love 'em both.

DS will be getting his first serious first-hand bike for Christmas (Redline Conquest 24). Eventually the plan is for him to inherit my Redline Conquest (which should fit him once he outgrows the 24) and my mtn. bike. Then I will upgrade both.

This N + 1 thing will never end in this house, at this rate.

[Nick]

Congrats! I bought a vintage Gary Fisher as a first hardtail MTB, and love it! It provided a perfect "return to biking" bike before I got my new Juliana (and is now the perfect "backup bike". Enjoy!

[SheFly]

Welcome to the sickness .

Next, you'll need a full suspension bike, a singlespeed, a 29er, a pit bike for CX ...

Unfortunately, at our house, N+1 never ends (and has taken on a brand new meaning as we are now outfitting a junior racing team!).

SheFly

[Ered_Lithui]

Oh dear.... :P I only half-jokingly suggested that the next home-improvement project be a stable.

[Miranda]

Nah.... every house should have a "bike room" lol...

Congrats on the new addition.

[SheFly]

Oh yes - when we built our addition 5 years ago, it included specific bike storage areas and a ramp into the basement. Yup - I can ride my bike directly into my basement when I get home!

SheFly

[Ered_Lithui]

Oh yes - when we built our addition 5 years ago, it included specific bike storage areas and a ramp into the basement. Yup - I can ride my bike directly into my basement when I get home!

*Drooling*

[Ered_Lithui]

I took it out on its first ride Sunday. It was, for lack of a better word, terrifying. New type of bike + trails that are "kinda technical" (riding buddy is a Cat 1 MTBer) + residual nervousness about falling (tore my rotator cuff in November and it's still mending) = a long, hard slog with lots of walking. Glad my partner was patient.

It got a bit better over the course of a few hours as we tweaked the bike and I got a feel for how it handled. Still, it was a huge shift from road or cyclocross. The handling was a bigger adjustment than I ever would have guessed. I'm looking forward to the next time, perhaps on some easier trails.

And now, pictures! We had to replace the fork, and so for now it's known as the McDonald's Bike.