Date: May 5, 2007
Soundtrack: Queen - Bicycle Race
Don't need to watch the video. Just listen to the music to set the mood.
I'd decided to get a new bike. My Haro X6 was an ok bike to begin with, but as I gained experience riding, I learned that it was not the bike I needed. You see, the X6's geometry matches other brands' XC bikes. XC bikes have aggressive head angles and short wheelbases to encourage quick turns. They usually have about 4" of suspension travel, and most people use them on smoother trails or dirt roads. However, Waimea Canyon trails are a lot more difficult than a dirt road. I always felt my bike was a bit unstable on the tough stuff.
Ouch. Actually, I only scraped my elbows. I was more embarrassed than hurt.
Riley, Kyle, and Will use freeride/downhill bikes. Their bikes have 7+" of suspension travel to soak up large hits. They also have long wheelbases and slack head angles for stability on the downhill slopes. I've ridden their bikes, and I could notice the stability right away.
But I still crash. But that's not the point.
Kyle's bike felt battleship-stable on the downhills, but turned a little too slow for me. I had to slow down a lot on the fast singletrack sections of the trail. I also crashed his bike by riding way over my head. I ended up unconscious while my so-called friends took pictures.
Riley's bike also felt great. But even with his $1200 downhill fork, I struggled to turn. I went wide on a few turns on the fast sections of the trail. Now my crash on Riley's bike was a freak accident. A branch got stuck in the spokes. I'll show you the mark on my ribs from the pungee sticks if you ask.
I decided I needed a true All-Mountain bike.
Alas, we teachers don't make much money. So instead of getting a complete bike that would cost $2000, I bought a frame for $500. Since I already had upgraded parts on the Haro, I could transfer those parts to the new frame and get good performance.
This is the Marin Rock Springs. It's a 6" travel frame designed to handle rougher trails than the X6. This picture was taken right when the frame arrived. Riley couldn't wait to touch things. If you ever take him for a ride in your car, he will touch every single control he can get his hands on. I'm not sure if it's ADHD or OCD.
Now because Riley makes $60-80k a year doing nothing but complaining, tuning bikes, and building ladder bridges, my bike was 90% complete in 2 hours. He likes to say that he's the hardest working guy around, but if that was true, my bike would still be in pieces.
And here it is. Almost totally complete. Only one part could not transfer from the X6 to the Marin.
The front derailleur. This is the part that moves the chain across the different front sprockets.
So off we went to Bicycle Johns.
It was Saturday. Riley is at the drag races, and I'm getting over a cold. So instead of riding, Kyle, Satoshi, and I went to the local bike shop to get the cables needed to finish my bike. (We didn't get the derailleur yet. Didn't figure it out until later.) Satoshi must have been hating life since my car is a no smoking zone. I quit smoking several years back. Yay me. I've taken up being an asshole instead. Trade one nasty habit for another, I say.
After picking up the parts we needed, Satoshi suggested we get some lunch.
I wanted to go inside to order, but Kyle insisted we go through the drive thru. Great idea. Let's make someone who is coughing and sounds like a frog order through a crap microphone.
Things went bad from the start. The car in front of me was a generic-too-big-to-be-useful-diesel-gigantosaurus-mobile-penis. I couldn't move far enough forward to get right to the mic. I had to project my feeble voice like the fat lady in the opera.
Me: What do you guys want?
Them: Don't know.
KFC: Hellow, welkum two kay ef see. Can eye take yor ordur plees?
Me: So what do you guys want?
Them: Don't know yet.
KFC: Can eye take yor ordur plees?
Me: Um.
Satoshi: Ask if they have that bowl stuff.
Me: Do you guys have that bowl stuff?
KFC: Dee kay ef see bole. Yes.
Me: OK, can I get one of those?
KFC: Wood yoo lik dee meel?
Me: OK.
KFC: Wat kine ov dreenk?
Satoshi: Diet Coke.
Me: Diet Coke.
KFC: No more die et koke. Die et pepschi?
Me: OK. Kyle, what do you want?
Kyle: Get me a 10 piece hot wings.
Me: There's no 10 piece. Only 6 or 18.
Kyle: Six.
Satoshi: Get me six too.
Me: Can we also get 2... 3... 18 pieces of hot wings?
KFC: No more dee hot weengs. Eets a ten meenut weight.
Kyle: Ah, just get the bowl.
Me: OK, make that three bowls altogether.
Satoshi: And two snackers.
Me: And two Snackers.
KFC: Tank yoo four yor ordur. Plees dribe fourward.
(I drive to the next window)
KFC: asdhjaksh tyhe dkiea dreenk?
Me: What?
KFC: asdhjaksh tyhe dkiea dreenk?
Kyle: Diet Pepsi.
Me: Diet Pepsi.
I hate drive thrus.
So we get to Kyle's workplace and eat. I get to see my bike for the first time. It looks really cool in person. Kyle routed the cables and removed the front derailleur so that the bike was usable. I rode that sucker around with an ear to ear grin. It feels more stable and plush than the X6. The front wheel feels slightly farther in front, which should add some confidence on the steep downhills. While the bike feel more stable, it still turns quick. The suspension even works like the magazine reviews said. It rolls over bumps without kicking you up. Of course this is just a test ride in an industrial zone. I can't wait to try it out on the trails. The amazing thing is that even though the suspension is plush enough for a smooth ride, there is no pedal bob. I'm hoping I will be able to tackle the steep hills without having to push the bike.
