I primarily ride road bikes and triathlon bikes since triathlon is my sport of choice. However, some cross training is always fun. And working at a bike shop has heightened my taste for the sport of biking as a whole. Not only just more road biking, but owning a cyclocross bike now and my most recent acquisition, a mountain bike. And not just any bike at that...
A Trek Superfly 100 Elite.
This isn't the actual bike I have. I was given the frame, fork, seat, seat post, handle bar, stem, wheels, front shifter and front and rear derailleurs. So, almost a complete bike.
The bike is made from Trek's OCLV Mountain Carbon, their own proprietary carbon formulation built specifically for mountain biking. And this bike is meant to go fast. With 29 inch wheels and 100mm of front suspension, it's meant for racing. The lightweight frame is an added bonus.
The hardest part for me so far in building up the rest of this bike is learning what parts I actually need. When it comes to road and triathlon bikes I can nail everything right on the head. However, with the wheels and Trek's ABP rear dropouts (the suspension won't lockout under heavy braking) I need an axle conversion kit to fit the frame on these wheels. I also need a specific length skewer to handle it as well.
The fun part about this for me has been the amount of learning I have done in the past couple weeks just to get the right parts and good parts. I have selected to go with Shimano's XT line. If you're familiar with their road lineup, this is comparable to Ultegra. One step below their top of the line products. XT rotors, XT brakes, XT shifters, XT brake levers, XT 2x 170mm crank and XT cassette and chain. A perfect build in my opinion. At least for now.
I have a lot to learn in the mountain bike game, both on and off the bike. I grew up mountain biking a lot, but on a full rigid bike. This is going to be quite a change for me from what I am used to. But I am looking forward to it. I keep counting down the days for all my parts to get here and so I can build it up and get out riding. That is also dependant on the weather. Of which we're not having the greatest of in the midwest. Trails in the area are closed in crappy weather like this so they don't get torn up. Understandably so, but the itch is getting so tough not to scratch.
-Dave
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