Obsolescence

[DDB@OCR]

Random thoughts on Old and New.

Monday I was out hammering around the hill here....about 90 mins in I ran over a nice strand of beugenvilla (sp?), got both tires.

Neato.

Hauled butt back towards the truck and safety.....came up on the last steep section and grabbed way too much front changer and *Bang!*. My fault.

Ol 'Trigger' kept going and I wasnt gonna stop till it did.

Made it back to the truck just as the back rim was touching down and the front was mushed out bad as well. Yay!

Inspected the damage- one link plate was gone, but the opposing side was hanging tough and it got me home. Sweet!
I also just replaced the cassette, rings and chain so the new chain 'issues' on an old drive train was not going to be an issue. Yay again!

So I'm merrily wrenching away on the bike last night and thinking how much service I've gotten out of it, how many parts I've replaced and the increasing obsolescence (sp?) of the drive train, brakes, wheels etc.

Sram 9.0/XT, 8-speed, rim brakes, blah blah blah, 2002 Access frame (incredible bomb proof thing for 100$, which replaced my retired Curtlo that is in mothballs waiting a build up with all new goodies).

I've always pretty much built my all bikes from a bare frame.
It was easy and affordable to build a 'light' bike with bro-deals, upgrading along the way and parts were plentiful.

The old mount still rips, fork, bar/stem, post etc is current and I have no performance complaints, but....the wheels are getting old, the rear hub pawls are wearing out (no parts avail) *kang!*
(every so often) and walking in to my LBS and simply plucking light, good stuff off shelves is not really an option too much any more. The rear hub is keeping me close to home. I won't risk a remote group ride with it. My spares are in the same condition too so....

When I replaced the 2000 hollow-tech XT crankset 3 weeks ago with a current LX, the spacing was wrong and the chain was way crossed up......so I pulled the rings off the LX and modified them to fit on my XT spider, works great but I'm kinda burnt on doing all these mods and stuff...ya know- hodge-podge.

I'm sure you've all been here.
I could prolly keep it alive forever, but at what cost. I could go all out, go nuts and spend a ton on high-end goodies and make it really current, but.....again, at what cost.

I've been reaserching bikes of late and it's amazing what some of the off-the-rack-bikes have to offer in terms of weight, performance etc. for the price. I'm not too sure I can build one that cheap/light/trail-worthy anymore.

So I chatted with my LBS, a Giant dealer, and I'm pretty convinced I'm going with the XTC Alliance for 2008, for a few reasons.
One is my bud/owner of the LBS is my mentor from '72 so it will feel good giving him the biz.

Prolly will feel kind of weird riding an off-the-rack machine at first, but yikes! They sure look well equipped. And I'll prolly forget any isues I have the first time I use the DICS BRAKES. And getting high-end parts that fit and work prolly might not be as much of an issue as well.

Prolly be able to do some more remote area group rides as well w/o the worry of a rear hub finally giving up the ghost (*KANG!, whizzz!...growl, growl*...aaaaand walk).

So as soon as property taxes are paid- I'm convinced it's shopping time.



OutWithTheOldInWithTheNew

[DDB@OCR]

Did I mention I've been using the same 8.0 levers/twist shifters since '99?

Well, I am!

Okay, nuf o' dat- off to my LBS.

(taxes are gonna be a lil late...so sue me)



Weeeeeeeee!

[mtnbikerfred]

The "death" of my '98 Gary Level Betty FHO was an obsolete shock... Even with nearly decade old parts and technology, it was a great bike.

Now that I have my Kona, I'd never look back. Ask for an extension on the taxes...

[El Salt]

[FONT=Arial]I’ve got a Merlin (HT) frame that I bought new in about ’91 or so. Now converted to (the worlds most expensive?) beach cruiser. Single speed, balloon tires, etc. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]Talk about obsolete... One inch head tube, and “U-brake” mounts on the seat stay. It’s running a “McMahan Power-Link” brake, Ti springs and such, but definitely old school technology.[/FONT]

[Steven Jackson]

That is awsum!

[mntbiker12]

Those Giant XTC hardtails are tight! A buddy has one gathering mothballs as well and that thing is badass light. You're not an XL by any chance? I know he's looking to sell...

[DDB@OCR]

Originally Posted by mntbiker12

Those Giant XTC hardtails are tight! A buddy has one gathering mothballs as well and that thing is badass light. You're not an XL by any chance? I know he's looking to sell...

I wish.....I'ma Medium.

I got to thinking on the way home....
And- doing like I should when befuddled by my own thoughts, went for a trail ride.

I also looked around the garage, the 750 needs tires, so does the 250, truck needs a trans service, and, property taxes are due in a few.

Trigger is still pretty tight so it will live another day...the driveline is fresh, and if the rear drive hub holds a few more weeks, I'm good.

As much as I wanna order this new ride, I gotta stick to the plan and do the 'right thing', so to speak. But it is on the fast-track of things to do.

But - an extension on those taxes? Hmmmm.....options! Never even thought of that....

Wonder if the shop will sell it to me in the box.

[DDB@OCR]

Called Giant to get some weight figures.

They didn't really know- no figures on that yet. Real helpful though on other questions, as they always are. Good peeps there.

Dood also told me the bike is not being released till mid Nov/Dec. And- they are only shipping a few of these units (17?) to the west coast on the first shipment for some reason. Also told me to get my order in early etc.

So I went on down to the shop and put a deposit on one. They are going to e-mail the order in and confirm my spot in line.

Looks like taxes will be on time, but the bike won't.



Hang in there Trigger!