Well, over the last few years I have become what I guess I would call a retro grouch. I have enjoyed singlespeeding just for the pure simplicity and fun. That does not mean that I do not have some newer toys. Actually, I purchased a Giant NRS to bring me some what in to the 20th century in biking. A far cry from what I had raced and rode for years. I do like the disk brakes, but some of the other stuff I could do with out. I have a fork that moves freely through the travel depending on how much force is applied to it. I thought this was a good thing, until I went over my first big log and just about ate it because my shock kept going when I didn't think it would.
I didn't like the shifting that came with it, but have since swapped out for some SRAM stuff that I do like. The biggest problem I have had was the fact that even though I didn't ride it a lot, my rear shock decided to no longer hold air. I needed a bike before I went to Colorado last year and didn't really have the $100 to fix the shock. So, I purchased a replacement shock off of evil bay. The problem was that the spacers were not interchangeable. Well, I put my head to it and ended up with a stack of washers as my spacers. This actually worked quite well and survived the whole week out west. Actually the spacers and shock is still on the bike and working.
Well, this spring I was going to do my part and stick it to the man that wants everyone to spend a ton of money working and upgrading their bike all the time. I have a 1997 Proflex 857 that I built up to ride. I figured that it worked great back then and still works good, why not use it. Well last weekend I finally got off of the road bike long enough to take it for a spin. Needless to say I was not pleased with my experience. I am ready to strip it apart and put it on ebay. Actuall it is not the frames fault. Everyone would think that an old bike like that could not stand up to today's standards, but it does climb very well and is really light.
The problems of the ride started when I was having some ghost shifting problems and my chain wanting to slip over the teeth when I put a good load on it. Then when I put it in the granny gear, it was grinding even more and ready to slip and hurt me. So, I just kept it in the middle ring and did what I could.
Then I started to hear a sound that reminded me of a cracked frame. I thought great, I just what I needed. But, it turns out that my head set was making all the noise and sounded like it was ready to explode. Top that with my rear break cable not working as smooth as it should, making my wrist hurt for the next two days. I am ready to take the plunge and buy a new bike. I really hate to, but I just think I need to. I know I could ride my SS more and get back in to shape enough to ride that bike well. But, I have plans to ride more at Pisgah this winter. I don't think I am up to that challenge. So, that puts me in the bike market with no money. Just where I wanted to be.
The only positive out of the problem is, I plan on putting my shock back on my SS to help with my wrist problems. Rigid was fun, but I have abused my body too much over the years to deal with the after math.
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