Get Outside!

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I road my bike to school in high school and college. At some point I got a Specialized Allez carbon fibre road bike, but didn’t do a ton of recreational riding. Utilitarian riding burned me out and I haven’t owned a bike in 20 years. This winter here in Northern California has been unusually dry and not too cold, so I figured what better way to get outside for some exercise than to start riding again. I’ve been hit before on the road and have decided motorists just don’t pay attention to bikes, so mountain biking it is!

At first I thought I could get away with a pre-built, cheapy bike, WRONG! If there is anything I know about myself it is I like to build it myself, and want something of good quality. So the research began…

  • I kept reading about 29 inch wheels, but didn’t pay too much attention. I’m 6’ and long inseam so “29er” sounded like a no brainer. (only later did I find out about all the arguments for and against)
  • Aluminum, Titanium, or Carbon? I had a carbon road bike, and it was OK perhaps a little too flexy. After seeing this test ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xreZdUBqpJs ) and knowing Boeing’s Dreamliner is more than half carbon, I decided carbon it must be.
  • Rigid, full or half “squish”? I like the simplicity of a full rigid, when I hear full suspension I imagine a rattling POS locked in front of the car wash. Then I looked at the kind of riding I like to do, uphill and downhills, and realized I’m getting old so a good full suspension might be helpful!

Great! I recognize Trek and Specialized brands so let’s order a 29 inch, full suspension, carbon fiber bike and hit the trails. Shop, shop, Google $7000, Craigslist $4000, ARE YOU NUTS it’s a bike! Maybe my dream bike ain’t going to happen!

I’m a maker so maybe I’ll make one myself, so I investigate carbon fiber construction techniques ( http://www.instructables.com/id/How-I-built-a-carbon-bike-frame-at-home-and-a-bam/ ), interesting but don’t have the time to invest in that right now. Then I realized Asia is carbon fiber central, Boeing uses primarily Toray Industries carbon, and the vast majority of carbon fiber bikes are made by two or three factories in China. I grew up hearing Made in China is junk, but at least when it comes to carbon fiber that couldn’t be further from the truth. After more research I found Hong Fu ( http://www.hongfu-bikes.com/ ) a company that sells a variety of well respected carbon fiber bike frames direct. The designs are called “open mold”, they are designed by the various carbon manufacturers who leverage their design expertise working with all the major vendors. By going direct I could get a frame for ¼ the cost of a branded frame.

So that is my decision process in a nutshell. Check is in the mail so to speak (Paypal) and my frame should be here any day!