I don’t think I’ve ridden a bike since 2003, and even then it was very little. I actually out-grew my Kona Fire Mountain I bought waaaaaay back in early 1997. I’m surely a foot taller now. (…and likely in other dimensions too.)
So with the heat-of-death receding, I dragged my father to Full Cycle with me on Saturday to look at some mountain bikes. I like Full Cycle. Full Cycle has Kona bikes. I like Kona Bikes. I like them thiiiiiiiiiiiiiis much:
The guy at the shop described it as a “big guy” kind of bike… which seems rather apt. (Both the bike for me, and the description 🙂 They actually had the Hoss in stock, but I wanted the upgraded disc brakes for the double-cylinder action… so I’m looking at the Deluxe model. When I walked in, I wasn’t sure whether I wanted a soft-tail (rear suspension) or not. I never was a big fan of them as they can absorb a lot of down/forward energy, especially when riding on level territory – like riding on roads across town.
Turns out that the low-end full-frame suspension bikes start around $1500-$2000… I was immediately put off by the notion because I certainly didn’t want to sink $2K on something that’s described “entry level”. And the sales guy made it clear that those suspensions aren’t designed for someone as big as me anyway, so if I really wanted to do that, I’d be into the mid- to high-end bikes. Pass. Good sales guy tho – he was telling me this to discourage me from buying up there.
The Hoss was stickered at (IIRC) $1050… this was coming in rather below budget, so I was curious what the other options were. I was shown the Caldera, which is very similar to the Hoss but a slightly lighter(duty) frame but better accessories (derailleurs, brakes) and they has a 20″ frame in storage, but I just wasn’t taking to it… and the lighter frame just worried me.
I should mention that since my height is all in my legs, that bike shopping is rather challenging… there aren’t many bikes under $1000 that come with big enough frames for me. That’s actually the reason I stopped riding my Fire Mountain – couldn’t make a full plunge on the pedals because the distance between the seat and crank was too little – and I’d already had the seat beyond the max-height marker.
Anyway, I’ll call the shop tomorrow and see if they can get the Hoss Deluxe in a 20″. I’ve missed the season so getting stock is going to be random at best.
I miss riding so much. It actually occurred to me that I don’t have any photos in my gallery because I never really rode much since I’ve owned a digicam. That’s lame.