2/2/08

Built up a New Bike, now ride it!


My Brother-in-Law has needed a new bike for a long time. He is riding a bike that is too small for him so I said that if he would give me $500 I would get him a good bike. I have a bunch of 29er parts and since he is 6'3" so I think that a 21" 29er frame would be a good fit for him. I built up the bike with:

Motobecane Fantom 29 21" Matte Black frame
29er REBA fork
XTR Shifters
XT Rear Deraileur
LX Ft Deraileur
Bontrager Wheels
Avid ultimate levers
BB7 disc brakes,

So the bike had a cheaper frame with some really top level components.
Having the bike built up, I want to make sure it was in working order, so the best thing to do is ride it on a real ride:-)
I did not have my new 29er HiFi built yet so I decided to take this bike out to Fountain Head Regional Park for a spin with Ryan and his roommate. With the 29er wheels, and 100mm shock the trail was doable. I found that with the 100mm stem I had put on the bike, it fit me good, with the only issue having a little too light of a front end. One of the things that I have liked about 29ers is that when climbing the front end doesn't pop up, well this one did a little. I put on a 100mm stem, with my Brother-in-law he will ride with a 135mm. I think that the 100mm Stem needed to be lower so that wouldn't be an issue. I liked the bike, would really like to ride it at Roseryville, or Wakefield where the ride would be a little smoother. I think with my riding style(sitting) I need the Full squishy. I didn't really feel that strong hopefully, I will get stronger during my AZ trip.

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