Got the bike!

My new/used Trek Top Fuel 69er was delivered on Saturday. I came back from a ride on the Superlight and was happy to see the box sitting on the front porch.

I hurried up to put it together, but was unhappy to see that the frame suffered some bad abrasion where the wheel hub had rubbed against it during shipping. It looked like that area wasn't protected well by whoever packed it. While the abrasions go into the aluminum a little, I don't think it's deep enough to cause any problems. If I paint over it I'll probably forget it's there. However, I'm likely going to take it to a shop and get a second opinion. The seller is going to contact FedEx about making a claim in case this damage is more serious than I think.

I've already swapped some parts on the bike... rear wheel, crankset, pedals, and saddle. Next up will be a carbon handlebar and a lighter seat post. I'm considering what I can do to lighten the front wheel, but will go tubeless once I find a setup that's available and works.

The seller shipped it with a "rear" tire on the front... not sure if he prefers to ride it like that or if he just threw something on there to get it out the door... I'll roll with it for now, but not for long.

Still haven't had it out on the trail... hopefully, no CERTAINLY I will ride it today.

All for now.

First post on the first day of my first blog

Waiting for my new/used Trek Top Fuel 69er... can't wait!

As painful as it will be, I will likely sell one or both of my [now] spare bikes... the 2004 Haro XLS R7 or the 2007 Santa Cruz Superlight. The Haro was my first real mountain bike that I bought in 2004 when living in Arden NC... it is an underrated bike and rides really nice. Plus it has some sentimental value. The Superlight is a very nice bike. It looks really good, it's light weight, and has more actual cash value. Another option rather than selling the entire bike is to simply sell everything except the frame and fork. The only problem with this is that I will likely never really ride either of them again. I had the Haro set up as a spare for about 2 years and never touched it... never loaned it to anyone either. So the concept of having a spare sounds good, but isn't all that real.

I just won the Trek 69er on eBay on Sunday. I first rode one only a couple of weeks ago and was blown away by the big front wheel. It's so superior to a 26" front wheel I can't believe that anyone rides 26" in the front anymore. It rolls over everything faster and easier, it goes over rough stuff faster, handles great, climbs great, etc etc. I also tried some full 29er's, but I didn't like them any more than the 69er... so I made my decision and don't regret it for a second. The 69er will be my new ride until I decide I want something else.

One of the first things I'll do is replace the rear wheel with my light weight and tubeless Race X Lite, replace the drivetrain with my Race Face Deus cranks, and go tubeless on the front wheel. I will also weigh most of the other parts and decide if I should replace anything else. I'm wondering about that Bontrager saddle... it's comfy, but maybe heavy. Everything else on the bike seems pretty reasonable right now.

All for now... must do some work.