Went to Revolution Cycles on Saturday and got a professional fitting done. It was a bit pricey at $150 but considering the money I’m dropping on this bike, I wanted to make damn sure it fit well. Once the bike arrives and I build it up, they’ll help me adjust the relevant bits to achieve that elusive “perfect fit.” It’s probably all crap anyway, but I have nightmares of quitting somewhere in Kansas because my vertebrae are tied up in knots.
I ordered the bike through my part-time gig at REI. I started working there just before the holidays to pick up deals on climbing gear and it’s been great. The people are fabulous and have all done cool things like thru-hiking or long distance kayaking - all very supportive and excited for me. I’ll admit to getting annoyed with people who bitch about how expensive gear is - it’s a niche industry and no one is getting rich off it - if it’s that big a deal, get a fucking job. Almost everyone here is feeding some kind of expensive gear habit. I wish I could say I’m saving money, but really I’m just getting better gear for the same money.
After examining the fitting chart in great detail, I ended up getting a 16″ Big Dummy frame - the size I was planning to get before the fitting - but now I feel all scientific about it. Now I just have to wait, while amusing myself with bike porn.
I’ve decided to build the bike myself, a pretty daunting task, since I need to learn how it all goes together anyway. I’m going to spend a few Tuesday evenings wrenching with Phoenix Bikes, a group that teaches kids to build bikes here in Arlington. I like volunteering and it’ll help me at least get acquainted with the tools and parts.
This could go really badly.
February 18th, 2009 at 11:13 pm
Badly? Hogwash. As the great Charles Brown once said (from the pitcher’s mound, I believe): “How can we lose if we’re so sincere?”
You’re doing everything right: fitting (I did too, with Speedgoat), wrench training, and (it sounds like) carefully planning your moves versus jumping into the latest craze.
So, uh, welcome to the Cult of Dummy. It’s usually sunny in here, and if it’s not, Lord knows we’ve got a raincoat packed in the back.
February 18th, 2009 at 11:37 pm
Thanks for the support! I’m really freaking excited about getting this bike. Now I just gotta put my old one up on Craigslist. I checked out your pics and see that you did a custom snapdeck. Did you just sand & paint the stock one? I’ve been rooting around for ideas since it sounds like people have been having durability issues with their snapdecks.
February 20th, 2009 at 11:41 pm
Yeah, I did a (very) quick sand of the stock Snapdeck, rattle-canned it black, and did the lettering with whatever old paint I had around. But you’ve heard consistently: the deck is no permanent solution. I bought a factory-seconds TekDek from Xtracycle, but even it’s thin aluminum structure feels less than permanent. Still, I haven’t installed the TekDek yet, so…who am I to judge?