I've made my way from the ss/fixed forum to the road forum and now to mtb -- as I start each new kind of riding. I've gone through 5 bikes in the last 11 years, and now, bike number 1 is rotating back to the front of the stable -- my 1999 (?) Specialized Hardrock FS. After a few years of semi serious road biking, I decided to dust this baby off and hit the trails. Had a great time last night, and now I'm looking to upgrade -- but I need help justifying it.
10 years ago this bike was only like 500 bucks, so it was never anything super special. But it is solid. I hate the stem (can't flip it -- the fork is actually threaded, with an adapter and then this weird adjustable stem), and the shock isn't worth much, and the grip shifts are a bit awkward. Put on my eggbeaters, and a decent saddle, so I'm connected to the bike well.
Since I don't see any racing or even serious riding in the near future -- would upgrading to something at around the $1000 mark be worth it? Maybe a bit more on one of the Titanium Motobcanes from BD (my road bike is Ti and I love it). I'm doing mostly single track in the Philly area for now... so XC seems to be the target style.
Please help me justify an upgrade.... or not.
