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Newbie with a new bike

2009 Gary Fisher G2 Hardtail Marlin Disc

Some basic specs (from the website)....
Frame- Gold Series 6061 T6 aluminum, G2 Geometry, butted DT, cold-forged dropouts & BB
Front Shock- RockShox Dart 2, 100mm travel, custom G2 Geometry 46mm offset crown, coil spring w/turnkey lockout, external rebound
Front Derailleur - Shimano M531 Deore
Rear Derailleur - Shimano M531 Deore
Shifters- Shimano Deore M530
Cassette- SRAM PG950 11-32T, 9spd
Handlebar- Bontrager SSR riser, 25mm rise, 620mm width, 6d backsweep
Wheels- Shimano M475 6-bolt disc hubs, Bontrager Ranger disc rims, 32h
Brakeset- Avid BB5, mechanical disc, 160mm rotors
Crankset- Shimano M442-L, 44s/32s/22s

http://www.pics.rdontsowphotography....ke/Bike001.jpg

http://www.pics.rdontsowphotography....ke/Bike002.jpg

http://www.pics.rdontsowphotography....ke/Bike003.jpg

http://www.pics.rdontsowphotography....ke/Bike004.jpg

http://www.pics.rdontsowphotography....ke/Bike005.jpg

http://www.pics.rdontsowphotography....ke/Bike006.jpg

http://www.pics.rdontsowphotography....ke/Bike007.jpg

(image limit, more pics in next post)

I picked it up in January and finally got to take it out last week, I did 12 miles of paved trails, pretty uneventful but wanted to get a feel for the new bike. Later that day I replaced the seat and grips with Serfas RX and I've added 2 water bottle bottle cages.

The previous 2 days I got the chance to try it out on unpaved trails through the woods and some more technical densely wooded trails and I had a blast.

and my method of transportation :)

http://www.pics.rdontsowphotography..../BikeRack1.jpg

http://www.pics.rdontsowphotography..../BikeRack2.jpg

congrats on the new bike! ride till the wheels fall off

It's a nice bike, now your hooked!

What kind of car is that?

Wait 'till you try to drive it in the garage with the bike on it.......

I'm more worried about forgetting and trying to make it through a drive through then I am about the garage, either way that will make for a bad day LOL

After your ride, put your garage door opener in your bike glove. Won't help with the drive-through thing, but if you have to take your garage door opener out of your bike glove to open the door and STILL garage your bike...well, then you deserve it. :p

I never thought it would be a good thing but there is no electric opener on the door LOL You have to get it out and do it the old fashion way.

Man, I hate those stupid clix skewers. Nice bike though, seems like you can't go wrong with any of the colors. Lose the pie plate!

Damn, that's a clean drivetrain...oh 2009. My bad.

Cool bike. I'm looking at getting a Marlin GS or a Wahoo and live in the N. 'burbs of Chicago. I'll be new to mountain biking so I'm wondering where you ride in Chicago........what trails?

I'm relatively new to it was well (not "new" just fianlly getting back into it). I live off of Dundee Rd. in the Wheeling/Buffalo Grove area. I typically do the Cook County forest preserve unpaved trails. Deer Grove on Dundee directly west of Quintin road is my favorite. Lots of unpaved trails and stuff and you can find small openings in the trails that lead off the main trials to very small difficult single track paths. The woods along the Des Plaines river are alright to. It's pretty flat but you could literally ride for a day straight and not hit the end, you could ride form Chicago to Wisconsin.

Another thing worth checking out, go to you local Borders and check the everything local section, I picked up 2 books from them "Chicago Mountain Bike Trails Guide" and "60 Hikes within 60 Miles, Chicago" (it's mostly hikes, but theres a bunch of bike trails in it to).

Great info. Thank you!