02Pilot

New to BF, been lurking for a week or so, just registered. Started back into bikes for the first time since childhood about three years ago on a cheap department store mountain bike (Dynacraft-built full suspension steel thing, heavy as a house but quite indestructible, and again, cheap, which has merits as well as drawbacks, but I digress...) just to get my feet wet and see if I actually liked it enough to take the next step into serious bike territory. As you have probably discerned, I did; this resulted in my purchase of a Cannondale F7 2008 model about three weeks ago from my LBS. Came in at 399, which includes free tune-ups for the life of the bike.

I'm lucky to live in an area with abundant trails. Nearby are Blue Mountain, which I've ridden a few times, and Graham Hills, which I haven't tried. Other areas, like Vassar Farms and 909 are a bit further north. I've also got an extensive rail trail system very nearby; that's where I did most of my riding on the first bike, and still do a good bit simply because it offers a convenient location for a quick ride.

I'm pretty mechanically inclined, but I'm new to bike mechanics, so I'm rebuilding my cheap old MTB for practice and to keep around as a spare. I'm replacing the awful brake levers and grip shifters with Shimano EF-50s, but other than that just disassembling, cleaning, lubing and replacing. I've already had a flat on the Cannondale, but the shop changed it out for me, since I didn't have a spare tube at home.

Anyway, that's it. I doubt I'll be able offer much beyond exasperating questions at this point, but give me time.

East Hill

The guys in the Road Cycling forum think of ALL questions from a new person as exasperating, even when they aren't!

Welcome to BikeForums .

East Hill