Well after a 6 year hiatus, I started mountain biking again in January. I have a relatively new '93 DB Traverse that I initially bought back then for recreation and riding around the Long Island town I grew up in. Then in '99 while in MI, I decided to take it to the trails and did pretty well, but didnt keep up with it since I moved several times.
So this January I visited some of the trails near my new home in NJ to help get in better shape etc... And of course while I was out the first and second times I got bitten by that bug. You know the one, the one that says "a nice suspension fork would be good on these trails." Then after looking into it, a new fork wouldn't really be worth it since I would have needed a 1" steerer tube and a new clamp style stem for the handlebars. So then the bug says "a new bike would be nice". So after a bunch of visits to a bunch of shops, I decided to get the '06 Trek 4300. Got it 2 weeks ago. It is pretty much perfect for what I use it for. So on the first ride the bug says to me, "go on, get more aggressive with it." And I did, pushed it a little more than before. I got hooked on Mtn biking even more.
Then the bug says to me, "that fork isnt really soaking up the bumps as much as I would have thought".
A ride on a club members full suspension confirmed my suspicions. I rode my new Trek around the streets the other day and then compared it to my old rigid fork DB, and it wasnt much different. So I ordered a RockShox Judy J3 from jensonusa and installed it this morning. Now that seems more like I would have thought a suspension fork would feel like.
So after reading posts here and reviews on mtbr.com I saw all the raves about the Avid Single Digit 7 V-Brakes. The bug tells me "I want that". I thought the old center pull brakes on my DB was pretty decent and the new Tektro's on the Trek were good. Until I rode them back to back, and the V-Brakes were noticeably better, better than I had originally thought. So if these are better, then the Avids must be outstanding right? "Of course they are!" said the bug, so I placed an order with pricepoint for a full set of those today. I might put the Tektro V-brakes on the old DB. Will this obsession ever end?
Well thanks for reading my story, and since everyone loves to look at pictures, here are some pics of the new ride the day I brought it home. Gone are the RST fork and reflectors in these pics.
http://home.comcast.net/~silverls1gto/trek.htm 