I tend to be a lot more patient than some others (whom I won't mention but NOT Mael or SLC. Like umm k....mp...).

The reason, I remember my first "real" mountain bike. Now realize, I've worked in shops since I was 15. So I knew about the "test ride as many as you can" principle which was ingrained into me by my first boss.

So, I spent the better part of a month, test riding bikes on Saturdays. I visited EVERY shop in town, traveled N and S and test rode everything I could throw a leg over. (I wasn't working in a shop at the time.) I finally settled on a bike that was $100 out of my price range. Why? By the time I spent test riding so many bikes, I knew I HAD to have that bike. I knew I wouldn't be happy with anything less. Sure, I wanted more, but I was reasonable.

I rode the CRAP outta that bike and loved EVERY minute of it. I never upgraded a thing. I just rode and rode. By the time I was ready to upgrade, it made more sense to just buy a whole new bike.

Plus, I was buying my then "New Wife" a bike as well, and we got a deal on 2 bikes. But guess what? I drug her butt around for 3 weeks until she found the bike she liked best. (And we spent an extra $200 on our bikes than our original budget.)

We BOTH rode those bikes until they were falling apart. We did some minor upgrading, but nothing significant.

L8R