I was agonizing for two weeks researching what hardtail to get. I started off with "Let's get an on sale bike for $300" to where I'm at now. There was lots of info both here and at MTBR and I appreciate the wealth of knowledge that has been put down for us readers. It's funny to see how my path went in the last few weeks:

Looked for sales on Iron Horses at Performance

Read about Marins here and tracked down a B17 to look at Adrenaline.

Checked out the Hawk Hill on sale at REI. Didn't like the ride of the tester for me, but I'm still a Marin fan.

Popped in to test ride Rockhoppers at LBS.

Looked for closeouts online.

Researched Rocky Mountains but couldn't find one to ride.

Rode the GF Tassajara at Cyclwerks. Found the V brakes stronger than the Mech Hayes on the Marins. (I know, it must have just been the setups).

Rode the Rockhoppers again. They really felt good.

Heard about Jamis from the forums. Could only track down some 17"s that were out of my price range. Scratched my head and considered buying blind from bicycleblowout. Used common sense and the advice for newbs here and ruled against that. Those Jamis bikes looked rad in person, though.

Considered a reduced price rockhopper, deal on Hoo Kee O Koo, and maybe an 06 FSR XC.

Rode a Giant Rainier (me likey) and Giant Pistol (no likey) and was impressed by the Trek Fuel EX 5. Decided I can't go up to a grand. Gotta save for a ring for my woman.

Found a deal on the Cake 3 (06) and got into an entry level FS with that Genesis Geometry that seemed to fit me nice. I'm going to upgrade the brakes to mech BB7's for cheap with pricepoint. Spent what I budgeted for my hardtail.

I hope the Cake brings me joy for my XC rides. I'm no racer, I just wanna bike up and down some beautiful hills so I can escape the suburban lawns. I read about some chain suck concerns, but we'll see. The LBS says they've got it dialed for me. I'm going to pick it up Wednesday.

So, any Cake riders wanna chime in? How about FSR XC owners?

Again, thanks to all of you who post here. I've read much and learned a great deal from y'all.

p.s. Just heard about Woodstock bikes. Interesting concept and interesting reviews.

I see some on the trails in this area. They seem to be solid bikes, just right for what you're wanting.

Want some pics, please!

sounds like you did a lot of research...which is obviously good i think youll be happy with the cake...enjoy and report back

Yes, chain suck. I have the first generation of cakes and there was a definite issue, I hear they've fixed it. The other thing to check on is the rear pivot. When these bikes first came out they screwed up the Loctite and the pivot came loose. Don't worry, you'll know when it happens.

Gary Fisher ended up sending me a new front triangle through the warranty, no problems ever since.

The good news: just point it down any hill and let it go. with the old bike I had to pick my lines carefully, now I just crush the downhills. also the bottom bracket is high and I can easily get over logs and other obstacles that I could never do with the old bike. It climbs really well also, and you'll find it works even better seated. It's a little heavy, but it is an all-mountain bike.

Just got back from the LBS and stopped off for some singletrack and hills on the way home. Wow! I'm glad I went f/s. This is a whole new world for me. I was going up places I couldn't go up before and bombed down some hills like I was floating on a cloud of air. I did notice things that I just can't do anymore, like standing on my pedals and powering up a hill, but the geometry of the bike let me climb pretty steady while seated. Best part of all: I rode more than I've ridden at this place before and had energy to spare. Maybe it was the thrill of a new bike or maybe it was the bike itself. Time will only tell. I tell you what, I can't wait to get out again.

About chain suck: I did have a moment or two when I was shifting under pressure that the chain tried to come up, but I got out of it really quick. This was only under the craziest task of shifting while turning up a hill that I probably couldn't ride up on my old bike. We'll monitor this closely.

I read in another post that some people thought that Genesis geometry is squirrely. There's even a funny video about it on Fisher 101 at the Fisher site. I did get that for sure when I was manuevering through tight singletrack. I learned to lean back and control this. For the trade off of bombing down a hill under control, I'll consider it a worthy trade off. I'd much rather crash slower than faster

So anyway, it would be cool to try all the bikes in the world. I'd love to see how some other bikes I looked at handled on these trails. Doesn't matter now. I shopped, I thought, I bought, and now I just ride. Welcome to the trails indeed.

Pics!!!

pics or die

Pictures are required.

I've actually been selling Fishers off and on for the past 5 years and that is one thing I have never heard said of Genesis geometry--in fact--most people comment on the stability and control. Weird.

hopefully pics tomorrow... there's some dirt lots behind a shopping center around here. I'll see about riding them in the morning.

Okay, I went riding this morning at some abandoned lots behind a shopping center. The area is huge, maybe a few acres, and is a singletrack fun zone. There's even a bmx area that some kids made in the middle of everything. I had too much fun to snap pics (I only have a cheap camera phone) but my girlfriend snapped some at my pad tonight.

I went from this:


to this:


I'll get some proper pics out on the trails this weekend!

Congratulations on the bike. Poster samsation7 is going to have a fit if he sees the name of this thread!

[homer]mmmmmmmmmmmmm............................Cake........................... [/homer]

btw, nice rack o' gee-tars you got there. I hope you break them out as often as your bike.