Well, for personal reasons, I am giving up MTBing until this coming Spring (maybe). Unfortunately, I am just not enjoying it as much as I thought I would. I am selling my MTB on CL, which, I bought on CL back in June for $60. I am hoping to get what I bought it for, but I am not sure I will. As for me working on the brakes, it didn't turn out quite how I expected it would. It is funny, because it is just one little step (pulling the cable taught to get good leverage on the lever itself) does not seem to be working out for me. So, I have just given up, mainly, because I do not have the time to do it, nor the space, so I will simply sell the bike without the brakes done, or a seat, as I am taking back the seat that I put on it to Performance Bike (thank the Goddess they have one hell of a return policy). It will also have one Blackburn MTB pedal on the right, and the standard pedal on the left, but I will include the other Blackburn MTB pedal to the buyer.

All in all, I put new shifters on it which only cost me $20, but with my whole brake debacle, I estimate I have spent about $80 - this includes the cables (I f'd up about six - don't ask), the housing, crims/caps, and the Park Tool Cable Housing Cutter (which will come in handy for my commuter, as will all my other tools and my extra brake cable/housing stuff that I have and am keeping for future use).

Anyway, I guess the old adage is true - "Practice makes perfect." I look at it as a good lesson in bike mechanics for the future!

I am saving up my money in order to buy a better MTB in the Spring (maybe), as I, honestly, believe that I made a mistake buying my MTB (even though I named him Lanny - LOL). It was an impulse buy, but hey, I learned my lesson!

I'll be around the forums every once in a while, and when I am ready to buy my new MTB, I will be back for all the good advice here!

Thanks!

That's a shame. If you have the means to save up enough for a new one by spring then by all means go for it, but now that you have some more experience with buying used and knowing what to look for I'd bet your next CL buy will be a better experience!

That said, the same experience can also teach folks not to buy used, too. So, I totally get preferring to buy new.

What exactly are you not enjoying, and not having the time to do?

Is this post about a cheap bike you couldn't get to work right, or did you have some problems with the actual act of riding a mountainbike, presumably on trails, that we could possibly help with?

Hey ColinL,

It was a little bit of both. I ended up learning to be much more careful regarding what I buy on my CL, since I ended up just giving the bike to a local used bike shop on campus (even he didn't want and he's been in the bike business for over 30 years). All in all, a waste of $100, but a lesson learned, none the less!

As for the traiils, I tend to have a tendency not to get up and out of my seat when riding (it may be my cerebral palsy). Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Hey man, nothing wrong with sitting and spinning. You don't have to stand and climb. The main thing is you get out in the woods on trails you like and have fun riding. Don't pressure yourself or let anyone else pressure you into riding what you don't like. This includes a mountain bike. If you just like riding your cruiser down to the local Starbucks like Santiago...do it. Do what you like.

Wise words from Ed. (Welcome back, btw...good to see you around again!). And sometimes it takes a few to really get in mountain biking...it's a heckuva lot more fun once you have a handle on the basics!