August 5th, 2009: I took a mountain bike trip that was run out of my hostel today. The selling point was that it was $30 cheaper than their competitors costing me only $15. After seeing their competition when going up the mountain yesterday, I thought that I must have gotten a good deal.
Driving up to the top of Mt. Ruminahui we disembarked the vehicle at 15,180 feet. Once we took the bikes off the roof of the SUV, I was able to get a closer look at the bikes…realizing why we got such a good deal. The bikes were perhaps worth $15…a lot less if you calculated what needed to be fixed. The repairs I initially saw were things like a bent seat, handle bars and pedals. Prior to leaving for the tour, I didn’t notice that in the book describing this tour, someone added an arrow in front of the word bike and wrote, “shit.”
We headed down a dirt road on these… pieces, dodging the minor obstacles such as rocks, fresh cow piles and the makers of these piles. The ride was not difficult by any means - the problem was when I was approached my first corner at a high rate of speed. Applying my brakes softly at first, nothing happened…applying more pressure, the only thing that happened was that my front brake pretended it was working and back one worked so well, the tire wanted to come out from underneath me - now it is time for me to add another minor item that needed repairs…brakes. Not a problem if you were intending on just going straight on a flat level surface, but you see…this was a 3,630 foot downhill bike ride.
Not sure if I should go off the hill with the bike and pull a massive non-recorded last jump or just lay it down - I choose neither as I squeezed my brakes, skidding sideways on the loose gravel. When hitting the grass before the drop off my tire gained stability as I was just able to make the turn. The bike ride just became…a little more exciting. Now that I knew not too expect much from the bike, I was able to compensate the lack of stopping power by unwillingly wearing out several weeks of good use on the soles of my shoes by using my feet.
Stopping the bike, I decided to do a somewhat delayed equipment check. At one point during my bikes life it had disk brakes on the front but for some reason they were replaced with pad brakes that were purely aesthetics. Continuing our ride I was happy that I was not the only one that had a lemon… everyone had issues. Next time, I will have to think about…spending a few extra dollars.
(Bow your head - I was told that the following week someone actually went off the side on one of these “shit” bikes and had to go to the hospital due to some deep lacerations to his face)
Driving up to the top of Mt. Ruminahui we disembarked the vehicle at 15,180 feet. Once we took the bikes off the roof of the SUV, I was able to get a closer look at the bikes…realizing why we got such a good deal. The bikes were perhaps worth $15…a lot less if you calculated what needed to be fixed. The repairs I initially saw were things like a bent seat, handle bars and pedals. Prior to leaving for the tour, I didn’t notice that in the book describing this tour, someone added an arrow in front of the word bike and wrote, “shit.”
We headed down a dirt road on these… pieces, dodging the minor obstacles such as rocks, fresh cow piles and the makers of these piles. The ride was not difficult by any means - the problem was when I was approached my first corner at a high rate of speed. Applying my brakes softly at first, nothing happened…applying more pressure, the only thing that happened was that my front brake pretended it was working and back one worked so well, the tire wanted to come out from underneath me - now it is time for me to add another minor item that needed repairs…brakes. Not a problem if you were intending on just going straight on a flat level surface, but you see…this was a 3,630 foot downhill bike ride.
Not sure if I should go off the hill with the bike and pull a massive non-recorded last jump or just lay it down - I choose neither as I squeezed my brakes, skidding sideways on the loose gravel. When hitting the grass before the drop off my tire gained stability as I was just able to make the turn. The bike ride just became…a little more exciting. Now that I knew not too expect much from the bike, I was able to compensate the lack of stopping power by unwillingly wearing out several weeks of good use on the soles of my shoes by using my feet.
Stopping the bike, I decided to do a somewhat delayed equipment check. At one point during my bikes life it had disk brakes on the front but for some reason they were replaced with pad brakes that were purely aesthetics. Continuing our ride I was happy that I was not the only one that had a lemon… everyone had issues. Next time, I will have to think about…spending a few extra dollars.
(Bow your head - I was told that the following week someone actually went off the side on one of these “shit” bikes and had to go to the hospital due to some deep lacerations to his face)
Anthony.. Is there something you are leaving out? Are you sure it was "someone else".. Lets see a picture of your gashes bro!.. I know it was you. :)
ReplyDeleteAdmit it, it wouldn't have been as much fun if the brakes worked right. You probably bargained for the worst bike.
ReplyDelete