Oh man, this article really resonated with me! I'm that guy who notices and fixes broken or loose stuff (often headsets for some reason) on my friends bikes.
So I had this neighbor that bought some land in the mountains of Central WA. Total newbie to MTB, but he wanted to build some trails out there and buy a MTB to enjoy them. He asked me to help pick one out from bikesdirect or some such junky site that he was looking at. His budget was just above Walmart, but not into "real bike" territory.
I was able to recommend him a hardtail, with just barely adequate components. Geo sucked, but good enough for him to enjoy some basic bike paths (no chance he'd ever actually build those trails). Nope, he didn't think it was cool, and went and bought a total throwaway new fully that I told him not to get. A month later he comes to me and asks to help him get the shock working - coil, no adjustments, way oversprung, squeaked like a hamster on meth. Sorry bud, that's not a format that can be upgraded or even tuned. It was literally throw away trash. But he thought it was cooler than a hardtail, and there was nothing that was going to change his mind.
You shoulda seen some of the home renovations that guy did. Holy crap.
March 5, 2022, 4:35 p.m. - JVP
Oh man, this article really resonated with me! I'm that guy who notices and fixes broken or loose stuff (often headsets for some reason) on my friends bikes. So I had this neighbor that bought some land in the mountains of Central WA. Total newbie to MTB, but he wanted to build some trails out there and buy a MTB to enjoy them. He asked me to help pick one out from bikesdirect or some such junky site that he was looking at. His budget was just above Walmart, but not into "real bike" territory. I was able to recommend him a hardtail, with just barely adequate components. Geo sucked, but good enough for him to enjoy some basic bike paths (no chance he'd ever actually build those trails). Nope, he didn't think it was cool, and went and bought a total throwaway new fully that I told him not to get. A month later he comes to me and asks to help him get the shock working - coil, no adjustments, way oversprung, squeaked like a hamster on meth. Sorry bud, that's not a format that can be upgraded or even tuned. It was literally throw away trash. But he thought it was cooler than a hardtail, and there was nothing that was going to change his mind. You shoulda seen some of the home renovations that guy did. Holy crap.