Originally Posted by
Wooderson
It's been a week.. have you made any decisions?
This has been a fun trip down memory lane. I had an XT Stumpjumper, steel, I think mine was a 1993. I loved that bike. Someone mentioned a Homegrown, I had a 1995, and rode it for nearly a decade, way after the 29er revolution took hold.
As nostalgic as I am, I say take advantage the sellers market, and sell it. I'm 50 now, and I ride a lot.. ~100 miles per week on the road, and around 50 offroad. I couldn't imagine riding on a 26" wheeled bike offroad nowdays, and I think you should aim high. To get back into mountain biking, you need a proper mountain bike. Preferably a full suspension, but a modern hardtail would get the job done.
Good luck, and have fun!
I've decided to keep it a bit and see how much more riding I do. In going through the process to replace the tires and brake pads, I figured out the 26x1.9 tires are not easy to find anymore and there aren't many options when you can find them. I also figured out the hard way that 26x2.2 tires do not clear my bike frame, so now I have a pair of those to sell on the cheap. So - I definitely see reasons to trade up, but want to make sure I'll get use out of the investment. I think the most probable outcome is that I buy another one next spring.
Now, the analysis will move to my road bike, which is a Litespeed Classic from about 1999. That one I'm confident I'm keeping; it's an exquisite bike and has appeal like an old Porsche. To me, anyway.