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Give up on a bike? When to sack it and buy another bike

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Give up on a bike? When to sack it and buy another bike

Old 10-14-19, 07:56 PM
  #1  
NoWhammies
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Give up on a bike? When to sack it and buy another bike

I am a noob when it comes to mountain biking. I can count on two hands the number of times I've been on my mtb. I've ridden some varied trails, from technical to downhill (although no jumps, just rolling over drops) and am s-l-o-w-l-y starting to learn. I ride the brakes a lot though.

I rode three bikes before setting on my current mtb. I like the bike BUT I keep wondering if I would have been better off buying one of the other bikes I rode/rented. I don't know if I have buyers remorse per say but am curious...

Any of you deal with this? Because I'm such a noob am I better off continuing to ride my current setup until I learn more skills or should I see about selling my current rig and looking in to something else?

Thanks.
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Old 10-15-19, 02:12 AM
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If you bought a genuinely inappropriate bike for your terrain or poor fitting, or you realize you bought something way too cheap, that's one thing, but it'd honestly be hard to have an informed opinion about what you'd actually like out of a mountain bike. Particularly on full suspension bikes, some of the characteristics in suspension kinematics or handling that you'll think feel good as a beginner will not be what you want as an intermediate or advanced rider. For geometry, for example, generally speaking faster steering bikes feel good to a lot of beginners because they're more familiar (relating to older MTBs or road bikes) and because they're riding at frankly much lower speeds, and they hold a line uphill more easily and can be easier to carefully pick a line at low speeds descending, but their lack of stability can feel really scary at speed. For suspension kinematics, a lot of beginner riders won't be pushing the bike hard enough to get a feel for how it feels from its midstroke through its end stroke on a mid travel trail bike.
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Old 10-15-19, 02:25 AM
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It sounds like you need more experience. Ride your bike, read lots of information about biking, then you can make an educated, informed opinion about what you might like to change. Once you feel hindered by your equipment, then you'll have answers to your questions about what you should change.
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Old 10-15-19, 02:29 AM
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What model did you get?
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Old 10-15-19, 05:22 AM
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If i recall your previous posts (you ended up with a Rock Mountain Instinct, yes?) I will venture to say, judging from what I've read, that you suffer from Analysis Paralysis which has now manifest itself as Buyer's Remorse.

Never fear, Analysis Paralysis is fairly common, I have a sister and a co-worker who both suffer from severe cases. i.e. It took my co-worker 5 years to research and purchase her current car, a Prius, and she regretted and hated the car for almost a year after she got it (now she loves it). I won't bore you with the details of the multi-year saga of her selecting her current Nikon camera (which she also hated and now adores).

I suggest you follow ridelikeaturtle's advice and ride the bike, at least for one season, then review your decision.
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Old 10-15-19, 09:21 AM
  #6  
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Originally Posted by ridelikeaturtle
It sounds like you need more experience. Ride your bike, read lots of information about biking, then you can make an educated, informed opinion about what you might like to change. Once you feel hindered by your equipment, then you'll have answers to your questions about what you should change.
Couldn't agree more with this statement. Experience. I definitely need more experience. I am getting out on my mtb as much as I can, although looking I won't be on the bike for the next two weeks. Damn life getting in the way of fun. Anywho...I don't think I'm hindered by my equipment. If anything I'm hindered by fear! The bike in the hands of someone more talented would likely sail through the trails I'm riding.

Originally Posted by Gconan
What model did you get?
Rocky Mountain Instinct C70

Originally Posted by PickleRick
If i recall your previous posts (you ended up with a Rock Mountain Instinct, yes?) I will venture to say, judging from what I've read, that you suffer from Analysis Paralysis which has now manifest itself as Buyer's Remorse.

Never fear, Analysis Paralysis is fairly common, I have a sister and a co-worker who both suffer from severe cases. i.e. It took my co-worker 5 years to research and purchase her current car, a Prius, and she regretted and hated the car for almost a year after she got it (now she loves it). I won't bore you with the details of the multi-year saga of her selecting her current Nikon camera (which she also hated and now adores).

I suggest you follow ridelikeaturtle's advice and ride the bike, at least for one season, then review your decision.
This is good advice/analysis. Most certainly suffering from analysis paralysis. I did SO much reading and research before I bought my bike. And you are also right in that it as likely settled in to a bit of buyer's remorse too. On the plus side, I can't afford to pick up another bike, so I will have to ride the bike for another year. During that time I'll work on my skills and hopefully gain more confidence too. I'm still at the point in my rides when I leave the house I'm happy to ride, but have that butterfly feeling of "am I doing something where I'll bite it". I'd like that feeling to go away so I can just enjoy the ride.
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Old 10-15-19, 11:31 AM
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Curious what you don’t like about your Rocky Mountain Instinct?
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Old 10-15-19, 03:08 PM
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If you've only got a handfuls of rides under your belt you're just having analysis paralysis. You want to be better you're not progressing as fast as you want, totally normal. There is a lot of muscle memory & learning from mistakes you'll need to go through. It's gonna take a while. Your bike is on the top end of awesome, no bike is going to make you a pro from the start.

Heck you probably don't even know much about how to setup your suspension, that's a HUGE factor in getting a bike to feel right. Took me years to figure out what the heck I was doing. I'm sure the shop set you up but that's usually not perfect.

Keep on riding, it's not the bike, it's you. You will get there and that bike is plenty awesome not to be holding you back.

It really does take a long time to get smooth & comfortable.... just keep riding.
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Old 10-15-19, 05:23 PM
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Already?

Ride your bike enough that if you ride something else you’ll be able to tell the diff and know if you like it
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Old 10-15-19, 08:42 PM
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Thanks folks. Sounds like more time on the bike is what's called for here. There is no magical cure. @eshew you're right about progress. I was hopeful my road experience would carry over. That would be a hard no.
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Old 10-15-19, 08:45 PM
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Pitter patter let's get at er'
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Old 10-15-19, 10:12 PM
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Ride hard and often. Make mistakes and learn from them. Be aggressive to the point where you stretch yourself. You will soon learn to trust your new learned skills and you bike. In a lot of cases, speed is your friend.

It took me a lot of falls and mistakes to learn how to ride trails.

Last edited by CodyDog; 10-16-19 at 08:25 AM.
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Old 10-16-19, 09:18 AM
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Well @CodyDog I am definitely pushing myself. I am riding trails that are right at, or above, my skill level. And where I am having issues clearing certain features, I go back and and again until I can do them clean. I am not riding the trails without stopping yet, but I am continuing to work.

While I agree that speed is my friend, as I have learned that momentum does help, I am definitely taking my time going down and around obstacles on the trails. Like you said, a lot of falls and mistakes. I am sure I'll have those too. Only at my age healing up will take me a little longer, which is why I'm dreading those falls.
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Old 10-16-19, 11:52 AM
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Originally Posted by NoWhammies
Well @CodyDog I am definitely pushing myself. I am riding trails that are right at, or above, my skill level. And where I am having issues clearing certain features, I go back and and again until I can do them clean. I am not riding the trails without stopping yet, but I am continuing to work.

While I agree that speed is my friend, as I have learned that momentum does help, I am definitely taking my time going down and around obstacles on the trails. Like you said, a lot of falls and mistakes. I am sure I'll have those too. Only at my age healing up will take me a little longer, which is why I'm dreading those falls.

The first time around, the learning curve was challenging as I shared in an earlier post. I have recently come back to mountain biking after a 11 year break. Hopefully the learning curve will be shorter this time around. The last three rides have been a bit challenging. We are in Salida, Co. this week and the trails are much more advanced (steeper) than in Central Texas. I'm an older guy so I'm wanting to avoid falls and crashes as well. I know it will take some time but getting there is half the fun.

I know what you mean about certain features. I'm having trouble trusting my bike to take some of the hits but I'm sure that will be soon to pass. My 160/150 suspension can handle a lot, I just don't believe it yet. My last bike was FS with an inferior suspension and old technology but I was still ripping it up. Nothing wrong with being little cautious now, when I look back at my earlier years of mountain biking, I probably pushed the limits too many times.

The thing about speed I learned was that it was my friend to get me through bumps, rock gardens and turns. I probably should refer to it as momentum as you did. It was difficult for me to tell my brain to speed up instead of slow up. Most my falls and crashes were because of lack of momentum to get me through the obstacle.

You have a really nice bike and once you get used to it your progress will come and you'll be surprised what you will be able to do.
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Old 10-16-19, 12:15 PM
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I suffer from a similar affliction - always second-guessing myself.

Part of the problem is there are so MANY choices! Which one is "best?"
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Old 10-16-19, 12:26 PM
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It is easy to second guess. Don’t worry, that is a solid bike. You may eventually decide that you want a different TYPE of bike, but I would not even start to go down that road until you have a bit of riding under your belt..... like a year.

You just started. Give it time. If you want to focus on the equipment, then play around with suspension and cockpit setup. In the end getting that stuff dialed in make a bigger difference than getting a new bike.
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Old 10-16-19, 04:16 PM
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Thanks everyone. Much appreciated.
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