Saturday was bike assembly day. John is relatively new to
mtbing and he bought a
Motobecane Fantom 29er. These require some assembly, which went well. While it's no lightweight, the
Motobecane makes for a solid entry level bike.
One change we made was purely a visual thing - the stock stem is a 10 pound clump of ugly. I had a
Bontrager Sport stem laying around, so I swapped that onto the bike just so I didn't have to look at that stock stem.
Yeesh.
The one functional change we made was to swap in a new
SRAM PG-950 11-34 cassette for the stock 11-32. It's the same quality, but obviously the 34t low gear will help offset the larger diameter wheels on climbs.
That was Saturday, so Sunday was Ride Day. We went to Blue Marsh and hit the flat-
ish stretch from the Visitor Center to State Hill Boat Ramp. You see, not only is the bike new to John, but so are
clipless pedals. We all remember our first day on
clipless pedals, so surely John didn't need any additional challenges on Day One.
Weather was nice - partly sunny, temps in the 40s when we started, pushing 60 at the end. Trail conditions were muddier than hoped for probably thanks to the sub-freezing temps in the early morning and
BM's inherent wetness (oh, that doesn't sound right...).
Here comes newbie John on his new 29er.
...and here comes son-e-boy Spence
jra.
3 miles and all smiles!
Closer look at John's
Moto 9er.
... here's my new ride, also on its maiden voyage. Rigid, Fisher-framed 29er.
This was the most challenging hill on our brief ride... the water bars at Mile Post 3. I'll let John tell you why he's laughing in the picture!
No wind, warm sun... wow was it nice here. Great place for a nap.
Done! No falls, a little mud. Nothing a cheese steak at the Blue Marsh Canteen couldn't cure!
Saturday was bike assembly day. John is relatively new to mtbing and he bought a Motobecane Fantom 29er. These require some assembly, which went well. While it's no lightweight, the Motobecane makes for a solid entry level bike.
One change we made was purely a visual thing - the stock stem is a 10 pound clump of ugly. I had a Bontrager Sport stem laying around, so I swapped that onto the bike just so I didn't have to look at that stock stem. Yeesh.
The one functional change we made was to swap in a new SRAM PG-950 11-34 cassette for the stock 11-32. It's the same quality, but obviously the 34t low gear will help offset the larger diameter wheels on climbs.
That was Saturday, so Sunday was Ride Day. We went to Blue Marsh and hit the flat-ish stretch from the Visitor Center to State Hill Boat Ramp. You see, not only is the bike new to John, but so are clipless pedals. We all remember our first day on clipless pedals, so surely John didn't need any additional challenges on Day One.
Weather was nice - partly sunny, temps in the 40s when we started, pushing 60 at the end. Trail conditions were muddier than hoped for probably thanks to the sub-freezing temps in the early morning and BM's inherent wetness (oh, that doesn't sound right...).
Here comes newbie John on his new 29er.
...and here comes son-e-boy Spence jra.
3 miles and all smiles!
Closer look at John's Moto 9er.
... here's my new ride, also on its maiden voyage. Rigid, Fisher-framed 29er.
This was the most challenging hill on our brief ride... the water bars at Mile Post 3. I'll let John tell you why he's laughing in the picture!
No wind, warm sun... wow was it nice here. Great place for a nap.
Done! No falls, a little mud. Nothing a cheese steak at the Blue Marsh Canteen couldn't cure! 
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