I grew up riding trash bikes. I can recall the first time indexed shifting was offered. At that time, I still preferred turning that feature off, but the old style friction-shift is now actually more expensive than indexed shifting. Only in the last few years have I tested riding better bikes.
At the same time, I really needed a lot of education about what to expect. Not the crap dealers tell you; I’m talking about the kind of education you get from trying something and having it fail. Once I had tasted the high-end shifters and derailers, it was hard to go back to the cheaper stuff. But then, when I tried upgrading the cheap ones, there were always so many complications because nobody will tell you which particular type you need to replace that particular type you have. I discovered that Shimano Deore was not all one thing. There are about five different types of just that one model, and they don’t all fit the same way.
So, the last bike I had was really nice; friends helped me pay the high price. The derailers were easily the only part that worked right. The shifters could be a pain, at times. I had lots of trouble with other things, as well, issues that the manufacturer insisted consumers would not face. Everything was high-strung and expensive to fix. The other day, I was out riding and things were going quite well. Then, I had a flat on the rear.
No big deal, right? After replacing the tube, I was working the tire back onto the rim and spotted a crack in the alloy. I got to looking closer and realized that the spokes were almost pulling through the alloy shell of the rim. Had I not gotten a flat first, I could have suffered a crash when three or four spokes in a row ripped out of the rim. The Lord protected me from something I could not have known about.
Who would inspect such expensive rims for cracks like that? It was a gravel bike; it’s supposed to handle some rough riding. Instead, the rim was actually rather fragile. When I checked, the front rim was also starting to crack. Not one of my old trash bikes ever suffered that kind of thing. When I took it up with the dealer, he breezily told me that it’s not too surprising given that it was just out of warranty. He thought it was perfectly normal to replace those expensive rims after just two years of rather careful riding. I didn’t jump any curbs and I tried to avoid rough surfaces, but it was about to blow out completely after just over two years.
I decided to offer it for salvage on my local Craigslist. It sold the next day, and I gave the buyer the extra tires I had stocked up on because I am not going back to that style of equipment. Instead, I went back to my roots. It’s not entirely a trash bike, but it’s at the top of that class. And I’m going back to mountain biking, with the cheaper drive trains. I know how they work and I’m used to their sloppy shifting. I know how to replace parts of the drive train, and when to do it, and the parts are a lot cheaper. (The rack, saddle and gooseneck are carried over from previous bikes.)
Yes, riding a mountain bike is more work. The knobby tires offer a bit more roll resistance, but then, it doesn’t bog down in things like sand nearly as much. I can ride more kinds of places, not just restricted to paved surfaces. I’ll get a harder workout and take shorter rides. It will encourage me to stop more often and I’m more likely to take pictures. I won’t feel compelled to keep riding hard and ignoring the scenery. I’m more likely to ride as if playing, instead of riding like it’s some kind of competition. Meanwhile, stuff isn’t going to break any more often than it did with the expensive bikes, but it will be a lot less expensive when it does.
By the way, this is an extra large frame, which with the GT brand usually means a lot longer and just a little taller. The axle spread is over 5 feet, so it’s smoother on rough surfaces. I’m sure I’ll replace the handlebars sometime in near future, but I need to take a look at what’s available. And you know, every time I pray about stuff on this new bike, the Lord supplies my need. I started praying about this over a year ago, but I was determined to keep using what God had provided until He was ready to supply my request. The shocking discovery of the cracked rims, and the attitude of the dealer, helped me to realize the time had come for the Lord to answer my request.
What would you define as “trash bikes”? I likely had one of those when I was younger as well, back when I had my paper route. The thing lasted for years and years without an ounce of maintenance on my part, and I rode that thing every day.
What I refer to as “trash bikes” are typically sold as toys, not as transportation or sporting equipment. However, we can also refer to the retail price range. Given the recent inflation, that’s just about any bike below $700 US. That’s the price range above which you no longer see the low end components, like Shimano Tourney, Microshift M26, or SRAM X3/X4. It’s what you see on bikes sold at Walmart and other department stores.