Eric-B.net

I Hate My Bike

For those that do not know, I have a Diamondback Response Sport from… 06, I think. I loved this bike. It was awesome at its price point and I would use to go to work every warm and sunny day.

Recently, I noticed that the inner most adjustment for my rear mechanical disc brake would not adjust. I ordered a new set of rear disc brakes with a larger rotor for a little more stopping power. About that time I bent my rear rim. Interestingly enough, I popped some spokes opposite the drive train. Usually it would be the other way around. I got them replaced and the wheel trued. Not 5 rides later did I pop some more.

Now, I have had this bike for a while, and I have mostly used to to get to and from work for the past 2 years, but before that, I would take it on trails, hop logs, catch what little air I could off of jumps, etc. Now its is fucked after a few normal street rides.

I think my my local bike shop might not have taken a look at a single spoke other than the ones that had popped the backing. I think this because the people there talk down to me because I live in a rich town that can drop the equivalent of my months salary on a gay street bike that they ride during normal people’s work hours because the rich people here can afford to do that kind of thing. That and I bought a bike for $400 that in all actuality would cost $800 in their shop. Same parts, same frame material, same weight for about twice as much money, but Diamondback slipped in the 90s and made some cheap shitty bikes. They also will not carry anything over the $800 mark these days, making them too lack luster for just about every bike shop out there. Back to my original point, they don’t seem to give a fuck because I haven’t emptied my pockets at their store.

You can get a really good bike at the higher price points too. I must be fair. However, Specialized and Trek are overpriced shit. More so Specialized than anyone, but I hear they will no longer make them in the USA. This might actually make them affordable, not that I condone killing off more American labor. Of the higher price point bikes, I want a Kona Kahuna 29er. The 29 inch tires make a world of difference. They also fit my 6’6″ body much nicer. However, it would cost me a grand. I would do it, and I should have done it instead of buying this new PC. I realize that now. The only downside would be my constant threat of theft. To come out of work, a store, or whatever, and have my bike gone would make me furious for weeks.

I would still buy it, and I have enough tax money left over. The issue is that I am trying to take on a of other things that are so damned expensive that I cannot do both. This leaves me with the need to buy a new wheel set.

The local store wants $95 for a rear wheel, where I can get the set of 2 for $95 with $16 shipping online. Can you guess which one I am going to go for? I just hope they hold up. All I have to go on is recommendations from other big guys online. Its a double walled rim, which is what I have now. They guy at the bike shop seemed to doubt that on the phone, and I wasn’t sure. Its is just one more reason why I doubt them, and my only reason that I fear this new wheel set will not help my current situation. I just wish I knew why the whole wheel is suddenly going so easily.