Last year when I decided to lose some of my middle that kept expanding, I decided to try an xterra race and really liked it. 6 weeks of training on my son's "roadmaster" bike then 3:09 minutes later I was hooked. I have trained since to race the 2003 season except for a 6 week break for a small surgery this year.
The 2 hours on the bike on a pretty technical course during that race convinced me that I needed a better bike and not knowing any better I went to walmart and became the proud owner of a Mongoose xr 350. What seems like a long time later I now know enough to know that my walmart purchase wasn't the best in the world but I have to say I have logged a lot of miles on that bike and IMHO it has paid for itself.
On Saturday, (four weeks before my first scheduled race of the year) I took a nasty tumble and when I got up, where the rear derailler threads into the aluminum frame had snapped off and I did a 6 mile hike a bike back to the van. I don't think its worth repairing even if it could be.
I am a young family man and I don't have the cash to buy another bike. Especially not one that I could race respectably with.
A friend of mine has a older "specialized" regid fork "stumpjumper comp". He has offered it to me for $100. That is about all that I can really afford. This evening I test rode the bike and it is lighter than the aluminum frame dual suspension I trashed. I tried to see if the "mozo" front suspension forks off of my mongoose would fit in the specialized chro moly frame but alas the stem is too big.
First, Is it possible to put a new front fork on the "specialized" and make it into a hard tail. Second, if I can do that, how do I size the new front fork. Third, is this worth doing at all to the old bike.
Please, any suggestions. I just can't stand the thought of having to ditch my whole season for lack of cash.
The 2 hours on the bike on a pretty technical course during that race convinced me that I needed a better bike and not knowing any better I went to walmart and became the proud owner of a Mongoose xr 350. What seems like a long time later I now know enough to know that my walmart purchase wasn't the best in the world but I have to say I have logged a lot of miles on that bike and IMHO it has paid for itself.
On Saturday, (four weeks before my first scheduled race of the year) I took a nasty tumble and when I got up, where the rear derailler threads into the aluminum frame had snapped off and I did a 6 mile hike a bike back to the van. I don't think its worth repairing even if it could be.
I am a young family man and I don't have the cash to buy another bike. Especially not one that I could race respectably with.
A friend of mine has a older "specialized" regid fork "stumpjumper comp". He has offered it to me for $100. That is about all that I can really afford. This evening I test rode the bike and it is lighter than the aluminum frame dual suspension I trashed. I tried to see if the "mozo" front suspension forks off of my mongoose would fit in the specialized chro moly frame but alas the stem is too big.
First, Is it possible to put a new front fork on the "specialized" and make it into a hard tail. Second, if I can do that, how do I size the new front fork. Third, is this worth doing at all to the old bike.
Please, any suggestions. I just can't stand the thought of having to ditch my whole season for lack of cash.