Mountain Biking season is over

Last post I was explaining how I busted up my rear shock, yes it is still blown and yes I still need to spend a lot of money on it. Now I have come up with the crazy idea of upgrading my bike to a 2x10 drivetrain versus the 3x9 I have on it now. The 2x10 is becoming more popular due to the wide range of gears, increased tension in the rear derailleur and decrease in overall weight. The only problem with a 2x10 upgrade is the $1100 price tag. I need to replace parts on my bike now, I need a new crankset ($300) and new brakes ($200-$450) and with those two prices added up it's worth it to get a kit in a box. The kit includes brand new brakes, crank, bottom bracket, shifters, derailleurs front and rear, chain, cassette and new cables and housing. I would basically have a brand new bike that I love (emotional attachment, she's my baby) for $1300 that includes all new drive train, brakes and rear shock. That may seem like a ridicilious amount to most people and yes it is a ton of money to spend but I'm extremely passonate about mountain biking, I race during the spring and summer and mountain biking is my top choice of sports to participate and compete in. I'm excited to get this kit on order and get it installed on my bike!

Here is a pic of my bike disassembled, look at that recently waxed frame!

Flies buzzing from my wallet...?

This past Saturday I was out trail building and riding with my friend and team mechanic Sam. We started building 2 drops, 2 jumps and one spectacular log ride. I was working on one of the drops, it was a 3 foot drop from the rock to the ground followed by a soon to be berm into a small jump at the end of the trail, the total trail length was about 25 feet. I tried my drop out twice and it was pretty gnarly.

Sam was working on another drop line, it started with a 4 foot drop then a short trail to a jump with about a 3 foot gap to the landing. After he finished it I had to try it out because he was without a bike. I tried the jump out first, the dirt was still a little wet but, it worked out. I chucked the drop with ease and needed to try it again, which I shouldn't have. I landed the drop with ease but for some strange reason the rear of my bike felt a bit funny. I looked down at my rear shock and saw a clear/yellowish bubbly fluid leaking from the value of the shock (where the air is put in). I knew right away something was wrong, I called Sam over and he seemed optimistic, he thought I just blew an air seal (less than $30 to fix).

I left my bike with Sam, he took it to the shop and diagnosed the problem. He came to the conclusion that I had blown the Nitrogen charge in the shock. The nitrogen charge give the rider the ability to control how fast or slow the shock rebounds and if the rider wants the shock open, locked out or on pro-pedal a happy medium setting intended for climbing. My shock is blown, its essentially useless, with out the nitrogen charge I'm riding on a spring, an out of control one at that.

I have three options to fix this, send my shock to Push Industries and have them rebuild it for $180 plus shipping. Order a new Fox Float rear shock for $300+ depending on what configuration I want or, order a RockShox Monarch RT3 shock for $275+ depending on the configuration.

You know what "they" say: If you want to play, you got to pay!

Looks like I learned the hard way