My Past Years Bicycling Experience

I purchased a Schwinn Voyager GS in March of '07 to get back into cycling and quickly grew out of it. I wanted something a little more substantial, more exotic. Well, after some research here and all over the net, I decided on a Giant FCR 2. I couldn't find one living in such a remote area. (BTW, I've been trying to change my profile location to Big Bend National Park, but am experiencing technical difficulties.) Anyway, I decided on a new Giant OCR 3 that I was able to find 4 hours away. It was okay but I really didn't like the drop bars. In the meantime, I bought a Kona Mountain Fire. It was a good bike for the "off road" riding around here. But, I was still unsatisfied. I sold the Kona and contacted Peak Cycles in Boulder, CO. They helped me pick out parts to totally reconfigure the Giant. I installed 2" riser bars, new shifters, brake levers, saddle and post. I also put on new MKS pedals to eliminate the toe clips and 700 X 32's. THIS BIKE IS GREAT! It is like a true hybrid. I will be posting pictures and more details of what I learned during the process. If anyone is considering doing or has done a project like this let me know.

I'm sorry to hear that.

What, exactly, was the 'project?' Going through 2 bikes and having to totally reconfigure a third within the course of a year in order to find something I was happy with sounds more like a horror story to me.

Wouldn't the people at the bike shop explain the differences and uses of the various types of bikes before you had to buy them? Or, was that what you mostly learned through the process?

It was a little frustrating. Actually, the Schwinn was just a cheapy to get back in to the sport. I wanted to replace it with the FCR2 which I might have found six hours away in El Paso. I should have just done that! I ended up with the OCR3. I got rid of the Schwinn and Kona very easily being 120 miles away from the nearest grocery store, let alone a bike shop. Now that I have converted the OCR, I am happy and ride constantly. My experience with bike shops sucks. They just want to sell me a bike and couldn't care less about my wants and needs.