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When 'Lust in the Dust' Becomes 'Rage in the Sage'

What do you know?! I actually sold something on Craigslist. I still have yet to buy something on Craigslist. Actually the whole process was confidence-inspiring. My "old" bike (10 months old) took a month of patience to finally sell.

The next day I went to the bike store and surrendered to my basest instincts. That is, I bought a new Trek Full Stache. It is sometimes called the monster truck of mountain bikes.


Big tires roll over stuff easily. It is that simple. I smiled and almost giggled as I took this monster on a test ride, and deliberately chose bad "lines" through rocky obstacles, and felt the bike shrug it off.

It was gratifying to be rewarded for ignoring much of the nonsense on the internet. Unless you understand what the reviewer's agenda or perspective is, you simply don't know whether to believe them or not. 

Young male reviewers are almost always full of crap. They are not shrewd consumers. And their prose is unreadable! They make a show of techno-babble, but their arguments are 95% emotion versus 5% engineering.

Professional reviewers are trying to shill for the industry, despite their studied pretense of objectivity.

I blew them all off, and went with my own experience and common sense. It works. 

Except for one thing: the color of this bike makes me puke -- it looks like a World War II era jeep or tank. Or maybe the tent color of a backpacker in 1974, with his beard, and freeze-dried beef stroganoff. 

Bicycle colors should be lively. Does anybody know where I can buy a can of tie-dye spray paint? 

Comments

Bon vivant said…
Youngsters are everything you assert and worse tho' not really their fault since few have parents and they're trained in nonsense at government schools. At times I've inserted an advert clause stating it the respondent doesn't use proper English grammar, syntax and punctuation I'll ignore.
I agree that youngsters aren't really to blame for their craziness. They are totally under the influence of the media or the schools, as you pointed out.

Even if it weren't for those baleful influences, there is still the curse of testosterone.
Ted said…
Congrats on the sale & new purchase.

The color is indeed unfortunate. The military green is likely appealing to that segment of OHV folks who like to cosplay in camoflage clothing. Because it's really smart to have your bike and clothing blend into the scenery when you've a broken leg and search & rescue is trying to find you.
I will weigh that option against the tie-dye! (grin)
Anonymous said…
Blending in with the background may give you an edge against pursuing cougars with their bad eyesight an' all.