New Bike Coming Soon

I've found the mountain bike I want and will be receiving it soon. I know, I only got the Jeep bike a year ago, but...it turned out to be a poor performer. In a sense it did serve it's purpose, in that it got me out on the trails and it proved that I enjoy mountain biking, but it isn't a good bike for regular use. The Jeep bike has a heavy steel frame and lots of low quality Chinese components...in other words, it's pretty clunky, and it's been difficult keeping it working correctly.

This new bike is made by a direct-buy manufacturer named Ibex out of the Atlanta area. They have in-house aluminum frames and high-quality name brand components. The bikes are available in multiple frame sizes and, although they are available only off the internet, the online sizing help and excellent email customer service made finding the right size easy.

I should be wary of buying another bike online without a test ride, but I'm very confident in Ibex. They get great reviews and have a large, dedicated following among mountain bike enthusiasts. The bike I chose, the Alpine 550, is one of their more "entry level" models, but the quality of components is equal to those on far more expensive bikes found in bike shops. This bike is definitely on another level compared to the Jeep bike and other bikes found in department stores.

The next (and last) bike accessory I'll need is a bike rack for the Jeep. I have to go with a hitch mount, and I need 13" of clearance between the hole in the stinger and the vertical element in order to clear the spare tire. It's hard, maybe impossible, to find a quality rack with a long enough stinger, so I might have to resort to getting a hitch extension. Hopefully I can find a suitable rack shortly, since I hope there will be a few days in March and April nice enough for a little trail riding. :-D