A History of My Road and 'Cross Bikes

Time for installment #3 of my bike history (full sus bikes here and 29er hardtails here)

Update: hardtail 26ers here.

My road riding started on my pop's hand me down Schwinn. Typical early 70s bike boom, with Ashtabula cranks, steel rims, etc. But I'll start this history with the first road bike I actually bought:

1. 1991 Bridgestone RB-T

 

(not my bike pictured). I was heavily influenced by reading Grant Petersen's Bridgestone catalogues throughout college, so when I went road bike shopping, a quick spin to the Bike Gallery and this RB-T was mine. Must've been the summer between my freshman and sophomore years at the University of Washington. The Suntour drivetrain never shifted very well, but otherwise this was a great bike: good clearances, a nice frame, good geo. They're actually still quite in demand today, and I wouldn't mind finding one now. Mine was a 59cm, probably too small for me, though.

A History of My (Many) Hardtail 29ers

(reference: my history of full sus bikes, road bikes, and 26er hardtails)

I was a reasonably early adapter of 29ers (for Ohio), starting back around 2006. That spring, I saw a guy on the trail with a white On One Inbred--the first 29er I'd seen in real life. I tried to meet up with him later for a demo ride, but it just never worked out. That didn't stop me from taking the plunge, though, and I built up my own 29er that summer:

1. Voodoo Dambala

A decent frame, super versatile as were most of the early 29ers (disc or rim brakes, single speed or geared). I had a Marzocchi Bomber fork on there, which was adequate. But, it just felt kind of slow and unwieldy on the trail. I blamed the 29er wheels, but I also had some medical issues going on that summer which likely played a bigger role. I sold it and went back to my Specialized Epic... for a while.