I found some loose change under a couch cushion and decided to get myself a new mountain bike. After a lot of deliberation, I went with a Trek Top Fuel 8.
Although I got it on sale, it was still quite a lot of change but the reviews were very solid and I loved the red color when I saw it in person at Blue Ridge Cyclery. I took it for a test ride and pretty much knew I was going home with it.
My first ride was pretty rough. The body position is much different than on my old bike. On my X-Caliber, I was more stretched out and the bars are narrow. On the Top Fuel, I feel more vertical with wider hands. It feels more athletic in some ways, but takes some getting used to.
The body position was one thing, the brakes were another. They weren’t properly bled and were extremely spongy with no bite. I hit a small sapling on my first decent due to poor braking and the wider bars. Luckily, I wasn’t going fast and ended up sort of grabbing it instead of going down hard.
To Blue Ridge Cyclery’s credit, they were able take it in that afternoon and get it back to me the next day. Now, the brakes are great and I went out for a ride this morning at O-hill. I’m still getting used to the body position but was able to get a nice ride in with no mishaps.
I’m really looking forward to being able to get out on Ruby on a regular basis as we live a little over a mile from O-hill and a stones throw from the Rivanna Trail.