Oops. It seems I’ve accidentally purchased the best bike on the face of the planet.

Having spent the past few weeks getting out on the road bike fairly frequently (even if not for very long each time), I’ve been enjoying my cycling. Combined with some more recent offroad forays, I’ve felt myself being drawn back towards mountain biking. To that end, I have watched eBay like a hawk for the past week, considering everything from £50 frames to a £500 Stinky (mmmmm….). I finally plumped for something that was actually within my budget, and she arrived last night…

It’s a bit old-school, but I think it looks great. That’s not the most crucial thing though, so I took it down to Sherwood Pines today for a quick blast around – I can say without a shadow of a doubt that it is utterly awesome. It’s a bit of a weird setup, having been delivered without a front brake, and running as a single speed on vertical dropouts. However, neither hindered me much, and I spent a very enjoyable morning razzing through the various downhill lines. Since my last trip, all the sign posts have been put in place, and there’s a little bit of North Shore stuff in place now too. The trails were much drier than last time, and much quicker. The bike was the main event though, and proved better than I could ever have hoped -it’s incredibly playful and just wants to be thrashed at every opportunity. I think the fat 2.3″ front tyre helps, but the geometry of the random no-name frame (which had been a worry) seems perfect too. I took the last few sections of the Kitchener (Red) XC route back to the car park from the downhill area, and it was just as comfortable on that too. The single-speed setup will have to go though! Of course, this purchase means that the road bike will have to go, but it served its purpose very well. Roll on the rest of the dirt-based summer.