I bought a thing

"You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much" (youcantellafinn)
04/25/2016 at 11:22 • Filed to: bikelopnik, c'mon summer

Saturday I went to a bike swap because my buddy was looking for a new mountain bike. The bike swap was a bust, but on the way out we stopped at a bike shop on a whim. We both ended up with new bikes, and I hadn’t even intended to buy anything.

Thanks to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! for the use of their image even if they did make it a PITA to grab it from their site. The bike shop was pretty sweet and we both got good deals on our bikes. Now for the snow to finish melting and the trails to dry up. The new Fuel Ex 8 should be a big step up from my 10 year old Giant Trance, even though that has been an excellent bike for me.

DISCUSSION (17)

valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
04/25/2016 at 11:30

Nice! 2016 model? I have a 2015 and love it.

BeaterGT > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
04/25/2016 at 11:34

Nice grab! Where do you ride? I’m going to be renting a 2015 Fuel Ex 8 when I visit Portland, OR.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option
04/25/2016 at 11:36

Yep, 2016. All the reviews say they are awesome bikes, so it should be a good one. It will be interesting going to a 29er from my old bike.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > BeaterGT
04/25/2016 at 11:37

I’m in the Midwest. We’ve got some decent local trails that I mostly ride, but usually manage to sneak in a weekend or two up in Copper Harbor . They’ve got some really nice trails up there.

WTFMPL's mom drives a brown wagon. > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
04/25/2016 at 11:57

From my shop wrenching and peddling days, you’re the best type of customer. Thank you for liking good stuff, and generally not being a person who complains that bikes are cheaper at walmart.

PowderHound > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
04/25/2016 at 12:03

My roommate loved his old fuel. Then his chain stay snapped but he ended up with a slash the other week which seems incredible. Enjoy!

PotbellyJoe and 42 others > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
04/25/2016 at 12:18

Good deal. Happy trails!

The Snowman > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
04/25/2016 at 12:37

Come ride in park city / salt lake we have it really good here. Moab is great too if you are road tripping.

just-a-scratch > WTFMPL's mom drives a brown wagon.
04/25/2016 at 12:59

In my experience, the folks who want particular components or materials, and understand buying pedals separately, will not be happy with the Walmart bicycle selection.

This looks like a space ship compared to my last mountain bike. Then again, 25 years is plenty of time for progress.

Mattbob > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
04/25/2016 at 14:10

nice. Did you get the 29" or 27.5? I was going to buy a bike last weekend, but I had 2 cars take a shit on me, so it’s not going to happen for a while.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > Mattbob
04/25/2016 at 15:41

Went with 29". Talking to the sales guy he said that he’d ridden both and liked the 29" more. They shortened up the chainstays a lot so the 29" doesn’t really lose much of the playfulness or tossability of the 27.5" according to him. I had been keeping an eye on these since the re:aktiv shock was announced last year. Pretty much all the reviews were very positive for the 29's gaining the traction and rolling abilities of the 29" wheel while still maintaining their nimbleness.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > The Snowman
04/25/2016 at 15:43

I’ve never been out there in the summer for biking. It would be very cool, but it definitely isn’t happening this summer.

The skiing is excellent though, I spent a winter working at Park City. As a bonus we got to ski the Canyons and Deer Valley for free on our days off and pretty much everywhere else was 1/2 off.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > WTFMPL's mom drives a brown wagon.
04/25/2016 at 16:12

I’m not fond of buying things more than once. The re:aktiv suspension has intrigued me since I first started reading about it, and my old bike is in need of replacement. I don’t know if I ride enough to legitimately justify buying this bike, but I hate things breaking enough that I can justify spending good money on my gear.

DynamicWeight > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
04/25/2016 at 18:46

Congrats! I currently have a Giant Trance and really like it, but I do look upon better bikes with envy. Mountain biking is the best sport there is IMHO. Not sure where you are but Demonstration Forest in Aptos, CA is the best mountain biking I’ve ever done.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > DynamicWeight
04/26/2016 at 08:47

I’m a few thousand miles away from California, so probably won’t make it there anytime soon. We’ve got some pretty good local trails, and I usually make a couple weekend trips to Copper Harbor in Michigan. For a tiny town in the middle of nowhere they have a really good trail system. If you’re ever in the Midwest with your bike it is worth the trip to check it out.

My old bike is a 2006 Trance 1. It has been an awesome bike for me, but at 10 years old it is starting to show its age. Hopefully I can get as much use out of the new bike as I got out of the old one.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > PowderHound
04/26/2016 at 08:52

How does one snap a chain stay? Was it a matter of age/miles and it fatigued or did he take too big of a hit?

I checked out the Slash last night (on the internet), those look like pretty sweet bikes. They’ve got a lot more travel than I need, but then I don’t have mountains handy so that lends itself to more trail/XC riding.

PowderHound > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
04/26/2016 at 09:31

That’s our guess. It was a bit old and cracked right at the weld. He could have got a new one for a few hundred but got the “new bike fever”. Our house has a lot of bikes in various shapes