Mountain
Biking
We first
made the decision to pick up mountain biking in 2001. It looked like
a lot of fun, great exercise, and a good excuse to hit the trail! We
set out to find bikes that suited our needs without setting us back too
much until we figured out if we liked it or not. 
I opted
for a Royce Union Crimson AL-8 with a lightweight aluminum body, SR
Suntour front suspension, Shimano derailleurs and shifters, which has
turned out to be a good deal for the money. The first thing I
did was add a handlebar lift kit to it, though. An aluminum mountain
bike for less than $350 is hard to beat. It's taken a bit of abuse
so far, and I've only busted one crank arm and bent a pedal. No
serious damage. The gears don't shift that smoothly, but I think a
good coat of grease should help things out.
Sandra
chose a GT Palomar, which featured a steel frame, but grip shift, a
comfortable seat (I'm jealous!), SR Suntour M7700 Front Suspension, and a
Shimano Dual 515 Shifter. She is very happy with her bike, and
remarks that she doesn't even feel the bumps in the trail.
We rode
the Summit to Surf from Mt. Hood to Hood River, Oregon, this July.
For pics, click here!
We've
only been a few times so far, but we'll post our trail reports and photos
here. To view more pages on mountain biking, click on the links at
left.
Visit
Top 50 Sports Sites to cast your vote for Johann & Sandra's Mountain
Biking!
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