Personalising your mountain bike is one of the nicest things I dont know a single rider who hasnt customised his bike to a degree. Even those with entry level, off the shelf bikes have swapped the tyres, saddles, grips and stems to get the feel they crave and make them want to ride harder.
If you plan on buying a bike any time, you can budget to get it the way you want by being intelligent about it. There are two options swap things out and upgrade as things wear out, replacing them with better options or work out how much you can sell components on the existing bike for, and how much extra you will need to get what you need.
But the thing that really makes me tick, is building a bike from scratch. I get a thrill from getting all the parts I really want, and putting together the perfect bike. Its a long process, and you would need to scour websites and bike shops to find the best prices to get it all together, but the best feeling is having a bike in front of you, in lots of boxes begging to be built.
As you carefully slot, bolt and slide the components together yourself, it becomes an ultra rewarding experience. You learn much about your mountain bike and understand how it works and where every single creak and click can develop from.
And then theres the maiden voyage its nothing but pleasure.
If this sounds like the kind of thing you might want to do some time, then try reading, Its All About the Bike, by Robert Penn. It is a great read about a man who hunts high and low to build his ultimate bike it will only fuel your fire.
Every cyclist should build a
mountain bike from scratch at some point; that will be the ultimate challenge of being a total biker.
