wejustblog

You know sometimes when you dream and then you wake up feeling totally inspired? I had that magical feeling 3 days ago. I was cycling in my dream and cycling was something I have not been doing for 5 years, ever since my beloved BMX bicycle was stolen. It was an aluminium Haro tricked out with an array of high-end components like “Shimano XT” V-Brakes and my favorite French “Mavic” Rims. I locked it outside my flat with a thick chain and apparently it was cut in the middle of the night while I was asleep. The dream was almost lucid and the first thing on my mind when I opened my eyes was that I have to get a new ride.

A trip to my local bike shop and I have my new ride. It was a hasty decision but a good one nonetheless. Cycling was one of my major hobbies and living without a bike for the past 5 years somehow made me incomplete. The bike I bought is a 2008 Avalanche 2.0 Disc from GT Bicycles. As the name implies, it comes with Tektro Auriga Comp disc brakes stock for great and responsive stopping power, especially useful for a heavy person like me.

Pardon me for the messy background of my art materials.

Aside from the quality brakes, it also has a good frame with the proven GT Triple Triangle design 6061 butted aluminum with hydroformed downtube and zero stack headtube. Basically it means the frame is strengthened at the parts where it matters and lightened where it does not, for strength and lightness. The stock drivetrain components are pretty crap and I’m definitely swapping them for a more decent system.

Unhappy with the stock components, I upgraded some of them to lighter, prettier ones. I replace the longish GT stem with an AtomLab Aircorp short stem. The wheels are replaced with a pair of disc-specific Mavic Crossrides. I’m a big fan of Mavic! The current gear shifting feels sluggish and soft so I’m changing that as well. I have the 2008 Shimano Deore-XT group in mind. I like swift and light shifting so the aluminium triggers do me a big favor.

Do you have a ride too? Show me show me!