What a major confidence booster.

One week after snapping a pedal off my mountain bike, I got a solid great ride in.  I switched back to clip-less pedals. There is always the debate as to which is better, platform or clip-less pedals. I am used to riding with clip-less on both my road and mountain bike. 

The main reason I switched first off is because I don’t have an extra set of platform pedals in my stash of gear. 

Before the pedal snapped off, I was having a ton of issues with pedal strikes. It started getting to me mentally not being able to do climbs or trails I know I can do and have done previously.  

I was very excited when I was able to complete a full loop in my favorite mountain bike park for training. The entire 15 mile loop I never put a foot down or had to unclip from the pedals. 

What a major confidence booster. 

Before the ride I made some air shock adjustments after finding out my rear shock was set up to squishy. Added more air to it an adjusted the rebound.  

The adjustments and set up come just in time for a 200 mile challenge I have opted into this winter. 

Giant 2020 Stance 2 29er

After having warranty issues with another bike manufacture, I read up a lot of different bikes that would be in my price range.  There were a few options that the new bike would have to have. I wanted to try and find a full-suspension 29 inch wheel bike. First off, I wanted to stay with the 29 inch rims.  The big or bigger rims seem to go over the rough desert terrain better. I wanted full suspension for a better ride and cushion some of the rough downhills I come upon. An option I was also looking to have was a dropper post on my seat. This isn’t a necessity but a great luxury when navigating rough downhills, wanting to move the seat out of the way. 

Searching up and down online and seeing what others have said on certain components, frames and manufactures. With the internet, there is a lot to search. 

Giant 2020 Stance 2 29er which has an alloy frame, SRAM SX 1X12 Eagle drive train, Suntour Raidon air shock and fork. Now these are not the top of the line or greatest shocks on the market, but they work within my budget.  

I wanted something that was going to work for me, not cost more than my vehicle or anything like that. 

Riding it for the past three months, I can say it's a great bike. The fit is perfect and the 1X12 SRAM SX Eagle drive train is sweet. 

NEW BIKE DAY

I've had it for about three weeks now, and am LOVING it. 

I've moved on to a full suspension but still sticking with 29 inch wheels. 

I have taken it out and ridden it hard on my local trail and my race pace time has improved. 

I'll make another post giving more detail about the bike in the next few weeks here. 

Hang on tight!