1st ride on the 69er...

and first bike with suspension since...I can't even remember! 5 years? 7? Anyway, it's weird having that squishy thing on the front. I'm so far out of the new tech loop that with the Fox fork, hydraulic discs, and hollowtech cranks with the BB on the outside of the bike...I am at a loss for tools and the knowledge of how to work on this bike. The first ride out the Avid Juicy 5 rear brake lever wouldn't spring back and it'd take a ton of force to actuate the brake...great. Local shop said they've seen it before and it's a broken piece in the brake lever, not the fluid needing to be bled. Either way, I'm lost and I will have to learn to work on this thing soon cause if something breaks on the trail I have to be able to fix it then and there. Which means, i may take this stock setup and do some rather large tweaks to customize it.

It was a bro-deal from a friend, yes, but I really like the frame and philosophy of the 69er. I also feel like I had at least a small part in it and in giving feedback on previous versions several years ago. There is no other way to describe the ride of the 69er on trail than it carves. It doesn't turn, it CARVES, like a snowboard on corduroy...and getting the front end to wash out is nearly impossible. The tweaks I'll make are to make it more my style - different bars (H-bars or Mtn Mustaches), Ti seatpost for some cush to the aluminum ride, maybe some Hutchie Pythons instead of the Jones' which are dogs on pavement, maybe a different crankset, and likely new cable discs instead of the hydraulics. I don't like the idea of having brakes that can brake in the middle of nowhere and having NO brakes for the remainder of the ride - like what happened on my 1st ride on this bike. What are other people's experience with hydraulics?



If you look closely you'll see Robert our local neighborhood Bobcat sitting down watching me pass.