Fuck Giant....

 Yeah....still beating that drum.

FUCK GIANT BICYCLES. 

I really should be over this by now....but its still frustrating to no end. So yeah, you can say I am holding a grudge. Not only did I not achieve my goal of completing LJ100, but then I broke my frame and now don't have a mountain bike. So with registration opening soon I am going to take the gamble and sign up, with the hopes that I will be able to land a bike in the spring.

Main issue here is that Giant refused to honor their warranty. Well, partially. They made some stupid offer that would have cost me an additional $5500 to get into a functional bike. So thanks for that. I got a better offer from a rep from a different company. lol.

Second issue is....I can't drop that kind of coin on a bike right now. There are plenty of places with financing options, but I need to get thru January and see a few things. First, what bikes will even be available to buy in the spring. Secondly, will I even be able to afford something. 

I will let it go....eventually. But I swear I will never own another Giant for as long as I live....and I have owned a bunch....currently 3....one complete with a broken frame. Its bananas that their offer wasn't better.....

So where am I now. Sitting here watching the snow fly. I will ride in the basement. I will ride the fatty out in the snow. I will train with the intent that I will have a new mountain bike next year. There are so many options that I will be able to land something high end and in my affordability range. Here are some options:

Specialized Epic EVO. all the perks of the Epic with shock and fork that don't need to be serviced yearly. High end, big cost...but great bikes. My all time favorite bike was my Epic Expert that specially fell into my lap from Cross Country Cycle so many years ago. I rode that thing to death....then my son took over before he either sold it or it got stolen. Either way, I loved the bike and would love nothing more than to get back into a Specialized.

Canyon LUX world cup (or LUX trail) is another option. High end components on a proven winning bike. Price range is solid, and it has everything I would want. Right now the World Cup isn't available but the LUX trail is. The Trail has longer travel to take some of the abuse. Much like my Anthem SX, it has the race geometry with a bit more travel up front. Seems like a good choice.

Kona Hei Hei CR/DL is another affordable option. One drawback here would be that it doesn't have carbon wheels. As heavy as I am and as hard as I ride...and as spoiled as I have been.....I need/*want carbon wheels. So for the pricepoint, that is a hit. 

These are the main 3 I have been looking at. There is the Scott Spark, The KTM Scarp, the Niner RKT, the Cannondale Scalpel amongst others that I would consider. 

I won't really settle.....but it will have to be what is available this spring. So I find what is around and then I sort out how to pay for it. Hope my yearly review goes good ;)

That being said, training starts today. Will be getting on the trainer tonight and just doing what I can. Made it through the first holiday poorly eating everything I could find. Need to get through Christmas now. 

Clearly this topic isn't closed. There will be much more to come in the next couple of months. Just need to get it all sorted out so I can train on the bike I will riding for LJ100.....because I don't want it to be Albert....my 35lb fatbike. lol.

Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving.

and by the way.....Giant....you can still suck it.