I finally bought a bike!!!!!

[Capt. Jack Sparrow]

Woo-hoo! I finally bought a bike today! Thanks to Corey, Mark, and Dan for the bike loans in the meantime while I shopped, and thanks to everybody for their input and advice! It was a long process because right when I thought I knew a good bike for me, I'd try a new kind of riding and it would throw my plans askew. I think I got a bike that I'll be able to do DH, XC, and freeriding on... and one that I will be able to "grow into" as well.


Jenn's New Bike! (http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/04/cusa/model-4VG9.html)

After talking to almost every store in No. VA, I decided to see what kind of deal I could get from a shop a little away from the city. I bought it at the Bike Stop at Mountain's Edge in Culpeper, VA. I got a sweet deal on it! Real cool shop. I'd highly recommend them. Ask for Eric. If it weren't for him I wouldn't be riding such a nice bike. :)

It's available in silver but mine's what I call "pirate" black. (Matte.)
Yarrrr!

[stoneysnake]

that's hot!

[Castle]

Sweet!!!!!!!

[Matt D]

Damn! nice bike! You'll have fun on that beast.

Our shop has had some bad experiences with the Bike Stop. They don't give a rat's A$$ about undercutting other shops that have done a lot of work to try to sell a bike. We've had customer's take literally DAYS of our time getting fit and figuring out which bike to get, only to go to the Bike Stop because it was a few bucks cheaper:angry: . Not cool.

I do have a couple of friends that race for them though and they hooked them up!

[Westy]

Sweet bike. I like the Bike Stop too!
Shameless plug, check sig.

[KPicha]

Very nice! Were you able to ride it before you bought it? YOu'd never see one of those in the shops around here.

[jmvar]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! You bought it at the perfect time to, now you have all spring summer fall to enjoy it....you have armor, now all you need is a full face helmet to make sure your not spittin' any chicklets and you are good to go...

julio

[Capt. Jack Sparrow]

Yup, I'm pretty psyched. I hadn't considered a Gemini until I called the Bike Stop to find out about their Kona prices, and Eric mentioned I might dig the Gemini. So I had him order it, and then I rode it around a little today and it just felt right. I rode it down some steep hills... it was like butter! I had prepared myself to hate it and have to suck it up and walk away, so I was pleasantly surprised.

Stores in No. VA were steering me towards bikes like the Kona Fire Mountain (a "recreational mountain bike"), the Marin Nail Trail, as well as basic XC bikes although I was trying to tell the sales people I like riding stuff like at the 'Shed the most, even though it kicks my arse. When I was describing riding at the 'Shed, this one sales guy at this No. VA store was like, "Just because you rode on a fire road with some oversize gravel on it doesn't mean you need something beyond a basic XC bike." I realized that he just didn't understand me, and that's fine. Perhaps it really doesn't make sense that someone new to mountain biking would like trying freeride and DH stuff.

I know I'm a newbie and I know I suck but I also know where my dreams are... so it was nice to talk to Eric at the Bike Stop, start fresh, and get hooked up with a nice bike at huge savings. Believe me, no one tried to sell me a Gemini at any other store. (Although I can see how it would piss off a bike shop if they fitted me for a Gemini and then I turned around and bought the bike somewhere else.)

This is not to say that I didn't talk to some very helpful bike salespeople up in No. VA/DC area. I'm not poo-pooing sellers in this area. I just found that getting a fresh perspective on the whole thing by checking out a shop with low rent (lower rent that No. VA stores) worked out for me... the Bike Stop has more room to play with price, so I ended up with a ton of bike for my $.

BTW, Julio, I have a FF helmet that fits now... :) now I have to get body armor that fits my girlish frame. But basically, now I can ride what I want to ride and feel safe without having to borrow from everyone!:p

Edit: Added 2nd to last paragraph.

[KPicha]

Too funny! Yeah, last year I was looking for an Enduro and one shop guy asked me what I wanted that for since its "full on Downhill bike" :rolleyes: Ok, whatever . Glad it worked out for you :)

[Castle]

Originally posted by KPicha
Too funny! Yeah, last year I was looking for an Enduro and one shop guy asked me what I wanted that for since its "full on Downhill bike" :rolleyes: Ok, whatever . Glad it worked out for you :)

umm wow, that's pretty far away from a DH rig............ :(

[KPicha]

Originally posted by Castle
umm wow, that's pretty far away from a DH rig............ :(

Yeah, no kidding. Needless to say, I wasn't about to trust any of his other information.

[bwagner]

That is a VERY cool bike. It was one of my choices too befire i picked up my Kona. Congratulations on your new rig. By any chance were you out on a street ride last night with Corey and a few others??

[BigMike]

Finally! Does this mean that all the PMing is going to stop? :D

Have fun with your new ride!

[BAC5.2]

I'm not a Cannondale fan at all, but the Gemini does seem to be a pretty solid bike. I know a few people who have beaten the hell out of them and they have held up great.

[Sir_Crackien]

good pick on a bike. that is also a good parts package