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Is an alien from 2007
I felt drawn to this thread by the title but having read through it my "advice" has completely changed:
I persevered with the "maybe not quite right" bike for 18 years (not a typo) before back pain every ride finally convinced me that not only was my bike too small, but had probably always been too small (got it when I was 15 and didn't expect clueless sales staff). Decided to cash out* and start over with, essentially, the 5yo equivalent of the bike I wanted 15 years previously. Was great. Still a tad small, but liveable. Problem was I had aged and my riding has moved on, so now I could "move to Cairns or maydena", but fucked if I'd want to.
Don't stick with the wrong bike if it's really that wrong for you.
Was what I wanted to say. "I wasted my riding years doing the tweaks and the mods and never really getting the bike I should have been riding" etc.
But clearly you are not in the position I was. You're not trying to make the bike you have do the riding you want to do, and it doesn't, but the riding you have the opportunity to do. That's much easier. I made my mid 90s steel hardtail both a time trial bike faster than any road bike Ive owned since and also a better all-mountain bike than anyone would have expected (especially not the half-baked Gary Fisher who designed it). It's definitely possible to tweak more than you have already: crank lengths, cockpit, forks, wheels - you've only scratched the surface so far. But as others have concluded, fitness and getting the pedals turned counts for a lot in making a big bike feel light in between the odd gnar opportunity.
Consider adding a pub bike to the 1 bike quiver (it can live outside!). The funnest bike I ever owned was an Apollo kylami I found dumped outside a church the week I moved to Bristol. Rode that shitheap through the woods all the time and gave 0 fuks permanently. Sure I didn't jump it or hit the rooty stepdowns, I'm not a moron, but plenty dirt. Also rode it to the shops, the cinema, to work... I rode it a lot. A lot more than any "nice" bike. See what I mean?
-mark
I persevered with the "maybe not quite right" bike for 18 years (not a typo) before back pain every ride finally convinced me that not only was my bike too small, but had probably always been too small (got it when I was 15 and didn't expect clueless sales staff). Decided to cash out* and start over with, essentially, the 5yo equivalent of the bike I wanted 15 years previously. Was great. Still a tad small, but liveable. Problem was I had aged and my riding has moved on, so now I could "move to Cairns or maydena", but fucked if I'd want to.
Don't stick with the wrong bike if it's really that wrong for you.
Was what I wanted to say. "I wasted my riding years doing the tweaks and the mods and never really getting the bike I should have been riding" etc.
But clearly you are not in the position I was. You're not trying to make the bike you have do the riding you want to do, and it doesn't, but the riding you have the opportunity to do. That's much easier. I made my mid 90s steel hardtail both a time trial bike faster than any road bike Ive owned since and also a better all-mountain bike than anyone would have expected (especially not the half-baked Gary Fisher who designed it). It's definitely possible to tweak more than you have already: crank lengths, cockpit, forks, wheels - you've only scratched the surface so far. But as others have concluded, fitness and getting the pedals turned counts for a lot in making a big bike feel light in between the odd gnar opportunity.
Consider adding a pub bike to the 1 bike quiver (it can live outside!). The funnest bike I ever owned was an Apollo kylami I found dumped outside a church the week I moved to Bristol. Rode that shitheap through the woods all the time and gave 0 fuks permanently. Sure I didn't jump it or hit the rooty stepdowns, I'm not a moron, but plenty dirt. Also rode it to the shops, the cinema, to work... I rode it a lot. A lot more than any "nice" bike. See what I mean?
-mark
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