So I was just riding along when...

i felt what i thought was the saddle tipping back on me. upon inspection the saddle was in fact not loose, which caused me to look the bike over more closely. looking further down the seat tube and what do i see? to be truthful i have ridden this bike VERY hard so i can't really complain about the failure. aluminum does have a finite life span after all and it has served me in a spectacular fashion. trek has always been good with warranty issues in the past, and thankfully this trend has conituned. i was in the shop yesterday, East Coast Bicycles by the way, and i was told that this would be a no brainer to warranty. i'm just glad that it was a simple failure and not a catostrophic one like my klein was.

2/7 = ---> ahhhhhhh session77

wtf does that mean you ask? i see numbers and symmetry but im weird like that.the reality of it is though is this bike is anything but weird. while it's not innovative in design, it is VERYthorough in execution. oversized cartridge bearings at the pivots, pinch bolts on the G I G A N T O R linkage plates, adjustable dropouts to accomodate 24" or 26" wheels (which also allow adjustment of bb height and head tube angle), ZR9000 series aluminum for great strength yet still reasonablylight, welds that are truly gorgeous. a 1.5"headtube, this thing looks like a beer can!

the parts specification is a solid mixture of industry big hitters such as shimano, manitou, hayes and sram, along with some in-house componentry. the in-house group, Big Earl, is Bontrager's initial forray into the freeride/dh market. the Big E parts manifest themselfs at the bars, stem,wheels and hub, while the seatpost, clamp, and saddle are typical fare Bonty.the handle bars are the new oversized 31.8 mm with a good 1.5 -2" rise (they also happen to be stanchion gold matching the hubs and the fork...bonus for style points) hanging off of that groovy colored handlebar are lock on grips, sramX9 shifters, and hayes magnesium brakes. on the other end of those shifters and brakes are a shimano xt front dr, a sram rear dr, and 8" hayes rotors. those rotors are grabbing on to some big E tires, rims, and hub. at each end of the bike is 7" of travel courtesy of mantio sherman break out up front and a manitou swinger in the rear.
unfortunately, at this point, i've only managed a
very light dj session along with some tame xc so i can't speak to its true potential yet. my initial impression is that it's going to be fantastic to ride. it pedals and steers like an xc bike, yet i have that mental security blanket that of 7" inches of very plush travel front and rear, along with honking 8" rotors to slow me down when i get scared or stoopid. i have a trip planned to Rays Indoor Mtnbike Park in Cleveland this coming weekend so that will be my first opportunity to explore the potential that this bike has to offer.