My first real mountain bike was a steel frame. At the time (1994) I really liked the bike and it wasn't bad coming from the first piece of junk I had. But I wouldn't say it was a great bike... more like just a bike, nothing special what so ever! After riding it hard for 2 years, it was beaten up, had some stripped threads in the fixed seat stay cantilever post and the frame had a serious ding in it. So I was in the market for a new frame. It was 1996 and full suspension had been around for a few years, but no one had really gotten it right. GT came out with a new LTS full suspension and it caught my interest. So I bought a used one from a guy I knew and for what it was, I was pleased with it.
About two years later (1998) I started considering going back to a hardtail. So I did some research and finally decided on a Litespeed Obed Ti frame hardtail. The frame I bought was a used 1996 Ti frame, but it was in great shape. I drove 4+ hours to Chattanooga, TN to pick it up and stopped at Tsali on the way back for a weekend of riding. By the time I got home, I kew there was no point in keeping the GT LTS. The GT LTS was okay, but as with all the FS frames of that day it had a lot of pedal bob and just wasn't that great of a ride. The new Ti frame I hard performed like a charm and I was digging it!
I road the piss out of the Obed and loved every minute of it. While out on a ride in 2003 I came up on a small pit in the trail that hadn't been there the previous week and had no time to setup to clear it in time. As the front wheel started to dive in I tried to get out of the saddle, and pull up on the handle bars to help the front wheel clear it, but I was too late. The front wheel did clear, but my rear wheel slammed into the pit and that kicked the back ended of the bike back up and the impact went straight through my back. A sharp pain shot down my right leg and I pulled off at the first intercetion of the trail to walk it off. That's when i realized there was a bigger issue other than a sore ass. The front of my right leg was numb, the back side of my right leg was in a burning pain and my back felt like some had driven a wood spliting wedge into it. So I pedaled out of the trail with one leg and let the other hang straight, because the pain was intense when I tried to use it.
Later that day I found myself failing over at times, because my leg would go completely numb. So I dug out the crutches from a previous knee surgery and put them to use. Two days later I'm at the doctor's office getting an MRI and Xray and learned I had a blown L5 disc in my back. The doctor told me there was a chance I would recover, but on the flip side I may need back surgery... only time would tell. I told him I did not want to even consider going under the knife unless it was my last option and into physical theropy I went. I spent the next 8 months in and out of physical theropy, getting electric stimulus treatments, doing all kinds of strange stretches and exercises. Pain was constant and I went from being in really great shape to hobbling around with crutches and then eventually to a cane. I spent two years walking with a cane on and off. The days I left the cane at home could get quite interesting and I remember a few times as I was walking my leg would go numb instantly and I'd fall over like some drunk guy.
A year after the accident I decided to sell my Obed. I was certain I'd never ride a mountain bike again. Maybe one day a townie around the neighborhood, but never a mountain bike. Two years had now passed since the accident, I preformed my exercise routines to stretch my back and build up my back strength and I was finally walking again with out a cane and with little pain. I wasn't able to do all the things I wanted to and I wasn't riding. My wife had to do most of the heavy lifting around the house which was humbling and embarrassing... even pushing a broom was painful at times. A little more time passed and I was walking without my cane, that was progress and I was finally able to do many things I wanted to with less pain involved.
I finally decided to get brave and see how far I could push myself, so I decided to buy a bike again. But this time it was going to be a full suspension. Considering I wasn't going to be mountain biking with my new bike I didn't need anything special, no need for a sweet frame and components... just something to ride in the neighborhood. One of my old riding buddies got wind of this and offered to sell me a used Santa Cruz Superlight he had. I really didn't need a bike that could do all it could, but for the price I figured what the hell. So I bought the frame form him, bought some used parts, got a few used parts from my cuz and dug up a few left over parts from my earlier biking days and got my new bike built up and started pedaling around the neighborhood.
The exercise from my new FS bike was great and actually sped up my recovery now that the pain wasn't so bad. Every other day I'd do a few loops and push a little harder. Eventually I found myself trying a few things like bunny hoping the curb, hammering the uphills and having a great time. So after about three and a half years or so, I called up my cuz and asked him if he'd like to go for a ride. He said sure and asked where. I think he expected me to say around the house, but when I told him Francise Beatty a local trail and the same trail I was injured on he was very surprised. We got to the trail head and started the ride. I t went well for the most part. There where a few areas that I got off the bike and pushed it up a hill or walked it down something that was too rough. But it was my first mountain bike ride in many years and that was very cool!
The exercise was great and within a year I was riding good, not great, not at a level I once was... but I was just glad to be riding, to be recovering. Every ride I felt better, stronger and was in less pain. I was a mountain biker again. That was the beginning of a long line of full suspension frames. Excited to be riding again, I began looking for a new ride that would help me perform better and provide the most plush ride. I found myself going through quite a few new full suspension frames.
I've had my share of full suspensions:
Santa Cruz Superlight
Santa Cruz Blur
Jamis Dakar Pro
Santa Cruz Heckler
Yeti 575
Ventana Pantera
Chumba XCL
Ventana El Saltemontes
Ventana El Rey
Up until early 2007 I had sworn I'd never ride a hartail again and would never recommend that anyone ride a hardtail. But In late 2007 my buddy (same guy I got the Santa Cruz Superlight from) talked me into riding his hardtail 29er. I wasn't too keen on the idea, but to satisfy him, I decided to take it for a spin... if only for a mile down the trail.
It was fun to get on a light hardtail bike again, but I didn't make it a mile before I was ready to get off it and back on my FS bike. Riding the hardtail I could feel much of the trail radiating through the frame and right into my back. It was some what painful, but the larger 29er wheels did make the experience more enjoyable to ride than I had expected it to be. And that is where many things changed for me. I began to wonder if is was actually possible for me to ride a hardtail again. So in early fall of 2007 I decided to get a hardtail 29er Ventana El Padrino aluminum frame.
I found I could ride the 29er hardtail for about 3 to 4 rides before I had to switch back to my Ventana El Rey 29er, because of the pain I began to feel. Then about a month ago I got to demo a steel 650b hardtail. I was completely blown away with how great the bike handled and how the 650b wheels rolled over things as well as either of my 29ers. The steel frame was awesome too. It has been close to 16 years since I last rode a steel frame and even that frame was not a great steel frame. The demo really was an amazing ride and I wanted one. About a week later I got to ride the demo again and that sealed the deal for me... I had to have a steel frame and it must be a 650b frame too.
So I unloaded my last full suspension frame to raise cash for ordering my steel Pacenti 650b Frame. I would say my first steel mountain bike frame was great, nor do I remember it ever feeling as great as Kirk's demo did. But I'm really glad I got a chance to ride his demo bike and experience the feel of steel again. It has changed all my preconceptions of what a great frame should be and I'm looking forward to getting back on a hardtail full time.
The Pacenti's steel frame, great frame design and the 650b wheels are going to allow me to do just that go hartail with no reservations. I can't wait to get back on a steel frame and experience the feel of steel!
Tags: Steel Frame L5 Back Injury Aluminum Full Suspension 650b
