![EMPTY HANDED](https://magarticles.magzter.com/articles/5789/511761/5f608fac52161/EMPTY-HANDED.jpeg)
It was 1991. Nirvana had just released “Never mind.” I had just stripped my black Yeti FRO of its gears, as well as the heavy and failure-prone Mountain Cycle Suspenders fork and Pro-Stop disc brake, and decided to chase after the simplicity of singlespeed mountain biking. The fork and brake had been a bad decision on my part, especially since I was struggling at the time to try to be a faster cross-country racer. Maybe some people can get behind 31-pound XC bikes, but at the time, the weight of the frame, the fork and the boat-anchor Brooks saddle all felt like they were dragging me into the ground. I had just upgraded to the Expert class and was getting spat out the back of every race I entered.
The complexity and unreliability of everything on the bike was also getting me down. A Bullseye front hub that was always a little sloppy (that’s just how it was with Bullseye hubs). That fork, and the million ways it tried to fall apart. The Dura-Ace freewheel worked well enough, but the parade of bent and broken axles on the Mavic Paris-Dakar rear hub that it was threaded onto was expensive and heartbreaking. Three, maybe four sets of Tioga Revolver cranks in a row, creaking along noisily until they split right where that chainring locating pin was welded in place. I was a parts-abusing guinea pig, figuring it was all good research into what we could or couldn’t in good conscience sell at the bike shop where I worked, but I also had a habit of making poor decisions—both in my purchases as well as my riding. I broke a lot. I crashed a lot.
Denne historien er fra Fall 2020-utgaven av Bike.
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Denne historien er fra Fall 2020-utgaven av Bike.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Starling Murmur 29 Stainless
Frame and Öhlins TTX Coil Shock | | £2,442 ($3,191)
![WATERING HOLE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5789/511761/5f6095bc20089/crp_WATERING-HOLE.jpg)
WATERING HOLE
MAY 30, 2020 4:53 P.M. LAKE POWELL, UTAH
![PROGRESSION PROVEN](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5789/511761/5f6095098cce4/crp_PROGRESSION-PROVEN.jpg)
PROGRESSION PROVEN
SEPTEMBER 7,2019 5:48 P.M PRINEVILLE, OREGON
![RE-FORMATION](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5789/511761/5f608860cb9d4/crp_RE-FORMATION.jpg)
RE-FORMATION
KATIE HOLDEN’S CAREER REBIRTH COMES FULL CIRCLE
![TURNS YOU EARN](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5789/511761/5f6096695ce75/crp_TURNS-YOU-EARN.jpg)
TURNS YOU EARN
APRIL 29, 2018 10:55 A.M. BORDERLINE TRAIL, POST CANYON HOOD RIVER, OREGON
![CRAFTING A RESCUE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5789/511761/5f608e29727a4/crp_CRAFTING-A-RESCUE.jpg)
CRAFTING A RESCUE
A LIFE-CHANGING DAY DEEP IN THE WOODS
PERMANENT INSTALLATION
SANTA CRUZ’S ICONIC CANVAS MOONLIGHTS AS A METAPHOR FOR A TRANSFORMING TOWN
EMPTY HANDED
A RETURN TO GLOVES THREE DECADES LATER
COTIC ROCKETMAX
FRAME AND CANE CREEK DB AIR SHOCK | £2,049 ($2,678)
BUTCHER PAPER
To all the newbs I’ve loved before Don’t ever change