Biking Hiking with Kids

I ride a Fetish Cycles Discipline aluminum frame that I purchased on eBay, and a Jamis Exile steel frame. The Fetish Discipline is set up as a 1×9 hardtail and the Jamis Exile is set up as a 1×8 hardtail.

These are the two mountain bikes that I use for my rides with my kids. At one point, I had as many as four bikes. I built up the two bikes using parts that I took off other mountain bikes. Except for a brand new Bottecchia, all Campy, road bike that I owned many years ago, all my bikes over the years have been purchased used.

I switched to the 8 and 9 speed from the usual 24 and 27 speed because I like the simpler one ring up front setup a lot better than the usually three rings. There is one less piece of gear to adjust since there is no front derailleur. Most of the parts on the mountain bikes are middle of the road, nothing fancy or too expansive, just parts that will take the wear and tear of off road riding and are cheap to replace.

I do have Shimano XT rear derailleur, and decent wheels and tires on both mountain bikes, a Rock Shox SID front shock on the Fetish, the Fetish Disciple frame, and a Shimano XTR cassette on the Jamis. These parts would be considered expansive if they were purchased new but I got these parts used and at great prices – at eBay. Thanks to gear heads and eBay, I will always be able to get decent replacement parts at cheap prices.

I think a responsive rear derailleur, a set of light wheels, light responsive front shock and good brakes add to my MTB riding enjoyment and I don’t mind spending a few more dollars for better quality on these parts. In future posts, I’ll go into more details about where I spend my money on parts on a mountain bike.

Check out the bikes that I purchased from eBay:

2001 Kona Fire Mountain Aluminum Frame MTB – I purchased the complete bike from an individual on eBay a few years ago. The bike was in very good used condition. Every component that came with the bike have now been swapped out.  My wife rides this bike.

2000 Jamis Exile Steel Frame MTB – This  have been my everyday mountain bike for the past year. I purchased the steel frame and some part from an individual on eBay.  When I got it, I discovered that the seat post was jammed into the frame and the seat tube just below the front derailleur clip had rusted though.

2001 Marin Palisades Trail Aluminum Frame MTB – Got the incomplete bike on eBay and built it up with components that I have in the garage and new used parts from eBay.

2004(?) Fetish Cycles Discipline Aluminum Frame MTB – I got the frame on eBay and built up the bike with extra parts I had taken off from other bikes.

1999 Trek Single Track Steel Frame MTB – My older son’s mountain bike. Except for the swapping out the grip shifters for rapid shifters, brakes, and tires, the bike is still pretty much equipped the way I got it from eBay.

2003 Specialized Hotrock Aluminum Frame 24″ Wheel MTB – My youngest son’s mountain bike. It’s a small frame and with 24″ wheels, but the bike still seems too big for him.