New bike

I recently found out that my bicycle frame was cracked. I'm not sure when this happened but it was a small crack near the front and wasn't safe to ride. Specialized was great as they covered the frame and sent out a new upgraded model in the replacement. After riding the new frame around I found it to be some what bigger than the previous frame. The size wasn't any bigger but it felt much larger that it really was.

After taking a look around, I found that a local shop had the Giant STP in stock. I wanted to buy this bike last year but after calling around and never finding one in stock, I gave up. Around this time I also broke my collar bone and took a break from riding. So I decided to stop by the shop and just check out the bike, maybe buying it if it was really nice.

After looking over the bike it was in my favorite color, yellow and black. I liked the size, while it's listed as a regular size it's much smaller than your standard mountain bike. Appears to be a regular 15" frame but with much heavier duty frame and parts. The bike is also a 8 speed, with a single chain ring and chain guide in the front. While this is a big change from my 24 speed, I really kept the bike most of the time in the second chain ring which is similar to how this bike was set up.

The disc brakes were nice but I didn't like the levers, they felt cheap. Overall the bike was pretty nicely set up. I really liked the fork which was a air/spring combo, much more adjustments than my current bike. Also I liked the larger front axle which was more durable than my old bike.

Just to make sure how it rode I took it for a short test ride. Around the back of the bicycle shop I rode the Giant STP and found that it felt like a BMX cruiser than a mountain bike. It was very compact feeling and easy to turn, but still felt stable. I ended up buying the bike with the idea I would use this for more trail riding and keeping my old bike for street riding.

While I wanted to buy a road bike earlier this year I didn't like the position of leaning over the bike. After thinking about different choices I like this bike and maybe later this year but a cruiser just for riding around town.

Something else while I wanted this bike was durability. After I found out how the previous bike frame cracked I was really surprised that how little I rode damaged the bike so much. I'm hopping this time the new bike lasts allot longer.