eBay finds

every time i think i've found the worst good bike ever, i find something even more jarring then the last worst one.  this bike further prooves my 'certain bikes attract terrible taste' theory - check it out;

it's just wrong in so many ways; the dreaded flame job (never liked it on a bike save for the RMB special edition Hot Rod Slayer), Spinergys with the extra stickers on the spokes, a Girvin fork, and, the cherry on top of this terrible sundae; custom hand painted Maxxis Hookworms.

Hookworms are seriously cool, but taking a tiny paint brush to fill in the grooves - this is madness.

or genius?

it's madness.  he did the same to the plastic spider saddle, got red jockey wheels in the rear derailleur, and has red flame grips.  in fact, i bet the grips were the inspiration for the entire project.  it's so over the top, i just can't imagine who would like this.

also, there's something mechanically wrong with this bike.  i think the seller has swapped out the shock for an aftermarket one that has a longer eye-to-eye length.  think of this bike as a big hinge, and putting that shock that's too long on it has caused it to suck in the front wheel, and steepen the head angle.  

i would think riding this bike would be terrifying. 

http://cgi.ebay.ca/CUSTOM-STREET-KLEIN-MANTRA-COMP-SPINERGYS-GIRVIN-FORKS-/330517473233?pt=Mountain_Bikes&hash=item4cf46067d1 

next up - old timey Manitous;

in 1997, Manitou released the Shaun Palmer edition fork.  this was an FS Ti in neon green.  with a Shaun Palmer logo on it.  otherwise, not that special.  but it was green.


anyway, i bought one of these online and enjoyed it on my sky blue M2 Stumpjumper for a few years.

it wasn't bad, but was it better than the Marzocchi Z.2 i had before?  probably not.  but it was green.  and i never saw another rider with one, so it did it's job.

i don't remember what i paid for it sadly.  i think it was less that $300, but i don't know.  

i'm not sure why you'd buy this to be honest.  i know there's a big retro movement out there, but is 1997 really retro?

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160531415194&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

and finally, i will figure out photography some day;