My $1,300 Mountain Bike! Bike #1 from the Vault

in adventure •  7 years ago 

I've ridden this bike on over 1,000 miles worth of XC trail, finished 4 endurance races on it, and I absolutely love it. Here's why...

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Introducing my Specialized Crave SL 29er Single speed MTB. It has Shimano Deore hydraulic disc brakes, a 32t-16t drivetrain, Shimano XT SPD pedals, skin-wall 29er Maxxis Ardent tubeless tires, a Rockshox Reba fork with 100mm of travel, and it weighs only 22 pounds.

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Why no gears you ask? Because 22 pounds (10kg) that's why. Without the weight of the derailleur, cassette, shifter, and cable I'm able to save at least 1-2 pounds and it makes the bike more fun anyways!

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This has to be the lightest, fastest XC race bike for your money. Any comparable bikes in the same weight class cost upwards of $3,000 and are made of carbon fiber. If any mountain bikers are currently reading this and have never tried a single speed XC bike, I 100% recommend it.

This is the first bike I'm posting about from my "Bike Vault". I decided to have a feature post for each of my bikes since I have so many and love them all! So stay tuned for more of my favorite things in the world.

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Awesome stuff. How did you go in the endurance races? What's it like on the fast, flat sections - can you keep up with your geared competitors?

I always placed relatively in the middle, never been on the podium but it's all a great time anyways.

On the flat sections between technical trails, I just had to allow my gearing to set my pace and try to not get ahead of myself trying to keep up with everyone else. I had to take it as an opportunity to rest a little and know I'll pass them back on the trails through the trees.

Someday I'll be able to expand my own bike vault to have a mountain bike as well. I love single speeds / fixies so I'm sure this would put a fat grin on my face!

Yeah! When it comes to spending money on bikes or other stuff, I try to think if the other stuff would make me happier than I would be on a bike.... And I think you know the popular answer there!

nice bicycle! I am looking for a mountain bike as an extension to my road bike but I don't know where to start :D

I'd definitely start looking at a hardtail XC bike! You can get the most bike for your money with those, especially if it's pre-owned.

Awesome bike man and respect to you for riding a single speed. I don't have the leg strength to even attempt it.

Thanks man! It really isn't all that hard to do, the name of the game is momentum conservation.

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