Our Christmas presents to ourselves were a pair of matching mountain bikes. My old Cannondale Super V’s shocks had finally given out and Sandy’s older steel frame Trek is way past its prime as well.
After riding the Giant XTC Advanced at Santos, I realized what an improvement the larger 27.5″ tires made on the trail, and how smooth hydraulic brakes were.
I returned to my local bike shop, Ten Speed Drive, with a list of what I was looking for. He didn’t have the exact bike on the floor, but he did have one with the smaller frame size that I thought would work for us.
I returned later that day with Sandy and off she went on a test ride. The components weren’t exactly the same, but it gave her the chance to ride a much more updated bike than her vintage Trek 820.
The small frame fit her well and made mounting, dismounting, and standing over the frame easy. I then raised the seat and took the same bike for a spin. With smiles on both our faces, I knew that this size would work for us.
A quick look through the Trek catalog, and the Trek Skye checked all the boxes for everything we needed without breaking the bank.
For the first time our bicycles have the same tubes. There’s no need to carry both Presta and Schrader valve inner tubes and two different air pumps or adapters.
Slowly, we’re customizing them to fit us. Adding a water cage and the seats from our old bikes came first. When we ordered them we had a suspension seat post installed. It won’t made it ride like a fully suspended mountain bike, but at least it should help take out any hard thumps.
I’ve added different pedals and cages, a wireless bike computer, a mirror, and a cell phone holder to mine.
Our first ride together on the City of Titusville Multi-Use Trail was perfect. Going over the ridge along the winding bike path gave us a good place to try out the gears and the brakes, while adjusting our seats for comfort.
Best of all, we spotted the rare Titusville mint while taking our bikes on their inaugural ride!
Paddling Juniper Run
