[stparkin]

Thanks, everyone, for the advice.  I ended up contacting the bike-shop I bought the bike from (Biker’s Edge) and they hooked me up with a discount deal on the Recon, and they’re going to install it for me for $15.  Total damage will be $240.  I debated quite a bit on whether to do it myself, but I just didn’t want to screw it up.  The toilet paper holder I installed a few years ago is a bit manky and falls off the wall sometimes.

Maybe I should have been content with the Suntour XCT and not worried about it.  I just want any lack of confidence to be restricted to me, not the bike.

I guess the sad thing is that if I add the original cost of the bike (about $550, if I remember correctly) to the cost of this upgrade, then that gives me about $800 I could have spent on a new bike to begin with that probably would have had better components overall.  Oh-well.  I’ll know better next time.

Next time I want to get a real trail bike.  In the mean time, I have to build up the skillz for that anyway.  Not sure how far I can take this new mountain bike addiction.  Haven’t crashed yet, but it’s inevitable.  Once I’ve finally crashed once, I can stop worrying about it, I hope, if I survive.

[Author]

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