What’s the best purchase you have ever made?
The answer for me is a fully rigid steel Norco Bigfoot mountain bike that I bought in the early 90s for $400. I rode it nearly every day for over eight years. I used it for commuting, shopping (balancing grocery bags on handlebars), and transportation in general. I used it for exercise, doing countless one to two hour rides in the UBC Endowment Lands and Stanley Park. And yes, I used it for mountain biking in the local mountains, up in Squamish, and even for a jarring ride in the now famous Whistler bike park in its opening year.
Cost per day: 13 cents.
Probably my second best purchase is my current mountain bike, a Joker that I bought in 2001. It is the spiritual descendant of my Bigfoot, having served me just as well if not better for nearly eight years.
I bought the Joker from Speedgoat, a bike company that lets you pick all the parts and then builds the bike and ships it to you. The have a gallery of bikes that they build with a short description for each that usually just lists the components. My description starts like this:
5/17/2001
Bill’s Aeon Joker SL is just plain awesome…
I’ve always loved that.
Here’s how the Joker looked in 2001:
As you may have guessed, I’m in mountain bike nostalgia mode because it’s time to retire the Joker and find a worthy successor. Stay tuned.