By Jason Giacchino

Winter/ Spring '06

A Case Study in Procrastination

Although not quite a prime candidate for a case study, I must admit that I do have a slight case of procrastination. We all do, I suppose, probably a means of protecting ourselves from running out and doing everything as the thought pops into our noggins. I bring this up because this month represents the end of a procrastination that has followed me across several seasons of riding and even more alarming: several off seasons as well (where the lust to ride is at its peak).

I finally made some well justified component upgrades to my all-mountain Mongoose.  Now before you roll your eyes in “bid deal” theatrics allow me to elaborate on the conundrum that preceded this revelation.

Perhaps you’re familiar with a condition known in the medical industry as “step up indecision”. No? Let me explain- It is where the sufferer recognizes the need to upgrade their mountain bike and begins the process of component shopping. However, once the components in need are located, the sufferer inadvertently begins to become lured into higher price tier items with logic along the lines of “for only $50 more I could get Carbon handlebars” or “this fork will work but for a mere $100 extra I could get the one I really want.”

Even worse is when “step up indecision” leads to “unintentional spread modification”- When you figure “hey if I’m putting on a new fork, might as well upgrade the shock as well” or “I really need new tires, good opportunity to pick up some Lite rims to mount them to.” Obviously lack of control over “unintentional spread modification” could result in the acquisition of an entirely new bike. Couple this with “step up indecision” and a rider such as myself could not only wind up with a new bike, but one far more expensive than the $5 handlebar grips I originally set out to order in the first place.

And so was the case each time I rode my Mongoose: An overbuilt frame that excelled at everything I threw at it, a stiff rear shock and single-pivot beefed up rear triangle that worked wonderfully, Hayes mechanical disk brakes that were plenty sufficient, and a 24 speed Shimano Acera drive train. A nearly perfect setup with the exception of a late 1990's model (3 inch travel) cross country fork that was about as stiff as a stack of marshmallows and a set of handlebars with absolutely no rise to them whatsoever. Minor complaints-perhaps, but a nagging flaw to an otherwise decent setup.

Armed with an iron will and my trusty flash burnt credit card (too many fast swipes throughout the years than I care to recall) I set forth onto the information super highway with a few upgrades in mind. Sure enough, as countless times before, “step up indecision” and “unintentional spread modification” began to creep into the formula. I resisted the song of these sirens, ordering just the essentials before nearly collapsing in exhaustion.

The end result was last Friday night, as I dragged my trusty bike through the powdery snow and into the warmth of my breeze-way.  After putting on a pot of coffee, I carefully removed the questionable components, greased the bearings, installed the races and got down to mounting a new fully adjustable fork, carbon riser bars, and a fresh set of $5 grips to boot. The resulting setup has turned a nearly perfect bike into a ride that exceeds my hopes and proves what years of procrastination attempted to conceal- the potential within the equipment that I had already purchased. Now all I’ve got to do is wait for the warmer weather to arrive to put this new logic into action.