Tales of the Weird and Wonderful
By Davis Tallhone

Arantix. Expensive and unnecessary?

Is there a word for someone who marches to the beat of a different drum? I’m not too keen on weirdo (too many pedophiles ruined that moniker) and I’m equally dissatisfied with oddball, original, one of a kind, and unique. But alas, maybe I should select one of the above titles and get on with it as I’m convinced something’s going on with my attraction to the Arantix XTR. What’s that? You’ve never heard of the Arantix? Perhaps you haven’t been watching enough History Channel lately. The XTR was nominated by History as one of the 25 greatest inventions of 2007! And oh yeah, it’s a mountain bike.

Here’s the catch (and there are two of them): It costs $12,000 and it’s a hard tail. Before you fire off an angry email at our editorial staff for promoting such an overpriced “toy” in a world of economic turmoil, allow me to clarify. I don’t have one and nobody at MBT does either. We’re working stiffs just like you. But when a bike that costs as much as some new automobiles makes the short list of a well renowned television network’s greatest inventions of the year, it’s our duty to share the news.

So what makes a hard tail worth this kind of coin? Frame material my friends and in case you’ve been living in a cave, carbon fiber is the material of the moment. Not just any CF either, the Arantix XTR frame is built using aerospace grade fiber, which is supposedly vastly superior to the consumer-grade crap that graces lesser CF bikes. So, not only are we talking about super-strength and metal-like rigidity, the folks at Arantix have even gone through the trouble of weaving the strands of hardened fiber into a tangle through thin air on the top tube, down tube, and seat post to prevent someone at the trail head for mistaking your bike for some $6000 cheapie.

Not to worry penny pinchers, Arantix knows their asking price is a bit on the steep side so they do include a Fox F100 RCL fork and components of the Shimano XTR variety (phew). However, pedals are, as expected, not included.

I don’t doubt the materials superiority one bit, nor do I scoff at those individuals with enough disposable income to afford to play around on this work of rolling art. I do however feel a little guilty for sporting an attraction to this bike simply because I cannot tell if I like the exuberance or simplicity it simultaneously broadcasts in its very existence.

And if you believe $12,000 is a lot for a hard tail, allow me to introduce you to the Jones Space, a $10,000 titanium rigid! Yeah, that means no suspension in case you’ve forgotten. At these prices all I can say is, must be nice.