Bike woes

It's been a while...sorry about that, just been too busy having fun to spend much time posting. I'll post up some pix the next time the weather is bad or I'm too sore to get out and do stuff.

I recently discovered a crack in the frame of my MTB. Bad news if the frame were to fail leaving me stranded somewhere or worse fell apart on me as I was cruising down a hill. So the local bike shop (LBS) is trying to get the manufacturer to warranty it and get me a new frame.

In the mean time, I've decided that my 23 inch framed commuter is too big for me. I've slipped a couple times trying to get my foot over the top tube and I'm not comfortable taking it on the dirt with the top tube snugly against my crotch whenever I need to hop off the pedals.

So I "need" a new/ used bike.

I think what I'm shooting for is a rigid MTB so I can stay on the dirt while the broken frame gets sorted out. Then (more than likely this winter) I'd like to purchase an xtracycle http://www.xtracycle.com/models.php with which I'd not only have a commuter that fits, but for all intensive purposes a second car.

There is a Kona Ute http://www.konaworld.com/08_ute_w.htm at a LBS for $800. Problem is that it only comes in one size and it is too small for me.

$800 is steep for a brand new second car only in the sense that it didn't fit me and I'm done buying bikes that don't fit me no matter how cool they happen to be: Murray, current Trek commuter.

But wait (those of you who know me) say: you don't bike in the cold or the depths of winter, you told us you can't carry all your stuff to work on a bike, and even if you could there is no shower there for your sweaty self.

I have started biking to work, even carrying my full size suitcase (roller bag) in the jumbo basket of my current commuter. The advantage of using an xtracycle would be the fact that I could carry a garment bag+laptop case on one side and my roller bag on the other side and it wouldn't be so top heavy and difficult to handle as it is now with everything in the basket.

In the winter I could change at work and leave my stinky riding clothes in the crew room to dry out by the time I returned from my four days aloft.

Is this realistic? I think so. I'm not saying I'd be riding to work every time, but I could see myself doing it more than zero times.