In the Running...

Shopping for a bike built in the U.S. is a challenge... While I thoroughly enjoy my trusty Trek, the time will come when she will need to be retired, something she has more than earned from years of abuse. So in the meantime, one can dream, right? So a few criteria:

Must be U.S. designed and fabricated.
Must be xc capable, especially efficient on the climbing scale.
Disc brakes, preferably with mineral oil.
Prefer FS but definitely open to the concept of staying on a hardtail as well.

Something I should probably do before entering ownership of a bike that may cost a quarter of what I paid for my car is learn proper maintenance procedures... I have a tendency to ride, not clean, my bike, something I have heard is not so good for bikes. Sorry.

Research on the US manufacuring scene:
Ventana http://www.ventanausa.com/
Turner http://www.turnerbikes.com/
Titus http://www.titusti.com/
Ellsworth http://www.ellsworthbikes.com/

But this is also disheartening because I surely can't afford any of these machines and when I can, I probably won't be able to ride...

Looking forward to Enjoying the Ride

One more thing

And I got a shuffle today to make the ride a bit more musical, something that has never hurt, but when it doesn't help, it's time to get help.