Best and Worst bikes you've ever ridden

[Buzzsaw]

Re:

Best bike I have ridden is still is my 94 Kona Kilauea which I still ride to this day. Love the nicely setup geometry which seem to be the case of all the Kona bikes I have owned.
Worst MTB ridden was a Giant Wrap 3 one of the first breed of affordable dual suspension bikes - heavy and creaked like frog because of the rear suspension. Alright riding on road surfaces but felt bleeding awful on the dirt.
Worse road bike was a local NZ brand made - Worldrider Elite when I first started road racing as a kid. It was the only half decent bike I could afford at the time and was probably 2-3 sizes to big for me - thanks to the dodgy "used car salesman" type local bike dealer saying "you'll grow into it." I have a lovely set of lifetime matching scars on my knees and elbows thanks to that oversized bucking donkey of a bike.....

 

[gerryattrick]

I can't talk about top range bikes, as my budget has always been mid-range .

On retro MTBs, I've ridden dozens, including the usual suspects like Kona, Marin, Specialised, Trek, Orange and GT, but my favourites for just the handling and pleasure of riding were my 93 Univega Alpina 5.7 (rigid) and Merlin Malt (alloy frame and Pace sus fork).

On road bikes I used to love my hand-built Rensch from the mid-fifties, but the best I've ridden must be my current ride, a modern Genesis Equilibrium in 725 steel.

 

[The History Man]

My worst is only the worst since I got some decent stuff over the last couple of years. Back in '87 I loved it but it really was shite. Raleigh Magnum in 23"

Tough call on the best. Overbury's Pioneer for rigid something around the time of the Magnum. If only i'd known. Hardtail would be my 92 Explosif with SID Race forks.

 

[T'boo Ted]

Best
a klein attitude, was simply amazing
my DB axis TR, great bike, fit me like a glove, handled so well
not retro, but my zaskar reissue is pretty awesome as well

worst
Slingshot, was just very...odd
cannondale delta v 2000... truly crap
cannondale...old frmae, my mate went through 3 frames in the early 90's they were all pretty bad
Specialised fsr, same mate had one and it was aweful
also not retro but my specialised epic FS bike, was truly, truly horrible.

 

[legrandefromage]

Its getting on for some 500 bikes now but the worst still has to be a close braze-on between the first generation On-One Inbred or a 99.5 Cannondale F3000SL - both terrible for completely different reasons.

The 'best' for just actual riding was a rather humble Saracen Protrax with my old Zaskar being a close second.

The Zaskar being the benchmark (worse than or better than), bikes were ridden up a nasty hill near me - whichever got me to the top with the least amount of effort were scored appropriately - the Zaskar being the one to beat.

 

[dbmtb]

Re:

Presume this doesn't mean worst as in including BSOs and bikes in poor states of repair.....

Biggest disappointment has been Specialized S-Works Epic.
Best bike I've ridden to date is my Cotic Soul 27.5. Can't really fault it in any department.

 

[al]

Re:

Best, Rocky Mountain altitude, just steel perfection and a Santa Cruz Superlight, wonderful all round trail bike.

Worst, A terrible massively heavy steel Peugeot form the 80's, just utter rubbish in almost all respects.
And for a completely different reason a Marin Quake 9.0, not because it rode badly as it rode very well..... but the noise of the drum like alloy monocoque frame as stones pinged off It drove me nuts!! it ended up being launched into a hedge.


This may change again after I have rode my KHS FXT and the Trek 9300 that is pending!

al.

 

[Splatter Paint]

Re:

Best: DBR Axis TT, Pace RC35, full M737 groupset. It rides like a modern bike! Point it in the right direction, brake at the last minute, throw it into the corner, back on the gas! Stable, light, neutral handling - what's not to love?

Worst:

Alpinestars Cro-Mega, made from gas pipe, weight dominates everything!

Titus Eleven, appalling geometry, way too steep head tube, dreadful.

 

[sheard]

Best: Klein Attitude MC1, Klein Mantra Pro, pretty much any other real Klein. Salsa A la Carte, Moots Divide. There was also a Giant Cadex I rode that wasn't bad.

Worst: Diamondback Edgewood, Trek Mamba, Pro-Flex, some 1960's Schwinn Suburban. It was heavy, it rattled, it was ugly, etc. Every Wal-Mart bike I've ridden has been sh*t. I also rode another kid's Transition Covert, it was a nice bike but it was far to squishy for me.

 

[Osella]

My best is also modern - my Ghost ASX 3700. Nearly everything has been changed & through a few different wheel & tyre combos it just always works. Hills are a doddle on an air shock & short chainstays, it's fast through singletrack but a comfortable all-day rider.
Almost the same but with no suspension; '93 Cadex CFM-2 with disc dropouts. Goes, stops, fast, fun. Awesome.

Worst is a Kinesis Maxlight 7005; Made of tubular bells. Skipped & pinged off every bump or undulation, like a helium-filled breezeblock mounted on a belt sander. Lively when it shouldn't be and dead when it should be alive, just nasty.