Best and Worst bikes you've ever ridden

[rutteger]

Since this a 'retro' site best keep it old school, which isn't actually too hard.

The best for me is my 1993 Yo. Absolutely stunning ride.

The worst? Without mentioning real crap (Mustangs, Free Spirits, Argos bikes etc) it would have to be my '89 Raleigh. Mainly because it was sized for Magic Johnson, not a 13 year old me.

Since I'm a (closet) roadie I get to nominate road bikes too.

Best : Merckx Corsa. Steel perfection.

Worst : Early GT Edge. Alu frame, alu forks, deep section mavic cxp30 rims. It rode like a nail. Couldn't sell it on quickly enough.

 

[adamgent]

Best & Worst

Best bike has to be my 1996 Lava Dome. My first 'proper' mountain bike and the differnce for a young boy who had made a move from a Peugeot Caiman (Black with Lime Green forks & Bars for anyone with a really good memory) was phenominal.

Have been a true Kona boy since. Ive got a very nice '98 hot, 853 tubing, XT, Middleburn, hope - you get the idea - but nothing compares to that graduation from birthday preseant chicken chaser to first 'proper' mountain bike.

Worst? An old Giant but purely because of the state of disrepair it was in and the geometry was so upright it was like one of those victorian affairs. Happy mammories...

 

[cchris2lou]

Best mountain bike was a Specialized Stumpjumper Team equipped with suntour Xc pro . My present ride is good as well Gt Zaskar .

I dont think I ever had a really bad bike but my Gt I drive wasnt all that .

Best road bike is a retro Racing Bik , I use it a lot and it is still fine .

Worst road bike was a Peugeot but it was too big .

 

[Fluff]

Best bike - Either my old '98 Blizzard or my new '03 Vertex. Rocky Mountain's just handle so well and feel so good!
My first Kona (a Kilauea) was a quantum leap forward.

Worst bike - An old Alpinestars Cromega I had a couple of years ago as a hack bike. Going back to my first MTB (a Saracen Sahara) after the Kilauea it felt really short & upright.

Fluff

 

[retrobikeguy]

Best bike I ever owned was a rigid KHS montana comp with full xt, snowflaked spokes and a scott at4 handlebar, went like shi* of a shovel, lost that one to some early 90s chav equivalents who took the shed roof off. :cry:

The worst..................probably the pace RC300...............reason disc brakes, they squeak and dont work (my opinion) in the wet :!: it had to go.

 

[gump]

mmm, best ride (in my memory) was the '93 RM Altitude - it did handle beautifully, light, agile, and looked cool too

Worst ride, I know some will say 'Marin Bashing', but it was an old Pine Mountain. About '91 I think, teflon paint. Awful ride, did not suit me at all. Unfortunately, have never looked at a Marin since. It was that bad (although I did win a teeshirt ina BMBF bunny hop comp on it )

 

[Iwasgoodonce]

The best MTB? I did a lot of good things on a Kili Flier Comp, and my new old Bonty Ti ride in a very similar way but is about five and a half pounds lighter! The worst? A very early Trek full suss. Could have been a 9000 and was like riding a diving board. The rings were round but felt like extreme Biopace. On the road? When I was about four stone lighter I had an Alan with Campag 12 speed Record. It was amazing and I rode it until it started to unglue! I still have it but can't really ride it. (Any suggestions out there?)

 

[LTS Biker]

I haven't really ridden a bad bike. I have ridden a few new bike before I bought my GT LTS and tried the Specialized FRS which rode nice, and a Cannondale Super V and I didn't like the Super V.
It felt spongy, soft and not direct.
Just a first impression, I don't know the total handeling, it's only a 10 min ride.
I took the LTS for a small ride, and from that moment I knew that was the one I wanted.

 

[jez-4-bikes-max]

My best ride was a girl called Tammy.

My worst ride was with a girl called Cathy.


Anyway, bikeswise, I would like to nominate the Pace for feeling unbelievably quick compared with my old 1991 Lavadome (I think weight had a lot to do with it)

However I do rate Konas as being the bext handling bikes Ive ever ridden. Yes - more so than my Fats and Trimble etc..

 

[Alison]

Worst bike.

I could say the really super cheapo things I had as a kid, mother just didn’t understand, but to be honest I did have a soft spot for them. So my worst would have to be a bike I bought when mine was stolen in the mid 90’s and I had no money. I bought it new for £80 and it felt like it was fighting me every step of the way and began to dread getting on it ( I gave it to a friend when we moved to North Yorkshire, I guess I am no respecter of friendship )

Best.

Not because it was top of the range or ultra bling in any way but it was the best because it was the first real bike I had. I left school and it was one of the first real purchases I made. It was a Revell, the one down from the Romany which I bought it in 1985 and loved it to bits.