[aka brad]

I'm sure I've gone through 20 or so bikes over the last 20 years and still own over half of them. There is, interestingly on one bike I can say I didn't like. Once I started riding single speed about six years ago, the only geared bike I regularly rode was one I attached my Alley Cat onto and rode around with my son. I saw this 7 speed Karakoram on ebay and with the recent addition of a new Z2 shock it seemed the perfect thing. Well to say the least I was not satisfied with the bike. Primarily I think it was the geometry. The front end was very light and the steering was sluggish. When climbing, it was sometimes impossible to keep the front end of the bike down and the down hill were downright dangerous; it almost seemed the bike didnot want to turn.

How about you? Any bike that had a shorter life than you expected?

 

[aka brad]

Please delete..(add AteMrYeats to other post if possible)

Brad

 

[unit]

that is funny....

I had a GT Backwoods that I converted to SS because I didnt click with it. Any time I ride it, it feels like a chopper or something...I just could not get used to the HT angle I guess.

Even once I converted to SS, I couldnt salvage the relationship...still have it hanging in the rafters....some day it will become a project of some sort.

 

[AteMrYeats]

Good topic. I had an '01 I-Fab that was a total nightmare: the front triangle was flexy, and the paint practically ejected from the frame in spots. I couldn't shake the feeling that the bike, though nicely built and sized correctly, was very difficult to ride because of frame flex. It was as though the bike took an instant to follow the front wheel into a turn, an attribute I just couldn't live with. I've never experienced this phenomena since, and I suspect it was because of small diameter tubes (especially the downtube) built into a large frame. I got rid of it after a year or so. The paint issue was a major annoyance, but, again, I have never seen paint so fragile since. I had a Ventana La Bruja that was way beyond my abilities, though I really liked the bike. I ended up selling it because it made me look like a total wuss.

 

[aka brad]

AteMrYeats

(Posted on double post) Good topic. I had an '01 I-Fab that was a total nightmare: the front triangle was flexy, and the paint practically ejected from the frame in spots. I couldn't shake the feeling that the bike, though nicely built and sized correctly, was very difficult to ride because of frame flex. It was as though the bike took an instant to follow the front wheel into a turn, an attribute I just couldn't live with. I've never experienced this phenomena since, and I suspect it was because of small diameter tubes (especially the downtube) built into a large frame. I got rid of it after a year or so. The paint issue was a major annoyance, but, again, I have never seen paint so fragile since. I had a Ventana La Bruja that was way beyond my abilities, though I really liked the bike. I ended up selling it because it made me look like a total wuss.

 

[Hardtails Are Better]

Let me preface this by saying that until very recently I was strictly an XC rider. I hammered around on my 20# HT, and had a great time. Pretty much exactly a year ago I decided that trying my hand at some freeride kind of things sounded like fun. I got a Haro Escape frame, built it up with some parts I had lying around, and some other bits snagged off e-bay. In the spring I hopped aboard and absolutly hated it. It weighed about 35#, which when combined with how out of shape I was from the off season just didn't work. Why the hell would I ride that tank when I could ride something 15# ligher? I didn't ride it at all. Once I got in shape I'd go places where I could jump it off stuff, and learned to freeride a bit, but never took it on trail rides. For some reason (I have no idea why, since I couldn't pedal around the HT) I decided to try a FS as my big bike, got a KHS FR 2000 frame, and threw everything from the Haro on it. Somehow, miraculously, the FS, ended up being pedalable, whereas *somthing* about the Haro just didn't work at all. I liked the new bike, upgraded it like crazy, and put the parts back on the Haro just for kicks and giggles. Interestingly enough, it's now a SS, and with the oh-so-wimpy gear of 32-20 it works fine. I still can't figure out why it's pedalable as a SS, but not geared. It makes very little, if any, sense.

 

[Hardtails Are Better]

I had a Ventana La Bruja that was way beyond my abilities, though I really liked the bike. I ended up selling it because it made me look like a total wuss.

How the hell did you have one? Ventana's site says they're coming out in Feb. 2007. :skep:

 

[AteMrYeats]

How the hell did you have one? Ventana's site says they're coming out in Feb. 2007. :skep:

The original Bruja was an '02 model I think. Here's a pic of one belonging to a guy who goes by TIGMAN on the Ventana board:

 

[GlowBoy]

I've only bought 8 bikes in my 20+ years of adulthood, and still own 5 of the the frames. All of them (so far) did the job I bought them for at least as long as expected -- except for one.

Up until 2000 I'd been riding a full rigid mountain bike for years, and had used it for everything. Then I made a commitment to start riding a lot more, and decided I could justify a few hundred bucks on a new bike, in this case a Rockhopper Pro. Good bike, fun to ride, no complaints at first. After bit over a year and a couple thousand miles of riding, I took it on Cycle Oregon. 350 miles of chip sealed roads later, I realized that (despite the suspension fork) I could not stand the constant road buzzing finding its way up through the beercan sized downtube. Sold the Speshy and picked up a nice buttery steel cyclocross bike for road riding. I didn't feel that the mountain biking I was doing at the time really justified suspension, so I went back to my old full rigid for a while.

The 7 bikes that did fulfill their original mission (and more):
- 1985: Raleigh Pursuit roadie. Rode it 8 years, then gave it to a farmworker who desperately needed transportation.
- 1993: Fuji Sundance MTB. Held up for thousands of miles, converted to SS in 2002, then died in 2003 of Ovalized Headtube Syndrome.
- 2001: Bianchi Volpe cyclocross bike. Many thousands of miles, also converted to SS in 2002, then back to gears in '04. Still ride it.
- 2002: Older KHS OXII full rigid. $50 frame to temporarily replace the Fuji. Only bought it to keep myself on wheels until I'd saved up enough money to go disc (and, as it turned out, 29"), so I only rode it for 8 months (including my excellent desert camping adventure with Sparty). Still have it. Wish I could figure out a good use for it, because it's by far the lightest and smoothest riding rigid MTB I've owned.
- 2003: Surly KM. Intention was to ride it for a year or two, then upgrade to a lighter frame with EBB. 3 1/2 years later, it's still my commuter and kid trailer puller, and sees more mileage than my other bikes combined. Go figure.
-2005: Vulture. Best handling MTB I've owned. Love it.
-2006: Lenz Leviathan. My first full boinger. Love it too.

 

[Hardtails Are Better]

The original Bruja was an '02 model I think. Here's a pic of one belonging to a guy who goes by TIGMAN on the Ventana board:

I guess there must be a redesign for '07. The "New" label is a bit misleading though.....

 

[CB2]

I've rode a lot of decent bikes over the years, and although there have been standouts, most of the others have only had minor flaws.
My Salsa (still have) with it's breakaway paint, my Cannondale 2.8 (no longer have) with it's impossible to keep clean polished frame, but both rode good. Debernardi SLX (no longer have), was a bit over built for me.
But the one frame that never clicked for me was a Giant MCM carbon. It was really light, but felt dead and broke twice. Giant was great about the warranty, but frame #2 was sold to pay for the Salsa.

 

[thehook]

For me I was a dedicated IF rider. I had a Steel Deluxe built up real sweet in ' 95. I loved that bike! It just clicked from the first time I rode it. Now let me be honest here. In ' 01 I got off the bike and was on again off again until last year. I gained about 40 lbs OUCH! Which is coming of as we speak( thank god )! I had a bottle braze on break of on the IF in ' 00 never thought much of it. Last year I called IF explained the situation to them. And for a very small fee they gave me a new frame. They could not be better at handeling the situation. The new frame was SWEET. Built it up tubeless with discs and a Zocchi fork. Not as light as the old bike, but the old bike I raced xc on. Well needless to say me and that bike never hit it off. I think more due to my serious lack of fitness compared to the old ride and that guy who used to ride it! I'm now getting back into shape and maybe if all goes ok will get back into some racing next season if it is fun again. But I ordered a Redline MF29 2 weeks ago size. My lbs had a 17 in stock but was waiting for a 19 to come in ,so I waited to compare sizes. Yesterday I rode the 19. Well she was perfect. just waiting for the lbs to mount the king hs, xtr cranks, bb7 's, and swap the bars for a straight bar and she should be on the trail next weekend. Guess being in a little better shape helps the ride:thumbsup: You know things work out better when the gut is not getting in the way

 

[Cloxxki]

-Sunn Cycloss cyclo-cross bike (too flexy, didn't seem to have a soul, too tall top tube). It was passable for commutes and logging miles. Sold the frame and fork (my first majoy sale of bike parts, a whopping€75. I tend to keep everything I buy, as I get attached to it.
-Cube Elite Teamline ca 2002 (USA-welded Scandium, a sponsored 26" team bike after I was converted to 29"). Didn't have a single good race or ride in it, although it was hardly noticably different from the VooDoo's I'd ridden before it. Didn't feel like "my" bike, despite a setup just like I normally used. Sold as a parts build. (first full bike I sold)
-Giant Terrago 2000 (very flexy, size too small). Did give me a few awesome beach races with 150mm stem. Was stolen from me.
-Giant TCR ca 2000. Too light, doesn't feel flexy but must be. My 1999 model was stolen, I lead packs on that bike. The new one was lighter and I was hanging from the back, despite a 1kg lighter build. Threaded carbon fork, what a waste. I still have it, may make it a time trial bike if I can collect motivation for the job. I could have sold the bike, but I don't wish that bike to anyone. For time trialing the flexy BB should not bother too much, my Terrago had the same (cheap+light alloy), and for constant pace it seemed to work fine, as did the Sunn.

The pattern showing is that I don't like flexy frames, or the idea of it.

 

[lane]

2004 Brodie Awl team. Was never able to get used to riding a full susser, particularly one that had 5 inches of travel. KHS flite 100, the frame just never fit properly.

 

[dlbennett]

One good, One bad

I owned a Specialized Epic early model without the newer "brain" shock and I just never clicked with this frame. The rebound was harsh and unpredictable. Sold the frame.

One bike that I have always clicked with is my EverTi hardtail built to my specs. Whether the bike is built up as a singlespeed or gears it just feels like an extension of my body!

db

Others...
Klein Pulse Race SS....amazing. Sold
Rocky Mnt. Instinct....great. Sold
Santa Cruz Blur...boring and too much maintanence. Sold
Santa Cruz Superlight...simple, efficient, little maintanence. Current
Cannondale 1FG...ok but BB issues. Sold