General Cycling Discussion - How many bikes have you owned? How many were "mistakes"?

I was complaining to a friend about all the money I've spent on bikes over the years, and about how many of the purchases were mistakes. "You haven't wasted money" he said "You've been doing research on the perfect bike". This post is about the bikes I've owned and mistakes made along the way. This is my personal story along with some conclusions. Please send in your own story.

IN THE BEGINNING... I rode a Sears "Free Spirit" 10 speed bike. I smoked cigarettes while riding and sometimes carried an open beer bottle in the water bottle holder. I'm not kidding. What a moron. The bike was eventually stolen from my back yard. I didn't care much because I was a runner. I smoked after 10km races! I'm still not kidding.

Fast forward several years, during which time I didn't ride. I was overweight, still smoking, and in a high stress job. I suffered from chest pains. The Doctor suggested cycling. So...

BIKE ONE: Department store Mountain bike. Rule number one: don't buy a bike from a department store. It will be low quality, poorly assembled, and most important, the sales clerk will not be able to give meaningful advice. I rode this heavy monster for two years - mostly on the road. Eventually I realized this bike with the big knobby tires was not well suited for pavement. I could have put on slicks, but instead I sold it to a co-worker for 100 bucks. My longest rides on this thing were probably around 20km. Sometime around here I finally quit smoking.

BIKE TWO: A Raleigh hybrid with 7 speed rear end and toe clip pedals. Not a bad bike, but I bought it from a LBS that didn't seem to know anything about fitting. "Stand over the bike... yeah that looks fine. The seat goes up and down like this..." I rode this bike for a couple of years. The rides were getting longer - perhaps 40 - 60km. I watched all the roadies zip past me. I wanted to go faster.

BIKE THREE: I ordered a Giant Kronos road bike from a different LBS. It had 7 speed RSX components. The bike store guy said "You're about my height. I'll order you a 57cm bike." The bike comes in, and it's a 54cm. I want it real bad. Today. I gotta have it. To his credit the bike store guy tried to talk me out of it. "Looks a little small. I can get you the right size in a few days". I told him "Bikes these days are becoming smaller and smaller. It gives you a lighter, stiffer frame." I was a friggin genius. I rode this bike for ONE SEASON. I was starting to do 100km to 120km rides. The bike was WAY too small, and I gave it to my wife who is several inches shorter than me. It fit her perfectly, so it wasn't a total waste.

BIKE FOUR: From a "factory warehouse" bike store, now out of business. Still no professional fitting. It was a beautiful classic looking lugged steel frame labelled "Anquetil" in honor of the 5 time Tour de France winner. Campagnolo Veloce 8 speed. It had an aggressive racing geometry, and 21mm tires. I put clipless pedals on it. I thought I was fast. I did some century rides, and entered a couple of time trials where I finished with middle-of-the-pack times. The problem is, I'm not a racer. I never will be. This bike had such a stiff ride I was getting pounded to pieces. The reach was too long. Everything hurt. I tried putting wider tires on the bike but couldn't fit anything wider than 23mm. I rode this bike for about 4 years I guess, and did put a lot of miles on it.

THEN I STOPPED RIDING for a year. I gained weight. My friends said "You gotta get back on the bike."

BIKE FIVE: Things are going from bad to worse. Remembering the harsh ride of the road bike, I decide to buy a "comfort hybrid." Suspension seat post, front end shocks, wider tires. Still no professional fitting, but I lucked out there, and the bike fit well. This was a Giant Innova, and it was no doubt a good quality bike for it's style. I rode it for a while and decided I HATED it. The seat post and front end shocks bounced when I pedaled, taking away from my power. I felt embarrassed riding the thing and wanted a road bike again. I sold this bike to a co-worker at a huge loss, and went back to riding the Anquetil while I shopped around for a proper road bike.

BIKE SIX: I found a store that would give me a proper fitting, and ordered what was described as a "Sport Touring" bike. It took months to come from Marinoni, the builder in Montreal. This bike has Campy Veloce ten speed components. It has a longer wheel base, carbon fibre forks, and 28mm tires - all of which are designed to make the ride softer without totally giving up the feel of a road bike. In hindsight I think it's mostly the 28mm, 90 lb tires that make the difference for me. The Carbon Fibre fork probably takes away some of the "road buzz", but the tires contribute the most I feel. At last I have a bike that fits me properly, and I'm on my 3rd year with no complaints. (Picture attached.)

BIKE SEVEN: Well I still need something different for variety, right? After another professional fitting at a good LBS, I bought a Trek 7500FX to ride in the rain, and use as a commuter. (Picture attached) I now try to commute 3 or 4 days each week, round trip about 35 miles. This bike fits me properly which is probably the most important thing I've learned. GET A PROFESSIONAL FITTING. It only took me how many years to learn this? I could just cry when I think of the money I've spent, but at least I've been riding. I've done enough miles now to circle the globe a couple of times, and this year I'm picking up the pace a bit.

WHAT I SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT FIRST TO AVOID ALL THIS, and what I would buy today if I was starting all over, and if I could wait 2 years for it to be built: Mariposa Randonneur (http://www.bikespecialties.com/marip_randonneur1.html) I'd buy this or something similar. Oh yes, if I could afford it...

Feel free to flame me for being such a dufus. I know already. What are some of your stories?

Bikes we had as kids don't count right?

Bike one: Felt SR91. First bike, purchased in Aug '04. Nice bike but was a mistake because it's a bit too big for me. This may have attributed to the several accidents I've had on it. Now it's my "beater" though I still baby it.

Bike two: Klein Quantum Race. Decided drop bars were for me and needed a bike that fit better, is a '97 but was barely used (under 500 miles.) Love it but I need a new wheelset.

Bike three: Litespeed Demo Alu Lotto Adecco frame. Not built yet, was going to build it up in the coming months but my wife and are now purchasing our first home so it's on the back burner. I did get some nice Campag Centaur brake calipers for it though.

When I first started I wish I knew what I know now, but live and learn. My wife started out with a Gary Fisher Zebrano hybrid, she now has a roadie as well which is a steel Iron Horse. She plans on upgrading in the near future when we settle our home business.

Basic research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing.

Enjoy

I owned 4 bikes. No mistakes. It's never a mistake to own a bike. ;)

Koffee

Including my red tricycle, and other bikes growing up my total is twenty.
I currently own twelve, seven of which are fixed geared. They all served a purpose.

I don't know how many bikes I've owned as an adult, but it's probably 20 or so. Never a mistake, just an ill fitting ride or two in the mix. Also, I've not often boughten new bikes- it's sometimes a compromise when purchasing used bikes.

Basic research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing.

Enjoy

Right, but if it's research, WHERE'S MY GOVERNMENT GRANT??? Can I at least get a tax break for doing R&D? Guess not.. :o

Including my red tricycle, and other bikes growing up my total is twenty.
I currently own twelve, seven of which are fixed geared. They all served a purpose.

Dude, can you take a picture of them all in one frame? Or individually? That's awesome!

I'm constantly building and re-building bikes that any mistakes I make get completely torn down and built up into a complete different bike to suit me. This is a non-ending cycle...

Numbers of bikes owned = Yikes
Number that were mistakes - the only mistake made was not keeping my first bike, which was also Schwinn's fist attempt at BMX.

Zebrakenko road bike. Stamped steel drop outs. Yeah, it was cheap as $#!+, but it got me started. I threw it in the trash when I got #2 on the list.
Bianchi SLX. First 'real' road bike. Built it up with Ultegra 7-speed. It was Blue Celeste. Kinda like Mint Celeste, only with a blue look to it instead of green. It was a 55 cm c-t, and just a bit too small.
Diamondback Formula One. Fun bike I got cheap. My brother had one just like it. 20" wheels with pool slicks, 6-speed indexed RD, long seatpost, long stem. Think time trial bike only much smaller.
Colnago SL. I bought it from a guy who was upgrading to a Gios Compact. A couple of weeks after I bought it, he tried to buy it back. I refused. I had it repainted white w/ blue pearl clearcoat. I ran into him while riding it around the lake a couple of years later. He looked it over and complimented me on it. I told him it used to be his. He looked it over again and said, "oh, yeah, I remember it now, it was blue, though, wanna sell it back to me?" I still have it, 'though I've just converted it to singlespeed.
Bianchi Grizzly. First MTB. I bought it because it had SunTour XC Pro. I wanted to prove that there were other options besides Shimano for MTBs. The ironic thing is it shifted best when I replaced the Accushift cogs with Hyperglide cogs. I sold it to my younger brother.
Vitus Futural. I traded the Bianchi SLX frame for this frame. The Vitus fits great. I still have it.
Eddy Merckx TSX. My older brother gave this to me. He bought it from Tommy Matush. I just had to have it repainted. I built it up with a blend of Campy. Still have it.
Centurion Ironman. I got the frame for free, and built it up with leftover parts from other bikes. I have it set up with straight bars as a 'city bike' for my wife.
Catamount MFS. I wanted a full suspension MTB, and wanted one with a Unified Rear Triangle. This one was in my price range, and no one else had one. Still have it.

You threw a bike in the trash? You should be shot....

by a camera and have your photo posted for being a bike murderer.

It's starting to become clear to me that I'm the only guy paying full retail for all these bikes. Everyone else seems to build and rebuild them - I gotta learn that.

Also, when I've sold bikes I didn't want anymore for cheap cheap prices, friends and co-workers seem to find some reason to get pissed off and claim they were cheated! Never again will I sell a bike to someone I know. In one case it came close to ending a friendship. That was when I sold bike #2 to a guy for a hundred bucks. I had paid maybe $500 for it, and it was still working very well when I sold it. I tried to buy it back years later but he refused to sell.

I have owned, as an adult, 25 bicycles. I've sold 7, broken 5, had only one stolen, and thrown away one. Of the 5 frame breaks: 3 were mountain bikes, 1 was a road bike I dropped in a hole while riding and bent the frame and one I ran into the side of a car (got 4 days in a hospital, 6 months in PT and about $4k in compensation). I've had 3 tandems, 2 of which I still own. I still have 11 of them including 2 mountain bikes (one hardtail and one full suspension), 1 multispeed crusier bike, 1 folder, 2 touring bikes, 2 road bikes, the 2 tandems and one fix gear. The oldest one in my fleet is from 1984. The newest is about a month old.

I didn't like a Univega Sportour (the one I dropped in a hole), an old Biachi mountain bike (wrong size) and an old Libertas tandem (way too short and floppy). The one I threw away was an old foundling that I made into a fixed gear. I found a better one and made that into a fixed gear.

The ones I regret loosing was the Univega Vivatour I ran into the side of a car and a very bright, very shinny aluminum cruiser style bike that was stolen out of my garage on Christmas Eve, 1998. On the plus side I did get a Stumpjumper Pro out of the deal - possibly the best bike I have ever owned!

TOO MANY TO LIST...however I did love my kronos....and fit is the key. one bike i kept forever and rides smooth as butter is my old miyata triplecross....excellent for almost any riding...and after decades of all frames I stick with steel...always comfy, always easy to fix, usually cheap on ebay. See sheldon brown, he's done most of'em too and has many different models with his perks and peeves....i had a ted williams sears model...AWESOME...if you discount the weight/shifting ability/everything else....just get what you like and listen to no-one, it's YOUR bike....but heres my favs.......x-country mtn bike = Kona explosif or Brodie Espresso or KHS TEAM. Roadie = gosh, most are so similar, but again, steel Giant, Miyata, aluminum Vitus (A+ for noodly characteristics), colnago and ritchey Touring = older Trek 520, surly, bianchi......all the others weren't bad, just didn't stand out to me.........just plunk down millions and get a custom gunnar or sledgehammer

Bikes since I grew up. (Did I ever grow up?)

1. The second hand 3-speed I bought as a student. It lasted me right through college, until it (and I) were hit by a bus on the way home. I was not hurt, but the bike was, and then it was stolen (mangled wheel and all) from my outside my home before I ever got around to claiming for damage from the bus company. Sad story.

2. Lovely woman's frame 6-speed (later upgraded to 12-speed) I used to commute in Germany. Stolen from outside the office. Never did figure out if I had locked it or not.

3. Identical woman's frame 12-speed bought to replace the stolen bike. Even the color was the same, so I could use the same touch-up paint. Used for countless weekend tours. Sold to a friend and then borrowed back a couple of years later, only for me to discover that after two years off a bike I really wasn't able to do the 80-km rides I had done two years before. Loaded bike onto bus, train, another train and yet another train and limped home.

4. First North American bought bike. Also a woman's frame, because I had never ridden anything else. Too small. Hated riding it, but would anyone ever steal it and free me from my misery? Of course not. BIG MISTAKE.

5. Beautifully comfortable Rocky Mountain hybrid. Still going strong as a commuter. Lovely.

6. The new bike. Road bike. Carbon/aluminum frame. Stylish black. Fitted and built for me. Love at first sight :)

You threw a bike in the trash? You should be shot....

by a camera and have your photo posted for being a bike murderer.
Yes, I threw the bike in the trash. It was a POS department-store 'quality' frame (stamped steel dropouts, no rear derrailleur hanger, no braze-ons -- not even cable guides or water bottle mounts). I was never going to ride it again, and it wasn't even worth donating to a homeless guy. It was a piece of $#!+.

I didn't even learn to ride a bike until I was 16. (I've made up for it since :) )

1. My first bike was a department store road bike. 10 speed.

2. I then replaced it with a mountain bike which served me well for some time.

3. I bought a touring bike for my first ride across Australia in 1987. I then rode it across the country the following year and again in 1990. I also took it to Canada for a week's riding in 1992

4. I bought a second hand mountain bike to replace my first one which was getting on the old side.

5. My wife won me a Giant mountain bike many years ago which I still own. It's been to India with me twice.

6. I bought my current Kojima road bike in 2000 to replace my tourer. I was about to ride across Australia again and the old bike wasn't up to the trip. I rode this one across in 2000 and again in 2003.

Too many to list. Currently have 12 or so. Lots of frames and parts. And they all get torn down and built back up again with different stuff. Looking forward to learning welding and building some really weird contraptions. Some might fly, some might float.
(chronology: raleigh-20years-, centurion, peugeot, trek, fuji, mercian, specialized, nishiki, specialized, khs, raleigh, lemond, schwinn, trek, specialized, schwinn-twin, ...)

And I'm realizing that most are internal-geared or single-speed. I have very few derailers in current operation. I'm forgetting how to ride them.

1st bike was a imitation Nishiski, it was to big, then the first cheap mountain bike, it was ok but this was the beginning. Then a decent roadbike by Centurion for $750.00 that I recked in a month, so I replaced it with a $900.00 Bianchi road bike, a Vitoria. Next the first Stunmpjumper by Specialized for $750.00, this was too big, so I sold that and bought the first Trek full supenssion, the Trek 9000. This was good for the time. Then a Trek 2000 road aluminum factory frame that I peiced together from the bottom up. I solded that and bought a custom sized Dean Ti frame that was fitted to fit me perfectly and it does, I assembled the whole bike rim and all. Then I bought a Trek 7000 mtb, I decided that I wanted a hardtail. Next I built a project bike that I deamed as my dream bike, a Giant OCR touring frame with 29er Marzocchi fork and Avid mech. disc.. I also assembbled this bike the way I wanted it to be, rims and all. Ten bikes five of which I still have the Trek 9000, Trek 7000, the Bianchi, the DEAN, and the Giant. To this day I make it a point to ride all of them for different reasons, running errands, touring, MTB, cyclocross, and road paceline. Ten bikes so far and You can say that I ride a lot. Such is life and no regrets.

1 - new chinese shopper/chopper with training wheels. school and back - gave away

2 - new mongoose pro-class bmx. bmx races, school and back and around the suburb - sold

3 - 2nd hand ladies road bike with drops ala wallymart - school and back and a couple of fun/charity rides - sold

4 - 2nd hand racing bike with drops ala wally world - school and back and some fun/charity rides - sold

5 - new beach cruiser ala wally world - school and back - sold

6 - 2nd hand proflex 550 with shimano lx and thumb shifters - my first quality bike - races, fun/charity rides, school and back and general riding - sold

7 - 2nd hand steel peugeot with shimano 600, alex rims, cinelli - flexy as **** - school and back, races, training rides, fun/charity rides and general riding - sold

8 - 2nd hand steel frame with 531 forks built with the parts from the peugeot - stiff and strong - school and back, races, training rides, fun/charity rides and general riding - sold

9 - new kona jake the snake - my love affair with CX bikes starts - work and back, training and general riding - gave away

10 - custom condor CX - my first custom, quality bike(yeah, baby!) - work and back, training and general riding

11 - haven't bought it yet but this would be nice (http://www.nicolai.net/download-area/imgs/range-05/helius-fr.jpg)

I currently own 5 1/2 bicycles(5 bikes and one unicycle) and am currently thinking on getting a quadcycle.so what is too many-I don`t know and care less!!!! :p

I have found that you can adapt almost any bike to any person but that can be a pain and expensive. I would take some time and go into different bike shops or talk to the local bike people. I almost always change the seat on a new bike.