Essthreetee

First bike was blue Schwinn Sting Ray with a blue/metallic banana seat...bought by my Grandpa because Schwinn was the best.

I then got a Diamondback all chrome BMX and rode that up until HS.

My first road bike was a Raleigh Technium 440 in HS..I don't remember what happened to that one.

First bike purchased when I got married, wife and I both got Dyno GT Cruisers...


I then thought this Schwinn Cutter was cool and has recently (agin) become my commuter...


Then I rebuilt this 1972 Schwinn Continental...


Which then because of BF I tried a Sekine...then stripped it and here it hangs...


And has stalled out at my Bianchi...


So what is your evolution/transformation/progression?

Jeff Wills

Parents bought me a Schwinn Sting-Ray when I was about 7 years old. Then it was a 3-speed Collegiate, 5-speed Collegiate, Le Tour III, Superior, Paramount, Paletti, Mondia, Lightning recumbent, Gary Fisher Hoo-Ke-Ee-Koo, Tour Easy, Easy Racers Gold Rush, Schwinn LeTour single-speed, Steelman fixie, Bianchi Alloro, Fort 2x1000 'cross bike... I've probably forgotten a few. I also had a 12-year career in the bicycle business, which resulted in me meeting my wife.

dbakl

Paperboy bike, 3-speed from the trash, cheap French 10-speed from the trash, brand new cheap French 10-speed trash, 60s Reynolds 531 Carlton with Campagnolo and I never looked back. Though I have been acquiring better French trash these days.

PeregrineA1 

Sears Stingray copy, Olmo 10 speed, Hercules 3 speed, Motiv MTB, ProFlex 856, Specialized FSR, Gary Fisher Sugar, LeMond Buenos Aires, Intense Uzzi SL, Turner 5 Spot, Scott CR1 Pro, Surly 1x1, Kona Unit, Madone 4.5....and then I trolled through C&V while researching touring bikes. Bought a Surly LHT and the rest is history. Been seeking, buying, selling, and building C&V bikes. It's a wonderful hobby that I love more every day.

Cougrrcj

Let's see, I got a small purple tricycle handed down from my older sister...

Then a girl's 24" balloon tire monstrosity, also a hand-me-down from my older sister.

Let's see, I started riding my parent's late '50s J.C. Higgins (Sears) three speed 'English racers' until I got my own Sears 26" boy's 3-speed for my 12th birthday.

At almost 16, the frame broke on the 3-speed after I hit a frozen snow pile while on my way home from school. I had to ride to swim practice and be in the pool at the YMCA at 6am, then to school at 8, then home after school). Had it welded, but it broke again a week later...

That led to my first 10-speed for my 16th birthday (no car for me, HA!), a '74 Fuji 'Special Tourer'
That one got stolen three months later from the high school bike rack. Replaced with the identical Fuji 'Special Tourer'

When I got to Ohio State, my one roommate was into cycling and had a Viscount Pro (with death fork, but we didn't know that at the time, LOL), and so were a few of the other guys in the dorm (one Paramount, one Raleigh Super Course). My other dorm roommie and I couldn't keep up, and after riding one of the dorm-mate's better bikes, I sold my Special Tourer to the older sister of one of my high school buddies and got my Fuji S-10S, and my other roommate got a Viscount GP.

I still have the S-10S, but it has been upgraded over the years so there are almost no original components except the frame, handlebar & stem, and saddle.

wrote4luck

My first "quality" bike was a 1997 GT Karakoram, 4130 Cromoly frame with full Deore LX Group. Loved it. Bought it brand new in 1998 on closeout. Before that, I had a "Cycle Pro" Mountain bike from 1991 with full Sun Tour componentry my dad gave me. It had elliptical chain rings. My first rod bike was a 2004 Giant TCR.

cb400bill

I started off at about 10 y/o on a 1 speed Sting Ray.

(pic courtesy of bmxnonstop.com)

Then, when I was about 14, I moved up to a Kent 3 speed (think cheap knockoff Raleigh Sports).

When I was about 16, I took over my brother's neglected Sekine 10 speed. I rode that for a couple of years. My mom sold it at a garage sale after I moved from her house.

(pic courtesy of oldtenspeedgallery.com)

In my early 20's I won an AMF Black Gold 10 speed in a sales contest. I rode that bike for a year or two and then gave to a friend.

(pic courtesy of oldtenspeedgallery.com)

Then, there was a long drought of 10 years with no bicycles for me.

In my early thirties I bought a Raleigh hybrid so that I could ride with my young children. Eventually, it hung on a hook in the garage, and didn't get ridden much. I still have it.


Then after a chat with our family doctor about my health, I again started riding that now 13 year old Raleigh. One day one of my friends invited me to ride with him. I couldn't believe how much lighter his CAAD8 was than that hybrid. So, I soon after picked up my own Cannondale Synapse. I still have it.


It was then that I discovered BF C&V. In 2008 I picked up an unridden 1979 Fuji Gran Tourer. I rode that for a year and then sold it to my Sekine-less brother.


Then, came a series of C&V bikes. Some have been with me for a few years. Others maybe only a few months.

My first C&V refurbish bike was this Viscount Aerospace Pro. I still have it.


The next C&V bike I redid was a Team Fuji. I rode that for a couple of summers then sold it to buy my next C&V bike.


That next bike was a Centurion Semi-Pro. For now, I still have this one.


My latest project is this Trek 770. Should be fun.


There have been other C&V bikes along the way. Most were flippers to help fund this hobby.

John E

First bike, summer of 1962: 1950s Schwinn middleweight w/ 2-speed Bendix coaster hub controlled by a brake lever like shifter.
Second bike, December of same year: low-end Bianchi Corsa 10-speed, 26" wheels, Huret gear

What do I ride now? In addition to the vintage Capos and the Peugeot UO-8 transportation beater, a fat-tired Schwinn and a Bianchi road bike. I guess I have not evolved much.

cyclotoine

Mine is too garbled to even fully describe.

1. Sear constrictor BMX, late 1980s, fluorescent orange.

2. McKinely MTB from a sports store that was black with neon orange forks and handlebars

3. 1995 Rocky Mnt. Hammer, rigid. LX components

4. After a brief motocross phase, culminating in a 1995 Honda CR 250. I picked up a Trek Jetta (you know the ones that came with the car)

5. I picked up a Bianchi limited from a scrap metal place and tuned it up with basic tools and no guidance or knowledge, but I completely rebuilt everything and road it 50kms to my parents house. It was too small so I sold it.

6. Moved to bc with the Trek as a commuter and bought a 2004 Norco Sasquatch hardtail and started "free riding"

7.Moved to vancouver and needed a better commuter. a refurbished 1984 Nishiki International



8. I got hooked on road riding so I searched for a real road bike 1981 Nishiki Comp II

that didn't work so good with the narrow bars and huge chain rings so I made it a fixie and begun to think about a newer bike.



9. I picked up a centaur grey group and it lived briefly on a schwinn premis but then a marinoni special fell into my lap.



Over this period I bought and sold and built and road and flipped many many bicycles as I learned my trade and became a full time bike mechanic.

I acquired a stable of many different bikes.

nishiki international became a long haul trucker which was sold for a soma saga



The vintage bug did not leg go and I had to build a super record bike, that was my Faggin


which was replaced by my gazelle as i acquired the 531 bug


I also had this Schwinn briefly


My fixed gear frame was sold and I road this Jeunet for a while

cyclotoine

con't

but I always had my eye out for a slightly nicer 531 frame that I could put fenders on and I found this Mairag


A Marin Treviso fell into my lap and I sold my Marinoni and rebuilt the treviso with sram red, I was doing tris and doing a lot of group rides


than I found a 2002 Marin Treviso on ebay and swapped the parts over for a lighter/stiffer build with 1-1/8" (yes that is steel)


Did I mention that at some point in there I started riding boards


And I got back into mountain biking, first on a Giant trance and Now an Anthem 29er


I also experimented with an old mtb turned into a basket bike


The vintage bug never left and I had to do something more exotic


I also built bikes for my girlfriend... a guerciotti SS, a GIOS professional with all 1st gen chorus. The list goes on.

I forayed into cyclocross too and used this bike for winter training a lot. I may have put more miles on this frame than any other

Can't find photo of my 2004 Redline conquest pro with Sram Rival

Also wanted a long distance relaxed bike so built this since sold


Up next:
new beater fixed gear

turn the mairag into a fendered road bike

Build up a Norco CCX with disc brakes for training and gravel grinding with disc 28 spoke wheels

catonec 

OlyBiker007

Brand new here - can you tell me what "C&V" is, please? Thanks

cb400bill

Classic & Vintage.

Could be bikes, or the riders. Usually is both.

Creme Brulee

Started out with a nice 531 Raleigh royal sports touring bike that was too small... My friend got me into vintage racing bikes and I got a slx de rosa for relatively cheap... Still too small. Then I got into touring bikes on my own and got a miyata 610 which I loved. Sold the de rosa (no I do not miss it) got a nice mtb that I turned into a camping commuter bike. Sold the miyata for a koga miyata touring bike and now I'm full on into commuting, camping and trails with a small amount of relaxed road riding in between.

Arrowana

I think as a kid it went walmart garbage, walmart garbage, Stingray, walmart garbage, walmart garbage, and walmart garbage. When I was 15, I was obsessed with cars and couldn't wait to get one. Right around 15 1/2 I found a '81 Schwinn Traveler at a garage sale for $5, and got hooked on bikes and totally forgot about a car. The Schwinn was way too big for me, and was eventually replaced by an equally large GT Timberline. I can't remember if there was anything between them and me ending up with a '01 Trek 8000 that was way too small and had a strange mix of cheap parts. I think I put about 500 mi on each of those before moving to the next.

Afterwards came a '95 GT Pantera, finally a bike that fit! Over time it gathered some interesting parts, including a Velomax wheelset that had almost the same MSRP as the rest of the bike. I think I had that for at least a year and a half (Longer than any other bike since first finding that Schwinn), then gave it to my boyfriend at the time for his birthday. At the same time I had that, I also had an Austrian-made Sears 3-speed, a 3-speed Schwinn Varsity Frankenbike, and a too large Centurion Ironman.

I think the first bike to replace the GT was a Trek Cruiseliner with a Nexus 8-speed hub. I can't remember at all what came next. Then I found a '95 Fuji Discovery that was amazing to ride, for some reason I thought it needed disc brakes, had the frame sent off to get a tab added, and haven't built it up yet. Next was a '93 Giant ATX 780, once the recalled fork was replaced it became one of the best riding bikes I have ever been on, and for some reason I sold it to a friend. Luckily, she wants a frame swap, so I get it back soon. Soon after getting the ATX, a trade-in showed up at work that I absolutely knew I had to get before I even had a chance to ride it. Since then, my Schwinn Mirada has been my main ride, and it's evolution is probably worthy of it's own thread.

Those are just the main ones that come to mind, there were a ton more bikes I flipped, or bought with the intention of keeping then flipped.

frantik

My first bike was a "HE-MAN Masters of the Universe" kids bike with a coaster brake. I remember learning how to ride without training wheels and doing skids down the sidewalk on that thing.

In second or third grade I was riding a black Huffy mountain bike with some kind of green splatter or other 80s style paint. This bike was stolen in jr high and was replaced with my dad's yellow and silver huffy. Both of these bikes were from the Price Club (now Costco). Eventually that second bike got stolen too (both of them were left unlocked in the school bike rack) and I stopped riding.

When I went to college, I was given an old schwinn cruiser. I mostly rode it to my job. Eventually the seat broke and I rode it without a seat for a while, until my boss gave me an old road bike of his, a Schwinn World Sport. I rode that bike for the next 4-5 years, using it to commute on the train to work. By 2003 I had been laid off and was living with a girlfriend who had a car, so I didn't ride much, and eventually sold the World Sport. Then I got my own car and had no interest in riding at all.

In 2010 or so, i found myself taking lots of walks at night, mostly to get out of the house and avoid having to listen to my noisy neighbors. I started wanting to ride a bike again, and eventually traded someone on craigslist for a 2000 Specialized Hard Rock.



I learned how to clean and do minor restorations on the Hard Rock, and at the same time started flipping as a way to make money and try out different bikes. I didn't really like the Hard Rock that much, and wanted a road bike, especially one like my old World Sport, which I remembered feeling pretty fast on. While I searched for a road bike, I "hybridized" my Hard Rock, putting slick tires and bar ends on it, and also messing with the handlebars, discovering my preferred "flopped and chopped" style where the bars are turned downward and trimmed down so they aren't so wide. This works especially well with bar ends, making a pseudo bullhorn bar

While I searched for a road bike, I started flipping and went through a fair amount of bikes, and eventually did pick up a World Sport. But I hated the ride! It was flipped quickly. So I kept looking for a road bike I liked. By this time I had caught a bit of the Ironman bug from RobbieTunes, and when an 1989 Ironman frame came my way, I grabbed it and built it up with parts I had accumulated from flipping. This was the first bike I had built from the frame up, and I was really proud of the results. It was a blast to ride as well.



The same week I picked up the Ironman, I also picked up a mid 80s mountain bike frame, a Diamondback Apex. I had seen the frame in the LBS for a while and the color called to me. I didn't realize at the time it was a pretty nice frame, or how much impact this purchase would have on the future of my "bike evolution". I built this bike up in a similar "road hybrid" style with slick tires and preferred cockpit set up as my Hard Rock. Once I had built up the Diamondback, I decided to sell the Hard Rock because I never liked the colors and it was also too small for me anyways.



So the Ironman and the DB got a fair amount of use, but I mostly rode the Ironman, especially if I was going to ride with a group. But then one night in the late summer of 2011 I bailed hard avoiding a skunk on the Ironman. I messed up my hand pretty bad and couldn't ride for a week or two, and then I did start riding, I rode the Diamondback. It was much most stable and I felt more confident riding it, especially while my hand was still healing.

Over time I started to ride the mountain bike more and more. I used it to get groceries and run other errands since my cars tags were expired and I didn't want to risk a ticket. I sold my car in 2012 and used the Diamondback to get everywhere. I didn't ride the Centurion at all.. I started to feel guilty that I didn't ride it and instead gave my frankenbike with low end components way more love. After getting so used to fat tires, the skinny 23c tires just felt so rough, especially in the city.

So by now I was firmly in the vintage MTB camp.. and started to want another MTB that I could try a drop bar conversion on, in order to make an even more road-hybridized mountain bike. After a year of not spending much time on CL, I found myself looking for mountain bikes, mostly Diamondbacks since I'm familiar with the brand and the line up.

In fall of 2012 I grabbed a 1989 Diamondback Apex after stalking it on CL for months and watching the price fall. i have high hopes for this bike, but unfortunately it is kind of ilke my World Sport experience.. wanted a bike based on the brand and model, and ended up being disappointed. The components on the 89 Apex are nice, but I just don't like the ride, and it's also a lot heavier than I was expecting.

Almost immediately after I pick up the 89 Apex, I spot a high end Univega Alpina Pro mountain bike on CL, for even less money than the Apex i just bought. I say fuggit and grab the Univega too. This time I hit pay dirt.. i love the ride and it there is a beautiful "fillet welded" frame (tig welds but very small and clean) with a chromed finish under a respray. I'm hoping it's Tange Prestige, but settle for Tange Triple butted. This bike becomes my first drop bar MTB and goes through a lot of revisions.



The Apex becomes my single speed rain beater for a while and also goes through a lot of changes. I'd never really ridden single speed before, but start to get into it more because of this bike. Over the winter I picked up a modern single speed cross bike with some christmas money, mostly only a lark. A lot of the components weren't that great, and so I ended up swapping over almost all of the parts from the modern SS onto the Apex, making a second drop bar conversion MTB. The Apex is currently waiting for spring to be flipped.






At this point, my "bike evolution" has gone from a guy who knew nothing about bikes except how to ride one, to someone who is obsessed with tinkering and tweaking bikes, especially vintage mountain bikes. I prefer fat tires to skinny ones. I can do my own repairs and my own builds, and am not usually satisfied with the stock set up. I enjoy single speed bikes but also like gears, and tend to tune each bike's gearing for its specific task.

I'm looking forward to seeing where my bike evolution will go in 2013; my interest in vintage MTBs is getting me off road more often all the time, and lightweight suspension mtb may be in my future. But for now, I have this new toy to play with.....




funnily enough, looks like my "evolution" started out on 80s mtbs and has led me right back.. though going from a Huffy BSO to top of the line models is a good evolution

gl1000honda3

Hello...

1. Brand new Red CCM coaster;
2. Generic Black Knight 10 speed;
3. Norco Big Foot;
4. Devinci Milano;
5. Electra Rat Bike chopper coaster;
6. Raleigh Super Gran Prix 10 speed;
7. Peugeot UE-8 10 Speed City bike;
8. Raleigh Road Ace Aero 10 Speed.

The 70's and 80's are my forte....I love the feel of steel...IMO

RobbieTunes

1-Tricycle, used, shared with sisters.
2-20" "convertible" bike, used, shared with sisters.
3-generic banana bike, shared with brothers.
4-paper route bike, used, shared with no one.
5-Sears Free Spirit bicentennial edition.
6-Schwinn Varsity, used.
7-Trek 510, used.
8-Raleigh Horizon, because my wife bought one.
9-Raleigh Technium, used, traded the Horizon for it.
10-Centurion Ironman, one of many
Various, and many others in/out of the garage
Latest acquistion: Trek Y-Foil.
Pending: Cannondale Six 13
Oldest in the herd right now: 1984 Centurion Turbo
Pending newest in the herd: 2008 Cannondale Six13

To date, the only new bikes were the generic banana bike and the Sears Free Spirit.

Standalone 

Columbia Mag wheel BMX,

$89 Murray Cruiser (rode that creaky bendy thing all over!) web photo



Then, when I was 12, first my mother's then my father's campy equipped 1973 Atala Grand Prix bikes. Mom's was orange, and I still have it-- awaiting a restoration. Dad's was a 25" grey one. web photo



I got it stolen as a teen and rebuilt a white one for him recently:
Then my $40 Panasonic when I moved to NYC in '99 and still ride as an around-town/century/touring bike. DX2000. 66cm!



Then everything else. My favorite is probably my '85 Raleigh Alyeska Touring.

Standalone 

Ellis-Briggs? That's really cool. My family name is Jeffery, which is the same spelling as the Jeffery & Gormully Bicycle Co.(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gormully_%26_Jeffery)

Briggs is also a family name-- I was excited to see that name is also associated with traditional bicycle manufacturing.

Maybe my bicycle evolution really goes back further than I realized!

Robofunc

My first bike was a tiny BMX-style thing for tots. Rode it without training wheels for the first time and careened into a neighbor's yard that was always full of dog poo, which taught me the importance of turning.

Continued on a BMX until around '86 / '87, when I got my first "ten speed." It was kind of a junior hybrid flat bar setup, don't remember the brand. Dad finally relented and gave it to me for Christmas to keep me off his Peugeot. I immediately crashed it at top-speed into the back of a parked car. It was cold and my stocking hat landed in a puddle. Pride was bruised, but the bike was okay.

Went back to BMX for a long time (GT, Robinson) then in '09 I got the hankering for the fast feel of that old Peugeot, so I went and got a mid-80s Motobecane. The C&V bug bit.

Now I've got a few decent road bikes ('84 LeTour, '87 Ironman, '85 Pro Miyata). I try to ride everywhere I can (errands, etc) in addition to racking up miles on the local roads and trails. I'm getting more addicted to riding every day. Hoping to do my first century on the Ironman in 2013.

CV-6 

Started on some sort of bike with solid wheels. Parents got me a Schwinn for Xmas when I was about 7. Then they got me an AMF Hercules when I was in high school. Went off to college and had to have a 10 speed, so I bought a Huffy. Couple of my buds were into racing, so I bought the Lejeune Pro I still own. Shortly after when I realized it was impractical to ride tubies around campus, bought a Moto Grand Touring. Modded the AMF to drop bars and rode it off and on. Left it at the rental when I moved. Regret doing that. Sold the Moto in 1975 (regret that too) and rode the Lejeune in various forms for next 25 years or so. Did not buy another bike until 2002. .

DIMcyclist

As far back as I can remember, even as a kid in Europe, my mom always had a bike and ferried me around on the back long before I could ride (the last one I can specifically recall was a purplish Murray 3sp, after we moved to the US).

My first bike was some kind of red & white Schwinn kid's bike, cruiser-style; when the training wheels came off, I used to ride to the store & back with my mom.

I outgrew that bike & I got a pea-picker 5sp Stingray for my 9th birthday. After I was about 13, I didn't ride bikes for a while. When I was 15, I bought my best friends' older sister's orange Varsity, and rode that through high school (when my car didn't run) and into college; it was great for getting around campus.

At 24, I sold the Varsity & switched to a mountain biking with a Trek 930, and I rode it exclusively for 14 years (I still bothered to have a car in those days).

Eventually injuries & joint damage forced me into being a roadie, and a move to Portland cajoled me into loving it. Since then, I've pursued three paths of evolution: my commuter, my sport bike, and my all-rounder, which run as follows:

Commuter- Trek 930> '93 Trek 820 (650b)> '93 Bridgestone XO-3; '91 Trek 820 (650b)> '84 Panasonic 'City Bike' (650b). Future: '89 Bridgestone Atlantis (650b). (Keeping the Panasonic, 930, & the XO-3.)

Road- '03 Fuji League (Toyo-built; Shimano 105)> '02 LeMond Buenos Aires (D/A); '97-ish Torelli Corsa Strada (Shimano 105). Future: '97-ish Pinarello Asolo (Campagnolo Daytona/10). (Keeping the LeMond & the Pina.) No interest in C/F (no need for it).

All around- '89 Bridgestone RB-2 (Shimano 600)> '09 Soma Smoothie (Shimano 105). Future: '81 Toei Randonneur. (The Soma is still a keeper, btw.)

I guess I should point out that as of this coming St. Patrick's day, I'll have been car-free for nine years (the transmission on my last Saab conked out the day after St. Paddy's, 2004; I never did get around to having it fixed).

-

SirMike1983 

1980s Schwinn Aerostar - early 1960s Columbia middleweight - 1936 Schwinn Henderson - 1974 Raleigh Sports - 1978 Raleigh DL1 - 1949 Columbia 3 Star Deluxe - 1947 Schwinn New World - 1965 Raleigh Dawn (Dawn in progress). I still have all except the Aerostar. My nephews got the Aerostar.

Chris W.

Let me think...

1968: Schwinn Stingray with AS three speed with a super cool stick shifters. (Stolen).
1972: My dad found an early 50s 20" skip-tooth Schwinn 2that I rode in cruiser mode for a year or so, it got stripped down and put into early BMX mode (I now regret that as it was such a cool bike in original form ).
1972-77: Pat Littlejohn BMX, Webco BMX, Redline BMX.
1977-80: Highschool, too cool for bicycles...(what a dumbass).
1980-81: Sixties Schwinn 26", 1st "real bike" a local builder in Lincoln Ne. Built a Reynolds 531 Frameset, built with Shimano 600. (Stolen)
1982-84: Woodrup Giro-Tour, Mongoose Koz Kruiser 26" BMX, Lotus ???, Gitane Super Course. Sold all the bikes to go be a climbing bum in Colorado.
1985-2005: Climbing/Skiing bum. Nursing school, Army, three marriages...no bikes ;-(
2005-Now: Saw a local add for a Rivendell Bleriot that totally tugged at my heart strings, and have had a bunch of bikes, right now I have. A Woodrup Giro-Tour (again), 85 Trek 520, 86 Rock-Hopper, mid 90s Rock-Hopper.

Cheers,
Chris