Dfrost 

I don't have anywhere close to the inventory or many bikes of the past of others on this forum, but these are my top three:

1. 1987 Marinoni SLX Sport Tourer (Ms. Marinoni’s description when I sent the S/N). Started to fall in love with it within the first mile of a test ride in 2013. I call it Buzz because it makes me feel like riding “To infinity and beyond”, every ride. The 700Cx32’s just barely clear the fender boss in rear brake bridge (with short reach brakes, too!), but 650Bx38’s also work nicely on it with fenders when I don’t want to put it away for the rainy seasons. It’s better in both configurations with the Stronglight A9 headset.



2. 1979 Miyata 912 with Gugificazione. Purchased new, now in its 4th major configuration as my dedicated fender (not yet reinstalled here) over 700Cx28’s and travel bike. 2nd version (7-speed Sora) with rear dropout spread went to Netherlands with my son for his high school years, 3rd was 8-speed Sachs New Success (still there) but no frame mods. Then @gugie did his magic working with just the fork for this one, including rerake to low trail, braze-on centerpull posts and a set of custom racks including not-shown low riders. Miyata original paint (fork was powder-coated after the mods) has held up to all the moves remarkably well.



3. It’s a tough call between the 1972 Masi GC that I had for a few years racing back then, or this one, the 1992 Klein Performance. The latter wins because of eleven years and 38,000 or so mostly delightful miles including many centuries+, courting my now-wife, several long credit card tours with her including our honeymoon in France. Same son (from prior marriage) still enjoys it. Wish it could take fatter tires to soften the aluminum frame harshness that intrudes on less smooth roads. That CF fork really didn’t help much; steel fork these days. Sorry this shot during 2001 tour in Italy isn’t DS. Another one with glorious paint.

obrentharris 

Thanks wawine !
Looking forward to seeing the others when they're complete.
Brent

RobbieTunes 

But right now, it's about rideability...
1. Wraith Fabrications Hustle. 16.5 lbs of Columbus Life steel, R8000, a Stronglight Pulsion crankset and DA C35 tubulars. 50/34 and 11-34. Alwsys ready to rumble.

2. Cipollini Logos. 15.6 lbs of plastic, SRAM 1x11 50t and 10-42 on 3T hoops. Very shallow learning curve.

3. Fiorini SLX (1986). DA9000 does what it is supposed to: continually over-achieve. Compact 50/34 with 12-28 rear on DA9000/Aerohead handbuilts. My Merckx, Colnago, Battaglin, Basso, Klein, Cadex, all the Ironmen, and even the Titan, all wish they had that mojo.

twolve

Curt Goodrich, now sporting 48mm tires


A-Train all-road.


Probably not in my top 3, but I have a picture! 1984 Dawes Super Galaxy. Ton of fun so far. Actual top 3 was a mystery 70s frame converted to 650b but was sadly stolen while my brother was borrowing it.

79pmooney

Tough question because it's four bikes for me. My racing bike, the 1976 Fuji Professional. The bike of my most cherished memories. Then the bike of my username that was built to replace the Fuji as a bike that would never be raced but able to do everything else. My first custom. Not great at anything (too many compromises) - until I set it up to ride Cycle Oregon's Crater Lake edition of 2017 as a fix gear. Now, it's a classic English road bike.

Then there my two custom ti bike, both TiCycles. The road bike with it's super fit, ride I love and gears to tackle anything. The super road fix gear that's the bike we racers would have died for in the late '80s in an alternative world where freewheels had never been invented. (And it will get sewups to make that seen even more real.)

I guess I would probably have to take the Mooney out because it is an all rounder and the others all dialed in t do what they do. But my heart and soul are with the Mooney. It's seen me through my darkest days. 50,000 miles. A lot of hours of my life. I'll never part with it.

Ben

randyjawa 

1970 Atala Professional...


1970 Carlton Professional.,,


and my soon to be finished Rabeneick 120d...

texaspandj

Top three?
1. My first "real" bike. A 1986 Panasonic Dx3000. The black and yellow one. It was billed as a fast recreational sport bike. It was probably the perfect bike to learn on. SiS shifting, aero brake levers, fast tires, and laid bike geometry. Competed in my first ever triathlon and rode 150 miles in 10 hours on that thing and felt fine after.
2. My Cobalt Blue treviso Pinarello with SL tubing built from a frame in '88. I did a 4:29 century, broke an hour in the 40k bike portion of a Triathlon. Weirdly, I had built it to resemble the '86 Ironman I always wanted but with upgrades where it counted.
3. 1986 Centurion Ironman I always wanted. In '86 when I CRAVED the Ironman I didn't have the funds. In '88 I finally had the funds but Did not like the color schemes offered in Ironman that year, hence the Pinarello. But finally I got my '86 Ironman....in 2006. Weirdly, I built it exactly like my Pinarello that I had built to resemble the '86 Ironman.

Dura Ace BB,HS,FD,RD, FW and Hubs. 600 brakeset, crankset, and aero seatpost. First generation Scott DH aerobars and 6 speed Gripshift.

Solid bike.

I regrettably sold the Pinarello so no pic.

crank_addict

MasVino ~ you can't get away without at least giving us some pics! Lol

alexihnen 

Trek 770


Raleigh SBDU 753


Gangl #6

shuru421

No particular order,

Zunow Z-1

Fuso

Rossin Prestige (Tange)

wawine

oh, there are some posted a few spots after my original post!
keep looking!

Kabuki12

Ummm , just three? Can't do it!

scarlson 

All posted already on these here forums, but here goes:

One taught me love
Got back into cycling after 6 year hiatus with this Trek 400, which I bought off a scrap truck for $25 in 2011. These are the only two pictures I still have of it, sadly.



One taught me patience
Toured through Europe for 6 months with this Ron Cooper in my teenage years, broke 14 spokes, 2 rims, and 3 racks. It has been substantially redone since then and this photo is its latest incarnation.


One taught me pain
Rode this Vitus 979 too fast and hard with my riding buddy until my knees fell apart this winter and I had to change everything (Biopace, shorter cranks, and weight training) to put my knees back together.

John E

I was relieved to see at least one lowly UO-8 in this thread, which otherwise threatened to be a real "high rent district" gallery.

My two best frames are probably the littermate Capo Siegers, although the mountain bike is pretty special, being one of the last Made in America Schwinns, and part of the Paramount mountain bike series.

Chr0m0ly 

The first one is a 1984 Miyata 310. It was my first vintage road bike, and it was given to me covered in dust and cobwebs, the hoods a bubbly mess, for free dug from a friends garage. Golden Arrow drive train, double butted chromo main triangle with hi-ten fork and stays. It rode like a dream! I do miss it, but selling was the right call. I upgraded to an ‘85 710 which I still have. Better everything and doesn’t give up any practicality.

The next is an ‘83 Trek 720. My first grail level find. I am currently self quarantined with my wife in MI, we are staying in a little in law apartment at her parents place and this bike is here with me. I’ve discovered that with its shock absorbing frame, and room for 1 1/4 tires (under fenders!!) it eats the dirt roads that cross cross Ann Arbor for breakfast. I found it a little unsteady when (over)packed for touring, but that compliance makes it a DREAM for rock strewn dirt roads. I’m blown away by this thing.

The last is another Trek, a ‘79 514. This was picked up to replace an ‘84 610, an awesome sports bike. I’m surprised at just how well this thing rides as well. A friend pointed it out on Facebook sales, and I expected it to ride like a router with the 44.5cm chain stays. Imagine my surprise to discover the quick steering front end makes it responsive and lively! The cush of the long chain stays matched with a full Ishiwata 022 frame (and fork and stays) make for a shockingly light and springy ride. If any of my bikes plane it’s this one.

This evening this are my top three bikes, I reserve the right to change my mind at any time. 😝

kwhiner

1986 Schwinn Paramount, 1989 Schwinn Paramount, 1984 Schwinn Voyageur SP.

Close runners up, 1978 Guerciotti and 1984 Specialized Sequoia

Andy_K 

1. ~1976 Stella SX-76 -- My love for this one is kind of irrational. It's mostly about the way it looks, and the oddity that is metric sized Columbus tubing with French decals.



2. 1983 Specialized Sequoia -- This one snuck up on me. I bought it during the time I was buying every vintage bike that caught my eye, and it has just surprised me with what a comfortable ride it is.



3. 1975 Motobecane Grand Jubilé -- This is probably the closest I'll ever have to a custom bike. It started as a middle-of-the-lineup sport tourer, but @gugie hit it with the torch a few times to give it the 650B mystique and Groody Bros. gave it a beautiful powder coat. Some Campy components thrown in for good measure, include the ultra-rare GevenallexCampy 10-speed shifters complete the package.



I've got a bunch of Italian racers in my garage, which I really love, but at the end of the day, these three rise to the top.

merziac

Top, cool, rare, classic, vintage, custom?

The top 3 change with the line up, the weather, my mood, who knows.

#1 would be the latest and greatest for now, maybe not vintage but classic as the day is long and steeped in 50 years of history from one of the best.

New "classic" Strawberry


Coolest most original complete.
78 Jim Merz touring.


Oldest very much original.
1958 Paramount

Russ Roth

I can post pics of the first one later, don't have any of the others

1. Giant Perigee, bought in 93 with lawnmower money for my first race bike. 14sp exage components were eventually replaced with 16sp shimano 600, King hubs and has been through at least 4 sets of rims with those hubs and 2 sets of wheels prior to the kings. I did my first tour through Europe starting by taking it on an archeology dig in Cyprus where I used it to get around, rode across Cyprus, Greece, some of Italy and France. I used it for my first season of cross since it would fit the green vittoria 32s. My boss at the time cut out the brake bridge and added canti mounts, the fork was replaced, and my future wife rode it with flat bars to try getting into riding which turned into a success. One rear stay was snapped and has since been fixed and powder coated and it still gets some milage.

2. DeRosa Giro d'Italia with ELOS tubing. This one had defective stays and while Spectrum cycles was fixing it I had them install S&S couplings in it and paint it a beautiful green. Toured northern Europe with this using a backpack. Ended up getting rid of it for financial reasons and really wish I hadn't. This was a bike that told me what it meant to ride a racing bike and I've not been on one that just seemed tuned to me the way that one did.

3. This one is harder to fill but I'm going with my C-dale 29er Trail 2sl. I always liked to MTB but was never very good at it and any races were just a struggle. So going 12 or 13 years without a MTB wasn't really a big deal. But since getting this I enjoy being on the trails as much as I do on the road, it just goes fast, handles great and inspires confidence. Also gave me my first MTB race entry without a DNF and I'm hoping to do a couple more this year.

JaccoW

I've owned a number of bikes since I started riding as a toddler and I cannot remember all of them anymore. It wasn't until a few years ago that I started finding and riding nicer bikes but some of the older bikes still have a place in my heart.

1. Gazelle Touché - Unknown

Rode one just like this one for a number of years, up until 2006 I think, when it became too small for me. Aluminum frame with a steel fork and drum brakes. I remember really liking the green color at the time.

(Rehosted image, not my bike)

2. Gazelle Orange Excellent - 2006

For all of its mechanical faults and stupid choices modern Gazelle (used to) made, this is still the bike I rode the longest, the furthest and the most.
I still ride it, though it is likely to be retired for a big mechanical overhaul once the SilverAce is done. I've used it as my daily commuter for 14 years, averaging between 2500 and 5000+ km (1550-3100+ miles) a year. Meaning it's understandable the Shimano Nexus 8 IGH is worn and broken beyond repair where only a complete swap of its innards might help. Two busted rims. Countless corroded kickstands. A broken handlebar, crank and fork. And many, many more mechanical issues.

But also a semester exploring Berlin by bike. Going on bike rides with my family, sometimes doing 100+km (60 miles) a day and numerous times picking up my girlfriend from the train station on the rear carrier and taking my first steps in learning how to repair a bicycle.


(Almost brand new back in 2008)

3. Batavus Randonneur GL - Somewhere between 1982 and 1987

My first serious bicycle restoration of a bike that actually fit me. Documented here on Bikeforums I rebuild this bike from the ground up to what I think a randonneuring bike should look like and what I want in a bike.
It's the bike I grab when I go for a longer ride nowadays, that I sometimes bring with me on vacation and is one of my first bikes that I am really proud of.

jkrug

I've been riding over 50 years and have mostly had lower level consumer bikes, but three stand out. The first was a Windsor road bike with sew-ups that I repainted and took on a west coast bike ride with my wife in the mid 70s. The second was an 80s Motobecane that my son-on-law air-transported across the country to become a city cruiser. It was stolen from my garage twice, recovered once, then gone. The last is a 5-year-old Linus seven-speed that I now use to get across town to my daughter's house. I have a few more posts to go before I can post pictures, but will do so as soon as I can.

Russ Roth

1. was a mid-90s DeRosa Giro d'Italia with ELOS tubing and I can't really remember what groupset. It had been split in half with S&S couplings and ridden all over Europe and the US. Was pained a color called medium jade metallic.
2 was a Litespeed classic built with 10sp record with a pearl white paint job
3. Is my current Rock Lobster with 12sp chorus, I do often wish I'd kept the others and plan to keep the Rock Lobster indefinitely.

tkamd73 

Ok,



91 Waterford Paramount

85 Trek 670

77 Trek TX900

jerman

I sold my '85 Miyata 912 and still regret it.
My top three:
1) Look 585
2) BMC Roadmachine
3) Bianchi

embankmentlb

Growing up following the prodigy Lemond in the black and white pages of Velo News this was the bike!

My local cycling club team bike from 30 pluse years ago.

My grail bike.