Pleasant bike surprises?
02-03-13, 07:43 PM
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Pleasant bike surprises?
Inspired by Artkansas worst bike thread.
Have you been pleasantly surprised by an unlikely bike? I bought a Specialized Ground Control full suspension bike. Everything I'd heard and read about it was negative. Overweight & clumsy. After getting it in order, I rode it around and loved it. It was heavy, but fun to ride on trails. Sold it with regrets.
My gardener neighbor was given a old relic that had been stuck on the side of a client's house. It was an American Eagle coaster brake roadster. The paint & chrome was sad. After a strip down, rebuild and new tires I rode it around. Love at first wheel. It's not being sold. It's a great bike to grab & ride around.
Have you been pleasantly surprised by an unlikely bike? I bought a Specialized Ground Control full suspension bike. Everything I'd heard and read about it was negative. Overweight & clumsy. After getting it in order, I rode it around and loved it. It was heavy, but fun to ride on trails. Sold it with regrets.
My gardener neighbor was given a old relic that had been stuck on the side of a client's house. It was an American Eagle coaster brake roadster. The paint & chrome was sad. After a strip down, rebuild and new tires I rode it around. Love at first wheel. It's not being sold. It's a great bike to grab & ride around.
02-03-13, 08:13 PM
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Yeah, those are both really interesting bikes.
IIRC the specialized actually has the chainstays natural flex work with the shock on the rear which would seem to help keep the tire on the trail.
Classic lines on the old roadster.
IIRC the specialized actually has the chainstays natural flex work with the shock on the rear which would seem to help keep the tire on the trail.
Classic lines on the old roadster.
02-03-13, 08:26 PM
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ya, i've got one. bought a used 97 gary fisher tassahara rigid MTB that had been ridden hard as a commuter. bought it off of CL for 5 bucks. the guy wasn't selling the wheels because they were good aftermarket ones. on a whim i asked about the original wheels and after he scratched his head a bit, he said he thought he still had them. i said how much? he said another 5. so for ten i had a complete bike. i stripped it down to a SS and it's been a great beater.
Last edited by hueyhoolihan; 02-04-13 at 03:18 PM.
02-04-13, 12:35 AM
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Yeah, the make was Le Prix. I think it was Korean. I bought it from an LBS for $25.00. It was a trade-in he got for another bike. It was a 10 speed, covered in dust from sitting out side in the desert for who knows how long. It cleaned up easily and all it needed was air in the tires. But for a gas pipe bike it was noticeably light, comfortable to ride with a good tight feel. I lost it in the divorce.
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02-04-13, 11:59 AM
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My Mercier fom Bikesdirect... $299 w/free shipping. Have almost 3K miles on it now...has been trouble-free and a joy to ride. (Pic was when I first got the Mecier, I have it set up differently now) Really amazing for the price. I was hesitant to buy a cheap mail-order bike, as I had gone that route years ago [NOT with Bikesdirect] and ended up with a worthless POS.
02-12-13, 10:00 PM
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We had a KHS tandem that we purchased as a "give it a try" tandem. Couple of mods and upgrades turned out to be a sweet bike. 26 inch wheels (upgraded rear). We rode a 20 mile section of the trail and averaged 20 mph. We ended up buying the Burley Duet couple months later. Eventhough it's a tandem set up for the road (700c vs 26 inch wheels) we have never been able to match that speed on the new tandem costing nearly 3 times as much as the KHS.
Gina still missess that tandem and regrets selling it to a couple that pleaded us to sell it. The KHS had a real purty pant job too!
Flying Smerkel always seems to have some cool bikes when we run into one another!
Gina still missess that tandem and regrets selling it to a couple that pleaded us to sell it. The KHS had a real purty pant job too!
Flying Smerkel always seems to have some cool bikes when we run into one another!
02-13-13, 10:10 AM
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Wait 'til you check out my Continental I bought in a haze of nostalgia on a dark night. Or my KHS dooey (DUI) bike that I bought out of pity from a neighbor. Two less than stellar acquisitions.
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