What's the worst bicycle you ever owned?
 

I'm stealing this idea from a motorcycle forum I visit. I saw a similar thread there and thought this would be a great conversation starter here as well.

We talk a lot about our favorite bikes, but what about the rest?

Tell us about your LEAST favorite bike.

As far as parameters, this doesn't have to mean the worst quality, just a bike you didn't like for whatever reason.

I can start: My 00 Trek 2000. To be fair, it was really the wheels that were the problem more than the bike.

I loved the bike when I bought it. It fit and handled well, no complaints there. Components were good - solid, reliable Tiagra all around. Plus it was pretty, it had this beautiful dark maroon paint job that I really liked.

But those WHEELS! It came with these Rolf Vector wheels, and they were terrible. I had nothing but trouble with them. They simply would not stay true, no matter what I did. And the shop couldn't fix them either. The mechanics told me they couldn't do a thing with them, they had to send them back to Rolf to be trued.

I ended up selling the bike after one season - not just because of the wheels, but they certainly sealed my decision to part with the bike.

How about yours?

Huffy Granite. Not sure it even qualified as a bicycle.

I had a kids' bike with solid rubber tires when I was about 6-7 years old. It was terrible.

I've never had a bike I didn't like. Each bike I've owned has been better than the last in its genre, so I'm sure if I went back to the first bikes I'd be appalled, but when I owned them they were great. I even loved my Huffy.

If I have to pick, it was the one with training wheels. A bicycle represents freedom, and training wheels did not. Also, it's not a bike until you're riding a 2-wheeler with cards in the spokes. So, the best and worst bikes were the same frame, trading the training wheels for cards.

I had a Knight Rider Bigwheel that I wore the hollow plastic rear tires out on and my dad replaced them with rounded off wooden blocks.

Motobecane Fixie Cafe. That thing was rusty within five minutes of taking it out. Wasn't too bothered when it got stolen.

Can't say I ever had a bad one. The most disappointing was my Giant TCR C2 I bought new in '06. I fell for the carbon hype and during my first real ride I knew I had wasted over 2000 dollars. The magic carbon carpet ride I had heard all about never materialized. Sold it after a year, I had other steel and alu bikes I rode more. Good looking bike, though.

Redline R740 with Sora shifters, triple with 8 in back. Horrible bike. Everything about it sucked. I learned a lot from it but it was literally a painful journey. Frame geometry was really off from advertisements and matched up to 3 particular bikes but not completely. Was a small medium and large depending on measurements. Redline and bike shop avoided me after I bought it. It looked normal but could not get comfortable for any ride of distance. Just a strange bike.

mid 90's Cannondale hybrid with 7 speed twist grips and 1 1/4 tires. bleck.

if we're talking real road bikes, a colnago carbitubo
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=489985

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t...e/DSCF2815.jpg

The frame was nice, but SRAM Red components are trash.

2013 Raleigh revenio with 8 speeds and double up front, the problems I had were the inner tubes 10 popped in 8 months and was very twitchy steering.

Motobecane Fantom Cross Outlaw, bought as a frameset.

It had a God-awful unforgiving, buzzy, jarring ride even with 700x32 tires.

CAAD 9, harsh ride, creaky BB30 and not all that stiff all in one package... there I said it.

Easy! Raleigh Commando I got new for Christmas as a kid. Brakes never worked the seat was like sitting on a rough brick and cotter pin cranks always had slop in them.

http://i.imgur.com/DORdRls.png

Whoa!?#!?!
That's a new one on me. Coolest bike EVER!!!!!

2007 Kestrel Evoke. I bought it as a frame set from Bikesdirect in a group buy here on Bike Forums back in 2007 and built it up myself. The quality of the frame was excellent but it was one size too big and I could never get it to fit right. My neck and shoulders were always sore after long rides. I had it for a year and a half before I sold it. I bought a different Kestrel frame the correct size and am still riding it. It fits like a glove.

Back in the 1960s I had some big-box-store type of monstrosity; a single speed with a coaster brake, 26" wheels with 2-1/2" wide tires, all steel frame with way too many elements, chromed fenders, chain guard, kickstand, top tube fairings that enclosed a headlamp, luggage rack. The thing must have weighed 50 lbs. It was like a 1960 Buick for kids!

An old green Huffy, c. 1970. Don't recall the model, but it was a tank. The Raleigh Record that replaced it was to me at the time a lithe racing machine.

Probably this one. But I thought it was awesome at the time
http://photos.alptown.com/images/Pen...arade.Kyle.jpg

Worst built bike was an Iverson Grand Sport. 44 pounds of gas pipe and stamped steel. Great big hunk of junk but I loved it.

Worst bike was a non name brand knock off of a Schwinn sting ray.

Best bike for me is my Tarmac

I love that bike. I agree that it should be spec'd with Campy but either way it is an awesome frame. I could suffer with the Scram if I could have the frame.
The worst bike that I ever had was a trek 820 mtb. I hated that bike from day 1. It never fit right and I just did not like it. I couldn't stand the owner of that shop and have hated Trek ever since. Good bikes but I can't get past the jerk that owned the shop.
As for your cx 7, it's beautiful

Come on. You were rocking that bike. Does any town do those type of parades anymore?
You were awfully big for training wheels:)

Back around '90, I had an '88 or '89 Cannondale SM800, the old style design with the cantilevered dropouts. Damn that thing rode harshly, yet was not really responsive. It's the one bike I never learned to ride; I just could not flow with that thing on the trails.

For road bikes, it was a '91 Diamondback Master TG that was the most vague and dead feeling thing I have ridden ever, and despite 36h rims, it broke spokes constantly.

When I was stationed in Korea in 90-91, I bought a new "MTB" off base to commute from the barracks to the airfield, I think it was $80. I don't remember the brand name, but it was a Korean made POS. The derailleurs were never happy and within a couple of months, the square taper on the right crank arm wasn't so square anymore. It was awful, but I was riding!