ripped off after reading the bad components thread. myself i had one of these it wasn’t a bad bike by any means (my first full sus) but i just couldn’t connect with it (if that makes any sense?) i previously had a 2002 cannondale f800 ht with lefty fork that i absolutely loved (then in a moment of stupidity,i sold it DOH! 🙁 i had a 2010 fsr comp bike (the first 140 mm travel one) and it felt so much better (i even rode to bristol and back from devizes on it (on towpath/cycleway) and it was fine. so what bikes could you not gel with?

1st Gen Mojo, sold after a few rides.

GT Avalanche. Cable discs, elastomer 80mm Judy TT, unreliable components and horrible handling. My previous rigid v braked 21 speed Trek was MUCH better. I persevered but replaced it within a year.

gt zaskar race

light bike and great for going up hill but the rear end was too stiff for my liking

Mountain Cycle Zen.
Built, ridden, stripped again after 30 minutes.
Got it as a warranty replacement from CRC after my quite fantastic Tomac Eli cracked where all of it’s brethren did 🙁

My Inbred with a thudbuster was more responsive. Just awful. In fact I kept it for such a brief time I dont even have a photo of it built up.

Not the loveliest to look at but just amazing suspension performance:

Every cloud though….getting rid of the MCZen coincided with On-One launching their Scandal 29er. I went for big wheels and havent wanted a full sus since and love my 29ers.

Kinesis Decade Versa, loved the bike, just wasn’t happy with the use of such a thin seat tube diameter,

I had vision of potential problems which seem to be happening now to other people.

Specialized Epic, always wanted one and when I eventually got one, what a disappointment.

Cotic Soul, couldn’t get on with wandering front end and long seatpost, I needed next size up I think?

Always been disappointed with Specialized bikes breaking, usually cracked frame or swing arms.

I was exactly the same with an Epic, sold it after two rides

Specialized Rockhopper. I think it was just one size too big (19″ and I’m only 5’9″), I think the next size down would’ve been better for me. Felt really stretched out and weird. Nice light xc bike though!

Ibis mojo. Just hated it don’t know why just couldn’t live with it at all. Sold Funny really wanted one.

Love/hate. No love, only hate.

Once I got my first 29er, I realised that no 26″ bike really felt right for me, no matter how good the 26″ bike was. Sold them. Haven’t looked back and the rest of the world seems to be catching up with me now!

Marin Wolf Ridge (2005). Geometry all wrong, felt like a begging dog, sore back etc. Fannied about with stems/saddle etc but no good. Got rid and bought a 2nd hand Marin Mount Vison (2005) – brilliant. Still ride it now and will be sad when something massive goes wrong with it. Great XC bike.

2000ish Orange Gringo. Asked Gear of Glasgow to order it in black, they got me it in yellow. First problem. Next problem, aluminium is the worst hardtail frame material. Still got it due to my never sell a bike rule.

Cotic Roadrat. I think I rode it for 50 miles tops, it was just horrible. Luckily I managed to sell it on without loss to someone else who’d fallen for the same marketing bs that I did.

Pompino. Just didn’t like the feel of it on the road, kinda felt ‘lifeless’ … It just didn’t engage me at all.

Litespeed Antares road bike (alloy/carbon job)
beautiful looking accelerated and climbed like a demon BUT put it fast into a corner and it felt like it was going to wash out all the time, horrible thing sold it

Now ride my Kaffenbak and pompino much better handleing infact nicer bikes

Gt avalanche. Was the right size for me but it felt like I was riding a gate with wheels. Also had one of the original Jamie Tomkins base frames for street and trails – it was very weird

orange prestige / p7. I’ve had three over 15 years, they look ace and loads of people love them but they just don’t do it for me

Marin Rift Zone 2005 – What real stood out was how perched it felt aside other issues. Sold the frame a month after buying it and stuck all the components on a ti hardtail frame

My Heckler.

It’s been an off/ on love affair.. Built it up as a dream build, and then never road it.

I dunno, I felt like I was perched on it, rather than in it.

Theres always been a nagging voice that I should have got a Medium, too late now 😐

I’m begging to get on with it again, but if I’m riding in a group, then I’ll take my hardtail… I just can’t seem to ride the thing at the speed I need to..

An expensive mistake?

Quite possibly, but loathe to get rid as I’d only get peanuts for it..

Recently bought an 09 Ellsworth Epithany. Frame was immaculate, and I built it up in glorious spec coming in at a perfect 27lb. But hell it all just felt wrong, stiff and lathargic at the back end, my mates 1k lump felt more plush !.

Just as it was all set for ebay, my mate mentioned to check the bearings, as much as they were little, if any play, all 8 bearings were absolutely “shot”, 1 inparticular absolutely shagd. New bearings later and a slightly reduced psi in the rear shock ….I now have an Ellsworth Epithany !…, stunning.

Kona Unit 29er. Think it was the fact that the Project 2 forks seemed to act like a giant spring every time I hit a bump. That and the fact my poor bike handling skills meant I couldn’t get it round tight corners!

I will try a 29er again….maybe

I brought a Spcialized FSR XC,brand new 2010 model.Had it for a few months.Couldnt get used to it.Felt twitch and unstable on descents.

lots really

nicola helius cc med felt it was.too small and funny angles
yeti asr med ……..just never liked it, uncomfortable and not nice and never trusted it going down hill
marin pine mountain bought as my birthday pressie, first ever new bike advised by lesuire lakes to get a 19 inch and was a barge hated it
santa cruz lt mk 2 large, hated the suspension feel and it felt neverous all the time.

funnily enough the most disappointing was a turner six pack hl, loved ny turner rfx and wanted one to replace it, bought a turner six pack and was disappointed failed to climb as well as my rfx and rode so well downhill evereything was boring flat, more my memories and expectations than the bike i feel…..

2010 Orange P7. Just never felt right so sold the frame after 3 rides.

2009 Mongoose Teocali Super – impressive spec (Fox front and rear, XT group, IS900 seatpost, Flow wheelset etc) but I just couldn’t get on with it. The steering angle felt too steep (bizarrely more so than my Anthem X) and it was too short in the top tube.

Bought a Nicolai Helius CC frame and fitted some of the parts from the Teocali to that. By comparison the CC felt perfect from day one.

Sub 5. Shite. Screwed confused geo. Got sick of the loudness of it too.

Specialized P3. 2003/4 model. Too heavy, too slack, too slow.

Charge duster Ti.

I really didnt like my Ribble road bike but then i am not 100% convinced about road riding anyway.

With mountain bikes, i had a 2005 rockhopper and loved it but then on-one started selling the scandal 26 at £134 so i bought one and swapped all the bits over but really didnt like it one bit. I had already sold the rockhopper frame which was a huge mistake! Sold the scandal built up when i should have split it up as it had some ace bits on it.

I currently have a Scott scale which is a good bike but sadly not as nice to ride as the rockhopper. Ho-hum what can you do?

I currently have a Scott scale which is a good bike but sadly not as nice to ride as the rockhopper. Ho-hum what can you do?

Rockhopper frame off ebay? 🙂

Rockhopper frame off ebay?

I may have to go that way, tempted to build one up as a spare bike anyway!

after many steel hardtails in the early 90’s(explosif etc) i made the mistake of getting a cannondale m800(?) light and quick but but so uncomfortable it had to go.

Once I got my first 29er, I realised that no 26″ bike really felt right for me, no matter how good the 26″ bike was. Sold them. Haven’t looked back and the rest of the world seems to be catching up with me now!

Aren’t you like 9 foot tall? Might have some thing to do with it.
How are you finding the sultan? Considering a 5 spot at the moment.

Santa Cruz Nomad.

Read all the magazine reviews which said it pedalled as well uphill as down. It didn’t.

Also, a poor start was the bike coming with a leaking float rear shock which wrecked all the angles.

It turned me off Santa Cruz TBH. I felt a bit cheated that they gave a bike to the mags to review which was not kitted out in the same way the production bike was ie the review model had an RP23 which probably would have helped the bike’s climbing ability but there was no RP23 option on the production bike.

I replaced it with an intense 5.5 which was much more versatile.

In late 1999 after riding a rigid Carreva Vulcan for a year, I bought my 1st proper mountain bike, an Orange Evo2. From memory the bike was a 19″ (or 20″) and after a couple of months, I realised that it was just too big for me (I’m 5’8″). I bought the bike from Maclaines in Basingstoke and I still can’t believe that they didn’t advise me that it was too big! After spending £900 on it, I didn’t really have a choice and I rode it for 5 years (This was before I had discovered ebay). I loved the spec and colour but the bike was so uncomfortable to ride and my back and shoulders really suffered.

One day I may buy a smaller EVO2, just to see how they were supposed to ride!

Have had many, but perhaps for me the most disappointing was my COtic BFe. Every other bike I’ve owned and not gelled with has never had the profile or universal praise of the BFe, which is why perhaps I was most disappointed with it. Not a bad frame per se, geometry was pretty spot on (as it’s the same as a Soul), it just felt heavy dead and lifeless. Perhaps it was the way I had it built, but whichever way, I’ve got other bikes I’d rather ride every time.