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Only one really, a Lemond Reno roadie. Despite being the 'right' size for me, and a nice frame, it never felt right with its massive high front end. About a year after buying it and messing about with stems and ride position I replaced the frame with a brand-x cheapie, which felt 100x better.
Uzzi VPX - felt OK at first but was just too short and steep. Probably great for hucking off ladder drops, but I really didn't get on with it. Replaced it with a longer, lower, slacker Socom and much happier!
Orange 224. Gash - wallowed like a pig trying to get any sort of speed out of it.
Scott Genius mc 40 - very light and nimble machine, just far too short top tube
On One 456 evo - straight up hated it
And I'm coming to the conclusion my nomad is not quite right for me either 🙁
a Raleigh road bike had those weird oval rings - never seemed to go in a straight line and I put down not being to ride it no hands to getting older - wasn't until I replaced it that realised it had almost certainly been crashed - bought from a reputable shop as a bargain nearly new/exchanged for wrong size
ST4 for me was the biggest disappointment. Heavy and wallowy suspension. Loved the old 1998 Riftzone, my first full sus and a revelation.
I had hints of its greatness
Interestingly I feel this way about my Bandit which I've not quite got totally to grips with yet. It's turned out better at some things than I expected (e.g. climbing) but I've started thinking the bike might be to blame for (too many) recent crashes EDIT - since I obviously can't blame myself 😉
I've not been without several "wow" moments - usually when I put a bit more effort in - but for most along and down riding I'm finding the front end a bit [i]too[/i] planted. I'm wondering whether I don't really ride it fast enough for it to work at its best. It's probably (I hope) just a confidence thing as a result of the crashes.
While I loved my inbred I hated my 456 also Orange P7. Got rid of the P7 frame after a couple of rides. Also Trek Session I didn't like.
Yep. Specialized Rockhopper, think it was just too big for me at 19". Went back to my trailstar and was much happier. Also my first sunday bmx felt awful, newer trail scout feels way better 🙂
Titus El Guapo - loved the way it rode, but my back didn't like the TT length.
My fault really, I'm too tall!
scaredypants - MemberOrange Clockwork reissue from a few years back. It looked brilliant but was stupidly heavy, unwieldy
I rented one of the original ones a long time ago - much the same feeling. Guy I was riding with had a trek that was half the price and felt like half the weight
Strange that as the original Clockworks were some of the lightest frames for the price. An aquired taste to ride though, I loved 'em.
Can't say my 2007 Clockwork seems any heavier then my mates steel hardtails. Horses for courses I guess.
My most hated was a GT XCR4000 I bought in 1999 to get me back in to bikes. A god awful thing that actually put me off for another 5 years!
Trek Fuel EX - great bike by all accounts and I ride a trek HT, but couldn't get on with this at all. Felt like I was riding a wheelbarrow and I kept crashing and hated cornering. Underwhelmed slightly on a stumpy too (but love epic expert carbon - if only it wasnt 4k!!).
captainsideburns - Member
Giant trance 29er... kept wanting to fold in half around the headtube.
First demo on T29, it did the same thing on me! Loved it otherwise, until Giant admitted that Trances dont work in 29 version!!! 😉
Intense tracer (mk1) - mine was even made straight, but despite timing the shock, replacing it with Ti coil and much fettling it never lived up to the 5.5 that went before it.
Santa cruz bullit: Never fell off a bike so much.
Yeti asr: Great to ride but wore out its bushings like crazy.
GT Zaskar 96: dull.
Specialized allez road bike: So hard, it beat the crap out of me on every ride.
Cotic Solaris: Just not feeling the love. going on the bay very soon.
for blance: I loved my niner air9 scandium, shame it broke ( as did my girlfriends).
and in defence of brant: I had a scandal which was great, and an inbred 29er that was fab as a single speed but only ok geared, strange.
a spesh fsr xc.
the most altered/upgraded bike ive ever had the misfortune to buy and it ate bearings/bushings!
taught me a lot about what i do and dont like in a bike tho.
Yes. Kona Jake the Snake. It fit me. It worked well. It was comfortable. It handled fine. It was pleasant to ride. I just didn't like it.
Hate to jump on a band waggon but my 456 left me cold. I knew it was cheap and heavy but I thought it would be fine for a second bike but I was wrong. I honestly can't say there was one particular thing that made the difference but it just didn't do it for me. I know plenty of people love them but not me. I bought a soul and I do love that.
Pipedream Ti - fitted perfectly, nicely kitted out, stiff, fast, handled pretty well... never once enjoyed riding it. Only bike I've ever got rid of for that reason.
Ellsworth ID. Persevered for a couple of years, but it was never right. Hugely high BB. When I got a 5 I had no excuses, though ....
cove handjob- dull as dishwater and soft feeling
cotic soul- geometry and sizing were spot on, back end felt like rock
cotic soda (mk1)- again fit and size perfect but holy crap that was a flexy pos
meta4- how could a 4 inch "xc" frame weigh more than it's 5.5 inch brother?
2008 heckler- large to short in the top tube /xl too tall and ungainly
2011 five- 18 to short in the top tube / 20 to tall and gate like
it never lived up to the 5.5 that went before it.
I had one of these and my mate still rides it. Still better than the recent FSRs I've ridden.
Ibis Mojo....great bike my mate who tried it loved it but I just didn't click! Last bike Ill ever buy without a test ride!
Cannondale F600 with the headshock, circa 2003. Never felt right at the front, until I changed the forks for some rebas which made a big improvement. Had it for years, then I got my full suss, and suddenly enjoyed riding a while lot more.
As others have said.FSR XC Pro..Hated the thing as it was far to nervous.
Point it anywhere near a slope and it sh*t itself.
Apart from that i think iv'e been lucky as have really got on with everything since.(bought wisely)
Two spring to mind
Scott genius mc20 light full xtr etc but just could not get comfrey on it
Spesh 2008 sworks stumpjumper fitted fine just did not seem fun to ride
Revolution Triad - rebadged Merida frame apparently, utter poo
456summerseason as well, started at 100mm, then 140mm, then 160mm and it never felt right with any length fork, replaced with a Chromag Stylus which is much the same geometry wise but so much better.
Also had one ride on an borrowed mmmbop, hated it a lot, worst ride on any bike ever.
Marin "Mount Vision"... bloody awful bike down hill,
I've had a couple. Tried a Summer Season. Worth a punt for £100 but rode shite. Sold after 3 or 4 rides.
And my old 5 Spot. Had it for a couple of years but just couldn't fall in love with it like all the fanboi's seem to, no matter how much I tweaked the cockpit, forks, shock etc, etc. Moved it on and now have a Zesty which I love. Obviously the Turner was too niche for me.
Yes my Evil Sovereign, always wanted one got one and now like riding my fs much much more.
I bought a Roberts Genesis many years go - felt like a road bike, proportioned like a road bike. The paint finish was a brittle as f***
And the bottom bracket didn't fit
It was rubbish - but a great commuter / hack bike.
In todays money , that was 1,500 GBP up the spout ...
After that my Trek Y5 seemed brilliant!
Evil Sov, came off a perfect Ragley Bluepig onto the Sov, never gelled with it and never feels like a keeper when I fist start riding it although I'm [i]far[/i] faster on this than the 'Pig.
Specialized FSR Comp from about 2003 - bouncy shite. Put me off Full suspension for life.
In short, no. Some bikes took a bit longer to suss out though [i]and [/i]i'm not that fussy. I've a critically acclaimed 😆 456 Summer Season that i didn't get on with at first. I changed the front tyre to one made of rubber which made such a difference. Then i swapped the forks from tall, flexy, springy things to stout, beefy, sprung ones and it's a real blast now.
My Titus Motolite. The geometry was all wrong: Too steep to be a good descender; too slack to be a good climber.
Inbred and BFe. Both were bad for me, for variety of reasons. Probably got what I deserved, having bought both from recommendations from mates, but Inbred felt dead, whereas BFe was more harsh than a solid alu bike, much more harsh than the Soul it replaced. Fair enough, if that's your thing, but not for me.
As for just right, IH 6 Point, Orange Patriot, Soul, Blue Pig. All felt good from day 1.
I didn't like my Motolite either.
Cotic Solaris, horible horible horible!
Another Specialized.....
I really don't like my Specialized Sirrus. The geometry is awful. BB is too low and head tube is far to high and long. It looks silly. It feels like a granny's shopping bike, except the frame and fork are so stiff and lifeless it sucks all the fun out of riding it. It's going as soon as I can find a nice steel road frame going cheap.
Oddly the Sirrus gets rave reviews. Especially in magazines sponsored by Specialized. Hmmmm!
dialled prince albert, just felt horrid, I rode it once then sold on, back the the 456 straight after.
weirdly i had a love/hate which i really liked.
I've never fully got on with any mountain bike if I'm honest. Road bikes are different. I know what numbers work for me. So, as long as I like the colour and brand image I'm done. But a mountain bike just has to cope with so many different situations that it can never be ideal everywhere and it's always a case of "it's great there but maybe something else would be better there".
2007 Norco XXXX when I was into jumpy bikes. Was bloody awful! Otherwise not really. Some have taken more getting right than others, and I've liked some more than others, but apart from the Norco I've got on with all of them.
09 Mongoose Teocali Comp - just felt plain weird. Didn't like the geometry it felt like the bike had a super steep head angle even though it didn't and didn't like the weird moving bottom bracket thing.
2011 Genesis Core - just found it too harsh. Stiff yes but it battered me whenever I rode it. Much prefer my 2000 Kona Muni Mula aluminium bike to the Core so the Core went.
I must not be fussy, I still love my old 100mm travel Stumpy FSR '04 with 585/120 bar and stem as well as my recent Trance 29er with 730/100 bar and stem. I loved all the Marin steel and Spesh M2 and M4 hardtails I had before too, the Marin Rift Zone with coil spring, the Cannondale road bikes x3, and the Kinesis Crosslight was ace.
I've only just thought of one I didn't like and that was something my dad bought me when I was a kid, some poor imitation of a Raleigh Chopper with both wheels the same size.
Yup, bought and sold the same Soul within three months!
I had a go on a Cotic Hemlock out in the Pyrenees a few years ago. I'd ridden a Soul in the UK and loved it - truly brilliant bike.
But I just couldn't get on with the Hemlock which was a real shame, I'd been looking forward to it. I love 4-bar suspension but it just felt like I was "on" the bike rather than working with it. Really hard to describe. It wasn't BAD, it just didn't feel "right".