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... well I've got one. What bike/frame do you wish you hadn't punted?
My first 29er was a second-hand carbon Highball. I rode it everywhere, gave it hell, and the frame never complained. Man it was light and fast.
Sold it for pittance as I decided I needed more aggressive geo.
Now i'm doing lots of riding that it would suit and have an FS that manages the gnar, I really wish I still had it 🙁
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I am slightly wondering if selling my BFe was a mistake. Didn't think I needed two hardtails and the Scandal is arguably more suited to the riding I do.... but the BFe was bloody brilliant.
Not so much regret selling, as regretting not replacing when stolen, an 05 Specialized Demo 8. It got stolen and I replaced it with an SX trail, which I hated, so didn’t ride as much so my riding stopped progressing, where previously I had been really getting as good as I’ve ever been.
Not so much regret selling, as regretting not replacing when stolen, an 05 Specialized Demo 8. It got stolen and I replaced it with an SX trail, which I hated.
Well that's a whole other story for me. Dynatech Diablo LX got stolen from in my garage and insurance replaced it with the new model ... an M-Trax something or other, less titanium and it had suspension that I hated. That got stolen from outside Bloomsbury Theatre and replaced by insurance with another, even worse M-Trax... which got stolen (but by then was my BILs commuter).
My hand was forced after it kept breaking and Orange said 'no more parts, it's an old tool and out of warranty'....but I miss my ST4.
Low, slacker, short travel and just a rocket ship on your average trail.
First batch 853 Inbred.
Moved to a new house that was a long flat ride to the nearest woods. Killed singlespeeding for me and sold the bike. Still in the same house but would be an ideal dad ride bike now.
I’m sure it’s the angle, but that ST4 looks like you’re sat on top of a kids’ bike!
Cotic Solaris mk2. Needed to sell it as I had to pay for the Nukeproof Reactor I'd just bought. couple of years later I bought a Cotic Cascade to replace the broken Planet X London Road, but really didn't like it as a dropped bar gravel bike and it's now morphed into an xc mtb but probably not as good as the Solaris was. TBF I do actually really like the Cascade, but I think would rather have the Solaris back.
Nope - only had 9 bikes (not including kids/teenage), still have 5 of them
Of the ones sold/put into retirement
First mtb - big old gate of a Scott, not even good enough to be a retro bike
Specialized Enduro Expert (the era when the Pitch was in production) - was doing my head in by the time I sold it and replaced it with a carbon S-Works Enduro. Was a great bike though.
S-Works Enduro - was very old school geometry when I replaced it with a YT Capra CF. Still, was a great bike while it was in use. Dismantled it and used most of the bits on a s/h PP Shan that I built up
2016 Capra - sold it when I got the ebike as it was too similar (with the exception of the propulsion method obvs). Think it's still kicking about locally, but don't particularly miss it
Swapping this:
For this & cash:
*shakes head
Kinda regret buying the Transition Throttle that was too small for me and then having to sell it. Should've waited til a Large or a 29er Vanquish became available, was such a fab ride, great looking too. Parts that came off the Throttle were all top spec and happy on my Commencal HT.
My biggest regret is not Invisiframing my RM Instinct though 😆
http://m.pinkbike.com/photo/15719021/
Cove stiffee. It went to a bike recycling place as it felt terrifying compared to my geometron and the chainstays were very gouged by chainsuck.
It would have been the perfect gravel and commuter bike with 700c wheels, some gravel tires and a massive stem to offset the super short top tube.
@spawnofyorkshire I've my Stanton slackline for sell currently on Pinkbike if you're interested....
tall_martin
Cove stiffee
Funny how things have changes, can't imagine any hardtail today having "it's really stiff" as a USP
I was so keen on a Cove G-Spot back in the day, loved the linkage with the machining on it.
I've never regretted getting rid of an old bike, usually because I've either not liked them, or kept them until the end of their useful life and replaced them with something better.
Don't think I regret selling any of my modern bikes? Every full suss that's gone has been replaced by something better/newer tech, my road bike was replaced by gravel which was replaced by XC and I liked each one better. I missed my P7 a bit but after a few years I replaced it with a Pace that's more of the same.
Retro's a different matter though....
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tall_martin
Cove stiffee
Funny how things have changes, can’t imagine any hardtail today having “it’s really stiff” as a USP
I was so keen on a Cove G-Spot back in the day, loved the linkage with the machining on it.
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Because I had the 26.8mm skinny seat post so far out of the frame it was as comfy with 26 inch 2.3 tires as my current 29 inch 2.6 tires hardtail.
My brother in law had the g spot. It bobbed while climbing like nothing else I've ever seen. He said he didn't notice/ care as it was ace downhill
Always regret selling my Cotic Rocket.
Stupid eebs coming along, complicating bicycle riding 😡
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Sold a top shelf 92 Kona Explosif to buy a full sus Crackenfail.
Idiot.
Cannondale Trail SL SS 29er, sold the 29 single speed for a winter hardtail with gears and front suspension.
not the same and they stopped making them.... sad times
No mad regrets, but prob stayed on 26 two bikes too long.
Bought a 26 whippet in 2011 - actually a decent bike that I liked riding, so not regretful as much as a bit of an ignorant purchase. Reckon most people appreciated 29er HT bikes were superior in that xc style at that time, just not me.
Also got a 26 enduro bike in 2012, a jekyll. This was more of a defensible buy as could you even get good 29er enduro bikes then? iirc 26ers including this actual bike won the first couple of EWS events. There was also a lot of 650B cringe muddying the discussion waters. But anyhow it was OK, plenty of good rides, just not a very enabling bike. Never felt confident with it on demanding stuff, or felt it took my riding to new places.
The complex pull shock never gave me any issues, but having two quite different switchable geometries always seemed wrong. Like if we agree that geo is important, this surely cannot be the way to design an enduro bike. But flip chips seems to be taken seriously nowadays so perhaps it was just ahead of its time.
All that switchable geometry stuff was a way to give you a steeper seat angle. Then they figured out you could have a steeper seat angle just by designing frames with a steep seat angle.
I've had a lot of bikes. There's a few I was sad to see go, but top three would be
DMR Switchback. Had so much fun on that bike. Probably as we starting riding in lots more interesting places and as a hardcore hardtail (as much as they existed back then), it was very confidence inspiring.
Kona Caldera - full XTR brakes! Again I'm not sure I'd want to ride it much, but I'd love to own it.
And same as Matt ^^^ - original ST4, did loads of trips/miles on this. Came back from a 'bikepacking' pyrenees trip with real issues with ghost shifting. Removed cranks, BB fell out 😉 That was not a stuff frame at the back. They sent me the new model which was way stiffer but I never got on with it.
And my first RipMo. But that's okay as I bought another one last year!
Doh - that ST4 was the replacement. The original full noodle was one of these
ads678Full Member
Cotic Solaris mk2.
Me too. Just did everything extremely well. Jacked it in for the Longshot
Stif Morf and my Stooge Dirtbomb 😕
Not a bike, but my biggest regret was not attempting Mountain Mayhem solo. I always said I would then got injured the one time I was going to enter.
My first proper MTB was a medium 26" Cotic Soul, which I fairly quickly worked out was to small for me, I kinda regret not keeping the frame to hang on the wall.
But every time I've changed bike, the new one has been ridden better.
Intense Primer, first generation. Fast, smooth, reasonably lightweight, geometry worked well for my purposes, never creaked, didn't rattle, no heel clearance issues. Most importantly the rear suspension. Never had to think about it because it always did what I wanted. The thing just would not bob, even with the shock open. Little bit more chain growth pulling back on pedalling than I would prefer, but not nearly as much as some.
I guess something like a Singular Swift as well. Probably wouldn't get on with the angles now but it rode how I thought a steel bike should. Haven't ridden anything since that does.
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Wish I had kept my black with red decals Specialized Stumpjumper Pro.
Mainly for memories of the fun and experiences on it.
I bet its still in action somewhere.
My first brand new bike and first xc race (and still fairly new bike) had a narrowish plank over a river which my bike and me ended up in.....
It was my 2nd proper mtb . But the one I remember most and kept for so long...before I sold it 🙁
an easy question for me to answer my 2002 cannondale f800 lefty ht in matt black which i sold in a moment of stupidity (partly depression also).
i loved that bike (always lusted after a cannondale back then and this was also the first bike i owned that had suspension and disc brakes).
i did my longest ride in a day on it (205 miles) so it had special meaning to me also 🙁
@Breadcrumb - I miss my Langster as well. I had the Monaco limited edition and it was beautiful. But when I moved back to Bristol from Hertfordshire I decided there were too many hills and I wouldn’t use it.
gosh I miss that bike, I used to treat it like a gravel bike/XC bike and thrash it around all the dirt tracks in Herts back before gravel bikes were a thing (sold in about 2013).
I also regretted selling my Charge Blender years ago, but I bought one last year and built it back up so I’m happy again.
To summarise then, everybody who’s ever had a Cotic and sold it regrets it.
I've only ever reluctantly sold a Cotic to be replaced with another (Soul 26 > 27.5 Gen 4 > 27.5 Gen5, so no ragrets yet.
@ALex I loved the Switchback I had, too. Wrapped the front end around a tree sadly and they'd stopped maing them because, well, people kept breaking them.
To summarise then, everybody who’s ever had a Cotic and sold it regrets it.
I'm lucky in that I've never sold a bike then regretted it later, they have always been moved on for a reason. I did come very close to selling my Rocket late last year though. I've hardly used it in the last 12 months and with my fitness completely disappearing in the last 18 months and a bout of depression and anxiety I couldn't ever see me using it again properly so had it cleaned and prepped ready for photos to be taken. But when it came to taking the pictures I just couldn't do it so it got wheeled back inside and I sent the shock and fork off for a service instead. It's still sat there waiting for me to put it back together but I now know that it's not going anywhere unless I replace it.
Not selling but I still regret not getting a Commencal Acid when they were cheap at the tail end of the fixie craze but didn't want/need another bike. Would be perfect for my commute now though, still trawl ebay every few of weeks hoping to find one.
Truthfully, I don't miss any of the FS bikes I have sold.
The last was the bike I had always wanted, an Orange Five back in 2018.
It came out for the odd trip to Bike Park Wales so I just hired a FS the last few times I've been.
In that time I've not once considered selling my Niner SIR.9. & for that I am thankful. hell will freeze over before I sell it. I cant imagine ever parting with my fat bike either, its just such a grin inducing behemoth.
I regret selling my Sugar One. Got persuaded to do L2B this year and it would have been ideal for that.
Still, gives me an excuse to get another bike!
I regret selling my Sugar One
I built one for the ex-wife back in the day, then my son used it a few times.. Its still hanging in my garage - Monitou forks, STX-RC (oh yes!) groupset, blue Hope ti hubs, Mavic rims (handbuilt by Rock N Road Cycles). Have loaned it to a few lady-friends, but I can't see it ever getting used again now. Not sure what to do with the squelchy (that's the shock) old beauty.
Bike regrets? Genuinely no FSer I regret selling as I always changed onto something better. Only bike I regret selling is (and true to STW cliche it seems) my early Cotic Soul: 2004/5ish, matt black with olive wrap decal and the head 'badge' still a grey-scale sticker. Sold it to fund a Kona Explosif to fulfil a childhood desire, which turned out to be crap. Didn't realise at the time just how good that Soul was. I'm now on Cotic #7 (BFe Max) and #8 (Cascade).
Honestly not a one. There's been a couple where I took a step back but I've always ended up going fowards, the bikes I have today are the best bikes I've ever had and if they weren't I'd replace them without a moment's thought.
I guess if I'd kept my original Soul then I'd have not had the constant temptation to buy another old Soul... I had one when it was new and cool, I've had 2 since plus a 26er bfe and a Soda 🙂 And all avoidable if I'd just kept the first one so I remember "hey, this was great when I first got it but now it isn't"
(see also: my rubbish bmx, I never rode it but if I'd kept it I wouldn't have bought the trials bike or the other trials bike, it'd be fulfilling that space of "stupid little bike I never ride")
Scott Voltage FR, I've had two and should have known not to sell the second! Nobody makes a bike like that any more - shortish reach/wheelbase and chainstays, but 170mm each end and decently slack head angle. Made for a really fun DH/park/jumps bike that isn't too sluggish, wallowy or barge like but still really confidence inspiring. Would love something similar but I don't think these types of bikes exist anymore, especially not 26".
Regrets are my current Top Fuel. Only saving grace is I still have my old rig so that’s now getting used far more.
I’ve had a few. But, then again, too few to mention.
Keep up Frank...
Surely I’m the only one qualified to make that joke?
I think Claude Francois would disagree...
Looking back at previous bikes. Unfortunately I didn't get to regret selling my original KHS Montana Comp (93) as it was stolen in its later life commuter form. I do regret leaving it unlocked in the communal area of the flat.
@Alex I've just sold my Switchback after 20 years. It was a great bike at the time, but now it felt short, high & steep.
@jimmy I did that to my first frame as well. Had a rigid fork on the brand new frame while I waited for a Vanilla 125. Hit a rock at speed & it crumpled. Punctured the front, but rode it out.
I'd sell my bloody Cotic X now. In fact I would have sold it within weeks of buying it in Jan 2011. Bloody gas pipe.
I do regret selling my Genesis IO with rigid forks.
I sold my mountain bike the other day, I’m not sure if I regret it yet or not.
Built it last summer in the CRC sale (Vitus Sommet 29) and rode it off road once. Yes once… and that was august.
popped it on marketplace for what was seemingly market value and had little interest for a month but a local guy offered me alright money for it and collected within 2 hours. He even said he didn’t want to rob me, such is the value of Vitus right now!
he wasn’t robbing me though, riding it once in 9 months, other than the odd trip out to town with my son was a pathetic life for that bike so on that basis I don’t regret it. I hope he enjoys it.
Ridden my new cruiser every weekend since I got it, wonder if I regret going so cheap on that - should have bought a jump bike like @joebristol did seeing as I’m on it so often!
@kiwijohn - ah maybe best I never kept it then. I remember it feeling slack compared to my other bike at the time!
@jimmy - good effort 🙂 Saw a few like that. I think DMR had such a reputation for burliness (trailstar/sidekick etc) that riders assumed the switchback was the same. I had a trailstar, someone ran over the top tube at chicksands and put a dent in it. Fixed it with a sticker and carried on chucking it off the ladders there.
Wish I hadn't sold my Pipedream 631 Sirius in Ti silver....
Also wish my Lynskey full suss project wasn't stolen, or my Zaskar LE with xtr..... The regret there is I heard a noise outside, the night they were nicked and I was too darn lazy to get up at 3am to go check. *sad fwace*
I think DMR had such a reputation for burliness (trailstar/sidekick etc) that riders assumed the switchback was the same
That's pretty much the conversation I had with them at the time. This was a slow speed collision with a tree which I wouldn't expect to crumple a frame but there we are!
Kona Hoss.
Awful Dirt Jumper fork. Weighed a tonne.
Dreadful power spline BB
Maxxis Ignitor tyres. Nothing special.
Fundamentally, got the wrong size.
Kona said 6'1'' = 20 inch.
Was a gate.
My 1988 Chas Roberts White Spider in metallic pink. God I loved that bike - beautifully made Columbus SLX tubing with fillet braising - It had an under the chain stay u-brake and elegant curved rigid forks - but a 6-speed 126mm rear end meant to went out of fashion once 135mm 7 speed came in and I sold it.... it handled beautifully and still dream of it now.
I bought my perfect bike for the type of riding i do, which for the purposes of this comment i'll call "all mountain" because im old. Its a Cotic Jeht.
BUT.. since getting it the club i'm in seems to becoming more and more enduro / uplift focused. Now the Jeht copes with all this admirably but i cant help thinking i'm missing 20mm more travel at either end.
But as i also know the Jeht is so sorted geo wise I'm also very aware that a longer travel thing i.e. Trek Slash or similar may actually feel worse and like a limp dog whenever i take it for big days out in the Peak / Lakes.
N+1 is the obvious answer but that requires ££££ i don't have.
is it Santa Cruz Chameleon hardtail ?
Maybe your full-suspension bike isn't everything you cracked it up to be for the riding you're currently doing. Perhaps a hardtail like your old Highball would be perfect.