Saracen Kili Cromo from 2008. It promised a similar geometry to my much loved On One Inbred but with supposedly springy 853 tubing. I think that the CEN regulations had robbed the frame of any feel and I subsequently sold it for a loss only a few months later.

Other than that one, most of the frames from my retrobike phase. Modern geometry, disc brakes and functioning suspension really do ride better than nostalgia. Who would have thought!

Carbon Salsa Beargease. The idea was a fast and light fat bike, unlike the tanks I’d tried before. Unfortunately it was stiff as a board and no fun at all. My first carbon frame IIRC. Well overbuilt with huge tubing. Very uncomfortable to ride, even with fat tyres at low pressure. Wide q factor didn’t agree with my knees. Couldn’t get it set up tubeless satisfactorily. Big waste of money and soon sold for about half what it cost.

Giant Defy. Thinking back I’m not sure there was much wrong with it compared to similar alternatives. For some reason I wanted to get into road riding at the time but hadn’t appreciated a few things. Such as driving a car or riding a mountain bike I had no idea the roads were so horrible with tiny tyres heading towards 100psi. Uncomfortable, rim brakes were crap, poor grip from tyres, wasn’t even particularly light or quick. Sold after 2 rides.

Proflex 550, the steel one with a Flexstem (which just wobbled) and 1/2″ of rear elastomer (which didn’t even move). It was an much appreciated 18th birthday present, but it was a huge disappointment, the suspension just didn’t work at all, and I absolutely hated it. I persevered with it for a while, but in the end I apologised to my parents and replaced it with an Kona Cinder Cone.
Dad still has the Proflex and has always liked it. The rear elastomer disintegrated, and got replaced with a some kind of rubber bushing from a Landover about 20 years ago.

I had (still have languishing in the shed actually) a Genesis Day One from 2015. Same feelings about it as the CdF haters above. And probably the same steel grade. Heavy dead lump. It served a purpose as a commuter and occasional on/off road hour or so blast bike but I replaced it with a custom steel frame build that isn’t wildly different in geometry or purpose but is a lovely lovely thing and feels beyond comparison to ride, albeit at over twice the price.

Maybe the earlier CdF/D1 frames were very different and got the love?

Rubber_Buccaneer
Full Member

I hadn’t even taken in the bike, I was too shocked by the tyre brand mismatch

Dunno what you mean, it’s a nice matchign pair of CSTs

Surly pugsly, my only venture into fatbikery, lasted a few months.

“Early Gary fisher rig. An uncomfortable and unwieldy boat of a bike”

Pretty much sums it up.

If someone wants to give me that Ellsworth I’ll relieve you of that burden. Great looking down and top tube,rock solid,industrial looking rear suspension as well.Plenty of stand over height would be useful as well.Would be great for crashing downhill and surviving .Unlike most of the Jerry built carbon rubbish you folks ride.

monkeycmonkeydo
Free Member

Would be great for crashing downhill

Yup, 67.5 degree head angle, tiny wheelbase and high BB on a DH bike does have that effect. Seriously, it was just really really bad.

And it’s not like that’s an unfair modern view on it or that time’s been unkind, because I replaced it with a 224 Evo that’s literally 1 year newer, which is still a good bike and which I’m taking to fort william next week. The Orange’s a wee bit dated, the Dare never dated because it was shit when it was brand new.

Head angle fine for all round riding.High bottom bracket is perfect to avoid rock strikes.As for a tiny Wheelbase that blue Ellsworth looks absolutely massive to me.

monkeycmonkeydo
Free Member

Head angle fine for all round riding.

Um, it’s a downhill bike?

My least favorite has been a 2004 FSR expert. I was really excited about it, saved for a while, and when I got it I couldn’t get on with it. It was my first and only FS. It had a comically small amount of mud clearance with a 2.1, and I could never get the suspension set up to feel quite right. I still have it though and it may get rebuilt to serve as a ‘gravel’ bike for no other reason than idle curiosity. It got replaced with a 07 reissue Clockwork which I love and only recently replaced.

I could ride that Ellsworth uphill like the god of Gnar I am.

I had a Yeti SB66 just felt slow and dull to ride, swapped it for an ASR5 and that was awesome. Been put off by the switch thing ever since so no more Yetis for me.

If Yeti did a modern 29er version of the ASR5 it could be amazing.

They’re obviously not interested in selling bikes to plebs though.

Evil the following.

Great reviews, well hyped, bargain 2nd hand price, just felt so right the minute sat on it.

But was not good pointing up or down. Whether it was the fork or shock don’t know but just couldn’t get on with. Sold after 4 or 5 rides.

Proflex 550, the steel one with a Flexstem (which just wobbled) and 1/2″ of rear elastomer (which didn’t even move).

I really, really, wanted one of them.

My worse bike was a Gary Fisher Hoo Koo E Koo around 1996/7 ish. It was meant to be an upgrade from my loved 93 Lava Dome but it was just rubbish, heavy, poor quality and had no soul. Made me fall in love with my Lava Dome all over again.

Salsa Fargo and Surly Krampus.
Both had good points but overall just didn’t work for me.

I’ve been lucky I’ve mostly loved all my bikes, I had a GT bmx for a while that was fun, but riding it to the bmx track was endlessly painful

I got rid, then regretted it and later bought a felt brink cruiser dirt jumper which is a way worse bike, heavy and hard work, 0 fun

I absolutely loved my 2002 kona bear deelux (got frame discounted after I snapped my munimula) I loved that bike, did the mega on it – long travel plates taking it up to a mighty 120mm, Spain, alps, 7 stanes, Wales, local xc, snapped the chainstay and since then its been kept on as a relic, few years as go crc were selling off the chainstays for £20, so bought one and built it up…. My god its awful, short, steep, twitchy, bobs all over the place,generally lethal

We are spoilt these days

If Yeti did a modern 29er version of the ASR5 it could be amazing.

Yeah. I had an ASR-5 and loved it – possibly my favourite ever bike. Just great for ripping both up and down anything. I suspect it’d feel horribly flexy compared to something more modern though.

Id say that the new crop of ‘Downcountry’ bikes are essentially modern versions of the ASR-5. Perhaps that’s what the SB-130 is? But they’re hardly a bike for the masses at that price.

Orange Evo8. Weird sizing/angles, so felt like a gate, and was the stiffest thing known to mankind. Could barely ride it for more than 30mins before the pain became too much.

Unlike most of the Jerry built carbon rubbish you folks ride.

Nothing for it but to *swoon*

If Yeti did a modern 29er version of the ASR5 it could be amazing.

They’re obviously not interested in selling bikes to plebs though.

Agreed

Yeah. I had an ASR-5 and loved it – possibly my favourite ever bike. Just great for ripping both up and down anything. I suspect it’d feel horribly flexy compared to something more modern though.

Id say that the new crop of ‘Downcountry’ bikes are essentially modern versions of the ASR-5. Perhaps that’s what the SB-130 is? But they’re hardly a bike for the masses at that price.

I have a V3 Blur and I love it, good bike but it just doesn’t give me that feeling the ASR5 did that thing felt like a rocket ship. Only reason I sold it was I should of been on a medium but had the small.

Maybe the SB100 is the new ASR5 but the switch infinity on it seems too complicated and bound to go wrong, and I personally think it makes their bikes look ugly..

Was that a recent model Allez?

Nope, 2015ish IIRC Allez Smartweld (with not overly smart welds)

Would have made a great crit bike…

Totally agree about the croix de fer, mine was just dull.

Early ‘90s Muddy Fox. Too big a frame (I never grew into the 21” seat tube), steep angles and stupidly narrow flat bar. The bike before was my 1988 Peugeot 24” wheel MTB (I got it when I was 9 hence the little wheels) with “dated” geometry. I now know it wasn’t dated, it was that better klunker geometry with big riser bars and slacker angles, before MTBs became way too much like road bikes.

In the end I found myself pumping the Muddy Fox’s tyres to 65 psi and mostly going on road rides! Gravel before its time…

I’ll buy those Talas forks off you!

Never owned a bike I really didn’t like. If pushed it would have to be my Cotic BFe. Nothing wrong with it, but I was having a small bike phase at the time and it was too small for me. Trying to do the off-season Alps hardtail thing and it was just too twitchy.

Sold it and replaced with an Orange P7 with bigger wheels and a bigger frame and that was a huge improvement. Loved that bike. Eventually decided I’m getting too old to ride hardatails in the Alps though!

Huh, I did exactly that- I had a medium soul before, the internet said small bikes were flicky and fun, so I got a small bfe (off Mboy I think?). Yeah didn’t fit, small bikes are small it turns out. Every time I rode it it just made me wish I still had the Soul

I would say the least popular bike in my shed would be a wasp bike.

Rubbish to sit on, terrible for rolling over terrain and if you break it it’s going to sting.

Very cool though.

On One 456 Summer season, they were all the rage at the time , ended up throwing it in the skip after a failed attempt to remove a seized seatpost, never had a hardtail since.

had a Yeti SB66 just felt slow and dull to ride, swapped it for an ASR5 and that was awesome. Been put off by the switch thing ever since so no more Yetis for me.

My SB66 was the best descender I’ve ever had, and wasn’t particularly slow on the ups or trail stuff either.

I just got fed up with the cracks.

Other than that one, most of the frames from my retrobike phase. Modern geometry, disc brakes and functioning suspension really do ride better than nostalgia. Who would have thought

I’ll go with that. Over lockdown I restored my 1996 Marin. It’s great for what it is, but retro bikes really are rubbish in comparison to modern bikes.

It’s quite funny putting it next to my Jeffsy which fills the same niche, but would have been a DH bike when the Marin was built, but probably climbs just as well even though it’s heavier and is FAR comfier

The Marin is my fire road and nostalgia piece.

The one I’ve been waiting since January for 😢

On one inbred can’t remember the exact one as blanked it out my mind. Bright red colour build up with brand new drive train and the moment I went off road the chain sucked straight up. Did 4 rides pretty much wrecked the chain stay and gave it away. On one or planet x whatever they were didn’t want to know as not an issue. Pretty sure their next range came with loads of chain ring clearance.