Two bikes I own are on this thread.They both have their plus & minus points…
Specialized Enduro 2005.I like it but it’s
A) To much bike for most stuff I do but great in the Alps.
B) The most expensive bike I’ve ran.I’ve not used it for 5 years but as I’m back in the Alps this summer it needs refurbishing.Fox front & rear will need a service plus new cables ,possible bottom bracket,every time I get the bike out it costs me money!
The other bike is the Giant NRS,bought it new in 2007.It’s a 70 degree head angle & I’ve had some crashes on it,especially after being on the slack angled Enduro.It’s really tired now & I recently bought a Anthem to replace it but I’ll still use it as the ‘winter hack’

climbed like an utter dog in the granny ring (it compressed the bottom link every pedal stroke, effectively shortening the chain stay half an inch).

Taking it to Colorado for 2 weeks and riding it at 11,000ft meant a lot of granny ring climbs. My most coveted bike turned out to be the most disapointing.

I also had one of these (pic courtesy of mtbr/google, not mine, I didnt own a digital camera in them days)

the seat stays flexed sideways as much as the suspension actually worked, but it was so light and pimpy (and most FS of the time were similarly crap) I forgave it.

Raleigh Apex.

Ha, still have one of those, in original pearlescent dusky pink. Call it ‘The Ape’ as it’s missing the ‘x’. (Am clever like that)

Flex stem was immediately binned, bike became an adventure MTB that I liked in a weird ‘strap anything to it treat it like utter sh*t but it keeps going’ kind of way. Buckled the the rear wheel big time out in the boondocks once, managed to bring it back true-ish with a rusty pair of pliers to complete the trip. Those spokes are now rounded and will never again be moved. This bike refuses to die but now sulks unused at the back of the shed.

Reynolds K2 tubing is a mystery.

Cannondale m600 in Red White and blue, looked nice but after my kona explosif (which I regret selling immensely before a long trip abroad) was like riding on a concrete Jack in the box.

for my 15th birthday my brother got me this horrible piece of sh***…he must have hated me badly!

(not the actual one but same colour…i was too embarrassed to take a picture of it)

frame felt like it was made from scaffolding poles
brakes were non-existent
gears never worked
wheels were made of some type of cheese and weighed a tonne
fork was useless…no travel unless you weighed the same as an elephant

i had my first OTB on it
i even tried pimping it out but it still looked and rode like shit
in the end i dismantled it and left it in a skip

Orange ST4 stands out for me, maybe I didn’t give it enough time but for me it was a heavy bobbing mistake.

Ragley Blue Pig 20″. Looked and rode like a gate. Didn’t go round corners and somehow managed to be a harsher ride than an aluminium Orange. The good reviews baffle me.

Klein Mantra- a gate of a bike!

And yet, I strangely enjoyed mine… 😉

Not sure I regret any of my bikes, that being said in no particular order…

Proflex 852 and 853, clue is in the name, they snapped and rocker brakes…wtf?

Marin Wolf Ridge, 1st gen Fox TALAS forks were divey as f***, chain suck destroying front mechs, flexy and generally a bit dull. Sold the freame and transplanted most of the bits onto a Dialled Bikes Prince Albert.

Specialized Road Bike – enjoyable to ride in France. Worried I’m about to be smeared across the front of an Audi round here.

arogers until recently I had a 18in Blue Pig and whilst not quite as long as the 20in, I know what you mean. You really had to bully the bike round corners but once it picked up speed – wow.

BB was a smidge too high for my liking though.

Trek Fuel Ex7, it was a great bike, the fit when I got it felt right and tbh it probably was, but after some bigger rides the bike was just too small.

Its a pity as at the time it was my most expensive bike I have ever got, although bypassed that now!

Tbf it was the bike I rode the original monkey at Cannock when it was all secret, and then the wolfie drop before they made it easier, but now I can’t even ride it, even though it supposed to be easier!

Worse bike I owned was a Cannondale Super V700. Put me on my arse more times than I rode it. The Headshok was 80mm of bounce and nothing else.

Raleigh Apex.

Wha? 😮 Raleigh Apex was my first MTB and I liked the flex stem (these were the days before suspension forks kids)

Whyte 46 **** thing tried to kill me several times including the descent off Snowdon(pic)
even with the Alpine link it was like riding a high horse
[url=https://flic.kr/p/5pAqpB]Whyte on top of Wales[/url] by Richard Munro, on Flickr

Few bikes I wasn’t too upset to part with. To be fair, I think it was more the size of the bike than the actual bike itself.

Cove Hustler: moments of pure riding clarity, but unfortunately few and far between. Fortunately the Five that replaced it felt like the Cove during those clarity moments, but pretty much all the time. Classic 17.5″ too small – 19.5″ gate bike as well.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/4rB1cu]Longer stem and a layback post…[/url] by NeilCain, on Flickr

Mk. 2 Cove Handjob: decidedly average – a bit too short and a bit too high. Real shame as I utterly loved the mk.1.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/7kgtw5]Last voyage on the Cove[/url] by NeilCain, on Flickr

Cotic Solaris: we just didn’t get on. Huge shame as I know others love it. With the benefit of hindsight I should have tried it with 100mm forks, but as it is I have no regrets us parting company.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/hhnyav]The Solaris after its first ride.[/url] by NeilCain, on Flickr

moments of pure riding clarity

great phrase.

Kona Hoss. Awful:

1. Short in top tube, got a 20 inch. My fault, but I followed their sizing.

2. Dirt jumper 2 forks > total rubbish, undamped, bone shakers, weighed the same as Fox 40s.

3. Shimano deore rear hub > always working loose, rubbish seals.

4. Rubbish FSA headset. Left out in the rain once, by by bearings.

5. Duff Shimano chaîn > broker 2nd ride.

WTB volt saddle and Shimano derallieours still going 4 years after got rid of it, mind.

Oh, and useless, just useless M575 brakes. . .

I had a Whyte PRST-1. Do I win ?

One like this, with Totems. Disgusting and it rode like shit

Hated the thing.

Mark 1 Santacruz Bullit.
POS. To heavy for XC not enough travel for DH. Oh and at the time i couldn’t get a fork to suit it. It was either a triple clamp that was too long/heavy or a single crown that was too short. Thank god we have 160 single crown forks now.

Also this.
It was his third attempt at building me a custom frame and he still couldn’t get it right.
I’ll never buy a custom frame again.
Great for mincing along fireroads, shite for any proper riding.
The front end would tuck in for no real reason when I least expected it.
It’s new owner loves it though.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/dRAa9Z]New Bike Transporter[/url] by multispeedstu, on Flickr

Blimey, taste is a funny thing. I have ridden and loved a few bikes in this thread. Lots of love for the huster, sx trail, mk2 hj, (even the trek fuel!). I had the ‘team’ nrs xtc. I thought it was ahead of its time: dropper-friendly, really easy to change bearings (when you got the betd replacements for the horst link), 44mm head tube. I only rode the version with the +ve and -ve chamber sid shock thoough, and ‘over forked’ it too- once you had the pressures just right for your weight (just about breaking into the travel rather than all clunky and platforms) it was a suprisingly capable bike.

I had an Azonic saber that could could probably have done without, (rather wallowy and neither one sort of bike nor the other) but really i have liked all my bikes, just some more than others. I reckon good brakes and a good fork can often transform what you otherwise think is a crap mountain bike.

@Tom- mine had Lyriks, its career highlight was going to fort william in the back of the car and never once getting taken out because I realised it was less good at the downhill than my everyday trailbike. It got taken back up for the endurance dh to be a pile of spares.

But I don’t regret buying it, because I parted it out and made a profit. Take that, SX Pest.

A Rocky Mountain ETXS 70, gears that never indexed properly, paint and lacquer that fell off for no reason, back up from the distributor, non existent, god I wish I had never spent £1800 on it

@Tom- mine had Lyriks, its career highlight was going to fort william in the back of the car and never once getting taken out because I realised it was less good at the downhill than my everyday trailbike. It got taken back up for the endurance dh to be a pile of spares.

But I don’t regret buying it, because I parted it out and made a profit. Take that, SX Pest.

What was your issue with it? I found the front vague (probably the totems) and the back devoid of feedback. It was wandery as well, even with the totems and it pedalled like a downhill bike without the stiffness/200mm of travel.

Basically it was pointless. The new 170mm travel bikes seem to have come a long way, as you can build them to 30lb with a coil shock – and push are bringing a coil out with a pedal switch, I really like the idea of this. I reckon Enduro bikes are turning into what mini-dh bikes should have been 5 years ago. Lightweight, fun, bouncy bikes with more liveliness than the big bikes.

2008 or 2009 Wolf Ridge, I’d test ridden and loved how solid it felt descending compared to my Hemlock. Sadly this just felt dull and lifeless everywhere in reality.

Hmmmm, there’ve been one or two 😆 😳 but I can honestly say, as the eternal short-term test-pilot, I don’t consider any of the experiences wasted. Out of all the frames I’ve bought, built, test-ridden and sold on there are only a small handful that I wouldn’t want to try again.

Mountain Cycle Battery: As a Heckler/Bullit fan this promised so much and delivered burger all. Angles felt all wrong and this one never even made it offroad.

650b: Had a couple of 650b hardtails in the last 18 months and didn’t get on with either – BB felt too low and both felt sluggish. I guess for us small folk 26 ain’t dead.

I feel lucky, my bikes have been good and each one a progression from the last, nearest to a duffer I guess was the Charge Duster Rigid, which was too small and too unforgiving, but not all its own fault. I replaced it with an inbred which was a much happier experience.

GT LTS 2000 was my dream bike at the time but fell out of love with it, it rode downhill well, but uphill and in twisty stuff it was a nightmare, and the squeaky pivots oh god they never stopped.

I loved my hj mk2 and had some good times with it, but it was too short and too tall I agree.

I think I’d hate it now and the c456 I replaced it with was much better.

I’d hate that as well now probably tbh.

A few here. My GT LTS 2. First full bouncy. Weighed more than a cruise liner. Bottomed out and crap Rockshox rear shock.
Also another nickel plated Orange P7, with early Pace elastomer forks, which kept sliding the stations up the crown, as they were pinched in the crown with the steerer. Any sign of moisture created total seizure. 1 inch headset on an MTB was a big limiting factor. Sold both bikes with a smile of gladness. Also, my On One whippet. Just felt bland and just didn’t gel at all with it. Came in as a 24 lb cross country lightweight bike, but found it didn’t climb great and very nervous to the point I never picked it to ride. On the other hand, totally love my C456 in matt. With 130 mm Fox’s, Goldtec hubs and racing ralphs, make it a missile and very competent as a blast in the woods/ swinley play bike. That comes in at almost the same weight as the Whippet.

I am not sure I wished I’d never had it, but as I have mentioned on other threads, the most disappointing was certainly the 20″ Ragley Ti I owned for a while. I wanted it to be a longer travel version of my Litespeed Kitsuma, but it was just too stiff for me, the rear end was harsh. Strange as I had had a go on a friends’ 18″ and it was much more comfortable. I transferred all the components in their entirety (apart from the seat post) to an On One 456 and got on much better with that.

Tom_W1987 – Member

Basically it was pointless.

Exactly that. It had the drawbacks of a dh bike and the performance of a trailbike. If I’d got it in 2006 it might have blown my mind to be fair

One of these was my first ‘proper’ mtb.

Never really got on with it but didn’t know at the time why.

Once I rode a few other bikes it became pretty clear though. 6″ travel, short top tube, massively long stem, gate sizing, crazy steep head angle, bb in the sky. What exactly it was designed to be good at I don’t know.

Edit: also xc wheels and terrible tyres on a bike that weighed as much as the earth. And a triple chainring!?

Edit edit: at the time a mate had a stinky. The coiler felt like all the bad bits of the stinky without any of the good bits. Why, kona, why?

Mountaincycle San Andreas, with Stratos MX6 forks, Hope Big ‘Un hubbed wheels and lots of other ‘expensive and pimp in the early ’00s’ kit.
Was a flexy bouncy ungainly lump. The bb was somewhere around my ears and the wheelbase was too short so it handled awfully. It’s only redeeming factors were the looks it got from other riders and the money I made selling it.

Other than that, with probably 30 bikes since the mid ’90s I have to say that I’ve always been lucky enough to get along with them all, even if ive not absolutely loved them.

kenneththecurtain – Member

Once I rode a few other bikes it became pretty clear though. 6″ travel, short top tube, massively long stem, gate sizing, crazy steep head angle, bb in the sky. What exactly it was designed to be good at I don’t know.

Edit: also xc wheels and terrible tyres on a bike that weighed as much as the earth. And a triple chainring!?

Just ahead of its time- the US market was full for a time with 6 inch bikes with 100mm bike design, basically so that people could flatter themselves that their big bike was right for their riding. Same deal as super-squishy forks and the like. What they ought to have been sold was a short travel bike, what they got was a long travel XC bike.

Nothing shocking, but this was my first proper mountain bike. Was stuck between the 17″ (small) and 19″ (gate) and ended up with the gate. I was just never comfortable riding it on technical stuff and it probably put me off mtb’ing a bit. It was also harsher than riding a gate with big square “anti flex” stays. Forks, brakes and tyres also all kinds of useless.

Surprised to see the Spesh SX on here – bloody loved my 2005 jobbie, which was only retired in 2013. I used mine as a trail bike and it was good apart from the very slack seat angle that made climbing a chore. Quite a few of the Wharncliffe regulars ditched Demo’s and such for these when they came out.

To be fair, I’ve never ridden any of the later longer travel versions. I think these kind of mini DH bikes have died a bit of a death now that 150/160mm bikes are so capable. My Rune is more stable / better than some of my old DH bikes but can do longer rides etc.

Agree on the Whyte 46 though – awful, awful thing.

Without doubt my 1999 GT XCR4000 Idrive thing. Got it after a while off bikes when I got my first (and current) salaried job. It was meant to re-ignite my riding but in reality put it back another 6 years.

Heavy, oh so heavy. Dull to ride and the forks were god awful Rockshox that actually managed to be worse then the mk1 Pace RC35’s, Rockshox Mag 20’s and Manitou 1’s of my youth even though there’d been 7 to 8 years ‘progress’.

Sold it to a pal virtually as new when I got a 2005 Orange Evo4. He didn’t keep it long either although the next owner still has it.