Biggest Cycling Disappointment?

[Mrs M]

I dropped lots of hints about wanting a 'racer' for my 11th birthday and I helped, every saturday, in my Dad's shop from the beginning of September to the beginning of March to work towards getting my dream 'racer'. My Birthday arrived and outside, with a large bow on it was.......

I feel for you, I remember the Raleigh Twenty. After my Chopper disappointment I finally became the very proud owner of a 1980 Halfords Cascade, ladies 5 speed road/touring bike, with the gear lever on the frame, in metallic mint green. My sister and I had identical bikes. I swapped the full mudguards for short racing guards, removed the rack and fitted toe clips to make a "racer". Loved that bike and polished it after every ride, think it's still in my mum's shed!




........ a diarrhoea brown Raleigh Twenty with Stumey Archer 3 speed gears. All my cousins could catch me out on my bike and after a couple of broken arms (Simon was, and still is a thug), chipped teeth and a broken collar bone from being duffed by stupid cousins, I raided my bank account and bought a Puch Pacemaker from a shop that my Dad didn't own. Happily, I was very tall for a 11 and a bit year old - 5'4" - so the bike shop owner was happy to serve me.

 

[Drago]

Riding a new Ribble recently. Comfortable, but otherwise uninspiring, visibly flexible when laying on the power, and not particularly good value. It was a little upsetting to find the legend outshone the reality. It's daft but it really got to me at the time.

 

[speccy1]

my reflection in a window when wearing cycling kit

 

[Dan87]

being 27 and only just cycling this year since my teens. i bought a mtn bike a few years back but sold it after not using it much.

 

[annedonnelly]

........ a diarrhoea brown Raleigh Twenty with Stumey Archer 3 speed gears. All my cousins could catch me out on my bike and after a couple of broken arms (Simon was, and still is a thug), chipped teeth and a broken collar bone from being duffed by stupid cousins, I raided my bank account and bought a Puch Pacemaker from a shop that my Dad didn't own. Happily, I was very tall for a 11 and a bit year old - 5'4" - so the bike shop owner was happy to serve me.

I had a brown Raleigh Twenty. Before that I had a blue Raleigh Fourteen which got handed down to my brother. TBH neither of us was much into bikes in those days.

 

[burndust]

Having to do my cycling proficiency test on a girls folding bike

 

[the_mikey]

My biggest cycling disappointment was going to the school bike sheds after school finished, and discovering that my bike had been stolen!

It was 20 years before I bought another bike so I missed 2 whole decades of cycling.

I had a little Raleigh Road bike when I was 10, it was light, fast and I could get up hills on it, it was killed by a reversing car when I was 11 and never had another bike until I was 21, I had a really heavy Raleigh steel mtb that I used to commute to work on. It was unpleasant and I could get home quicker walking. But I persevered and bought.... Yet another rubbish bike

So my cycling disappointment is poor quality bicycles (and the time wasted trying to make them work).

 

[kevin_cambs_uk]

Cycling into the back of a car on my way home from lesson 2 of the cycling proficiency test.
They never mentioned anything about not looking where you are going while investigating a clicking from the bike.
I never went back....

 

[green1]

Snap, and for exactly the same reason (never been any good at play-acting and as for bollards on a playground ) I was really restrained on the braking as well, my usual stoppies involved the rear wheel skidding at least 10 foot and 2 foot sideways plus I was one of the few who cycled to school (just so I didn't have to go home to fetch it). I'd also lay money on me being the only one out of the class who still cycles most days.

I wasn't allowed to sit my cycling proficiency. I refused to wear a helmet, not much has changed in the last 22 years.

 

[Piemaster]

........ a diarrhoea brown Raleigh Twenty with Stumey Archer 3 speed gears. All my cousins could catch me out on my bike and after a couple of broken arms (Simon was, and still is a thug), chipped teeth and a broken collar bone from being duffed by stupid cousins, I raided my bank account and bought a Puch Pacemaker from a shop that my Dad didn't own. Happily, I was very tall for a 11 and a bit year old - 5'4" - so the bike shop owner was happy to serve me.

I had one of those in a similar way to the OP. Wanted, wanted, wanted a Chopper - all my mates had one.

Upside was that after my Dad took me out on a ride with him, me dragging along behind on something that weighed 10 times his bike and kept having to stop as I was tired, he tried it himself and realised the mistake. I ended up with a proper 'racer'. Loved the thing and went everywhere on it

 

[Brandane]

My biggest disappointment was buying a light(ish) road bike, and then discovering that it doesn't actually glide effortlessly up steep hills. It still has to be pedalled, and is still hard work .

 

[postman]

Selling my Dawes Super Galaxy.

 

[Donger]

Buying my first re-chargeable very bright front light just before doing the London to Brighton Overnight ride this year - only to find that it lasted only about 2.5 hours and left me sprinting to keep up with riders who could see where the f**** they were going as I pressed on blindly for mile after mile in the dead of night.

 

[Accy cyclist]

They didn't make a Carry on Cycling or a Confessions of a Cyclist film.

 

[ColinJ]

They didn't make a Carry on Cycling or a Confessions of a Cyclist film.

Well, watch A Boy, a Girl, and a Bike instead, complete with footage of post-war Hebden Bridge and surrounding area!