Which bike did you long term covet............

[MarkF]

............but when you got it, you didn't like it?

A post yesterday reminded me of my search for a Dawes Sardar, I wanted to do a bit more off road riding on my tours, so wanted sturdier, heavier bike with 26" wheels, front & rear racks, guards, the lot. Not being able to afford something like a Thorne, I'd settled on Sardar, but they are very rare beast with owners seemingly reluctant to let them go.

I looked for over 5 years and eventually saw one a "Large" for sale on the CTC forum, I quickly agreed a price and met up with the seller (a very nice man), the bike was of my dreams! Little used and very well cared for, I couldn't wait to go for ride.

When I did, I didn't like it. Can't recall the wide tyres but I quickly swapped them for M+'s, tyres that I am used to, I still didn't like it, no amount of changing tyres, shuffling around and altering the seat and stem angle could get me comfy. The bike was just too heavy and sturdy for me............ I rode and rode the thing for weeks around the Dales until giving up and going back to my hybrids.

 

[Soltydog]

Specialized Tricross I used to have a couple of Spesh bikes & loved them, always liked the Tricross & about 10 year ago I got one through C2W scheme. Never really got on with the geometry of it & despite doing a couple of tours & a fair bit of commuting, I sold it after a couple of years & bought a full on tourer, which has now also been sold, but that was just because of lack of use

 

[fossyant]

I've never bought a bike I didn't like. I've still got all mine.

The fixed will probably be sold as it's a commuter and I've no need for it now but that's been a great bike.

 

[summerdays]

I've yet to buy a Brompton but it's my long time bike of desire.... I really must get around to having a test ride or two to see if it lives up to my dreams .... (of being able to sneak a bike in the car when we go on holiday and other such things).

 

[subaqua]

Raleigh Record Sprint is what I desperatley wanted in 1986 that or a Raleigh scirroco. was hard to choose which one I wanted more .

then i saw a raleigh Pursuit

The new bike shop by me has a lot of retro frames and bikes , so I am keeping an eye out. its 31 Years since i coveted something so much.

I had a Raleigh Phantom but could whup my mates on the fancy light bikes. Eddy Mercx knew - don't by upgrades, ride up grades.

 

[Nigeyy]

Coveted, but ended up loving!

Funnily enough.... a Dawes Sardar, but a steel framed one. I'd been wanting to get a touring specific bike for ages with the option of discs or rim brakes, and in the US at that time you really only had the choice of a Trek 520 (nice but expensive) or a Surly LHT (capable and ubiquitous over here, but heavy with a cheap feel to me and I never liked them). I quickly identified the Sardar as fitting the bill, and was looking for a couple of years when I ended up getting a like new frame off ebay for incredibly little money (I think it was 60 quid including shipping!) and having it shipped over from the UK. An additional plus has been the Marmite/green metallic paintwork which I adore. I built the bike up, and I've enjoyed it ever since, a highlight being a 50mph fully loaded descent of a mountain in Vermont. My favourite bike out of 12 bikes; if I had to pare down my bikes to one bike, this is the one bike I'd probably end up with.

Can't be too many of them in my neck of the woods!

 

[Drago]

Specialized Carve 29 HT. Looked great, good spec, nice price, and I found so many shortcomings I quickly came to hate it. Proof if ever that a tidy spec doth not a decent bike make. I will never, ever buy a bike again without riding it first.

 

[Hedgemonkey]

Didn't exactly covet this, but built one up. On One Inbred, first ride we went to Afan and trails we'd ridden many times before, I remember doing one bit that I normally get the "Flow" going, flicking the bike through the corners, hipping off little risers, But on the Inbred it was like trying to get a canal boat round the section, to me the whole bike felt dead and needed a 10 minute warning before going into a corner. Went home stripped it down and sold the frame.

The complete opposite to my Cotic Soul. Which I ended up travelling 200 miles to buy back after I stupidly sold it.

 

[Racing roadkill]

A Bianchi Infinito CV. It wasn't so much the bike I didn't like, but the attention it seemed to attract.

 

[Nigeyy]

If we're talking about bikes that we thought we wanted but when we got it, it wasn't all it was cracked up to be, here's mine:

Being brought up close to Carlton, I really thought a Raleigh Supercourse would be the way to go -plus it would be a connection to England. So I ended up buying one used, and at first I really liked it. I changed it to indexed shifters, Koolstop brake pads, newer brake levers that allowed for more comfortable hand position. I wasn't bothered about keeping it original, I wanted a practical comfortable commuter/leisure day rider that would provide me with a bit of nostalgia while having some of the more modern conveniences.

Well, if it was the only bike I rode, I'm sure I would have been happy. However, the problem is that I had other bikes to compare it to, and I quickly realized the Supercourse was.... very noodly. I'd look down and I swear I could see the bottom bracket flexing. So much so, I wondered if the frame was broken, but after close inspection, I realized this seems to be the product of a smaller diameter steel tubed frame. In my commute to work and given a seemingly similar amount of effort, and while it's subjective, my times were always 5 mins or longer than other bikes such as my Cannondale road bike, Dawes Sarder, etc.

But I still love the bike, I just use it occasionally when I want to just ride and smell the roses.

 

[Aravis]

For most of the current decade, and even before that, I'd been struggling to rediscover my cycling feet. I made more of an effort during 2015, reaching the dizzy heights of a 100km Audax, but still something wasn't quite right and I thought perhaps a proper steel frame could be the answer. My old fast tourer (Revell Elite) was fantastic in its day, but it had rusted into oblivion some years earlier, and since I couldn't justify something new I set about looking for something similar. After a few months of fun and games on eBay, I managed to nab this for about £70:

It looks great and it's a nice thing to have, even fun to ride occasionally, but it wasn't the bike I needed. It turned out I had that already - a few simple modifications to my aluminium Raleigh, one of which was nothing more than flipping the stem back to its original position (who was I trying to kid) - and it was the bike I needed all along.

One day, if I feel brave enough to try it with a bottom gear of 40x28, I'll ride the Galaxy back to its original supplier in Hereford, which operates from the same premises as in 1980 and still seems to be flourishing. I'm sure they'd be interested to see it, and it should be a good photo opportunity.

 

[Moodyman]

Ellis Briggs tourer. Beautiful artisan frame by local builders in British Racing Green. But had a tendency to shimmy occasionally. Thank God it was later stolen as one of the shimmys had me shaking for 15 minutes when I managed to bring it under control and to a stop.

 

[User19783]

Specialized Carve 29 HT. Looked great, good spec, nice price, and I found so many shortcomings I quickly came to hate it. Proof if ever that a tidy spec doth not a decent bike make. I will never, ever buy a bike again without riding it first.

I agree,

I bought the same bike in haste , and I still have it now,

I've fitted thinner tires on it 42mm and use it for trail's, like coast to coast and other NCR .

 

[wheresthetorch]

A Bianchi Infinito CV. It wasn't so much the bike I didn't like, but the attention it seemed to attract.

I think I'd cope . . .

 

[Drago]

I agree,

I bought the same bike in haste , and I still have it now,

I've fitted thinner tires on it 42mm and use it for trail's, like coast to coast and other NCR .

Sold mine in disappointment, and wrote off three hundred sheets in the process.