Worst bike?

[KenG]

Hi All

Just wondered what the worst bike you've ever owned was and why.

Ive been cycling nearly 30 years now and had a few bikes, mainly mountain bikes,but have recently looked at one of mine and thought to myself "that's the worst bike Ive ever owned", it happens to be a 2008 Cannondale F6 I bought new and has been nothing but trouble since buying it, it must have known the guarantee had ran out as almost to the day it had it started snapping spokes at an alarming rate,8 in a couple of months, it did seem to settle down for a while but has started again.Today i stripped down the V brakes to clean and grease the posts only to find 1 of them came out with the post attached, and no amount of lubrication and gentle persuasion could part the post and canti, i eventually had to refit it as 1 piece ( i did manage to get the canti to rotate on the post). The Rock shox Dart 2 forks paint is bubbling like mad on the brace and overall the bike looks very "tired".
I know its 2.5 years old now (well nearly) but surely it should have given better service as it is only used for commuting to work and is regularly cleaned, lubricated and maintained, never been left outside in the rain, even my works cycle shed is undercover,and has never been off road at all.I had a Cannondale M800 back in 1992 and that's what prompted me to consider buying another Cannondale , well never again.

There that's better all off my chest now!

 

[martynjc1977]

I do remember my parents getting me a BSO as a child (12 years old), not only was it poorly made, it was uncomfortable, and despite living near a bail hostle noone would pinch it. It died at 9 months with a broken frame. I used my paper round money to buy my next bike, a rather nice Holdsworth, before it got nicked after 2 years of good times.

 

[leyburnrunner]

bought my lad a cheap second hand mountain bike off ebay. went to collect it and whilst it looked ok it was only when i went to pick it up did i realise just how heavy the bike was. he struggled with it over any distance just because of the weight. load of scrap iron basically. currently sitting in the garage gathering dust.

psst! anyone wanna buy a boys mtb for a tenner?

 

[MontyVeda]

I've loved every bike I've had. The Rayleigh Tomahawk (still got it)... my brother's Grifter which I converted to a BMX... my Ultra Burner (which wasn't a good as the Grifter conversion) my Sun Solo Road bike which had a whopping 10 gears, the terrible Diamond Back MTB which was a hunk of crap but did get me 'round the Lakes camping one week.

There was this big black heavy thing I got to replace the Tomahawk, no idea what it was but it did come from Woolies... didn't last long.... so it's either that or the Diamond Back.

Still... happy memories the lot of them

edit after reading Leyburnrunners post...

A mate of mine bought two full suspension mountain bikes a couple of years ago "buy one get one free!" He said as began setting the gears and brakes for him. "Only £80!" He proudly stated as I picked one up to turn it over.

How they make a bike so heavy I'll never know! so that one, although I never owned it and 'he' never rode it.

 

[kevin_cambs_uk]

I had Falcon Shane Sutton Special.
The only thing special was that fact that the frame snapped at the head tube and had to be thrown away

 

[Globalti]

I've never had a bad bike but the one I liked the least was probably an aluminium Trek 9500 MTB, it was quite stiff and I sold it for a steel Kona Explosif.

Edit: just remembered - the steel Tange Big Fork on the Trek was good.

 

[cyberknight]

Had to use my dads BSO folder for a few years , luckily i was uncool to start with so it did not affect my social status in the slightest

 

[funnymummy]

I don't think i've had a bad bike, i've loved all my bikes and they have all served their own purposes, I've bought better bikes as the yaers have gone on & my needs changed, and loved them more then the previous one.
The only thing I can think of is the BSO I borrowed from my then MIL, after my Carrera was stolen, that was a beast i was glad to return!!

 

[Alan Whicker]

The 'worst' bike I've had was a Probike Black Knight. I rode it for a couple of years, all over London. It was a BSO alright (plastic brake levers!) but a good one - it never let me down. Used to ride it from Bethnal Green to Putney and back without a single thought. Sold it for not much less than I paid for it.

KenG -Could be wrong, but I don't think Cannondales are made in the USA any more. There's a couple of 90s Super Vs I see parked up round here (Leytonstone, London) that still look almost new. I just don't see that quality in new 'Dales.

 

[corshamjim]

Worst bike was the one I bought for my wife. It was too big for her so she never really got to enjoy riding it.

All the bikes I've owned have been fine. I'm not terribly fond of my Trek Pilot but it does the job ok.

 

[aberal]

My worst bike was an Emelle, which in my naivety I mistook for a mountain bike and took it over the Pentlands south of Edinburgh. The headset cracked on the first ride, I think, there and then I understood the concept of getting what you pay for. I recall it was £130, which I thought at the time was a fortune.

 

[Philk]

Raleigh Chopper.....inherently unstable at speed, fell off more than stayed on it.
Replaced it for a Raleigh Sun Solo at the time, I really liked that bike up to the point it was stolen

 

[mark barker]

My "worst" bike is also my favourite! I picked up a 1970s 16"wheeled folder and in every possible way its rubbish. BUT I managed to ride it 140 miles over 2 days in the New Forest & South Downs, and whilst it was hard going and the bike tried its hardest to fall apart, I love that little bike far more than any bike I've ever ridden, and it will be rebuilt at any cost, back to its original rubbishness!

 

[KenG]

Alan Whicker

The newer Cannondale's, mine included, are no longer Made in the USA. I know the vast majority of bikes sold by well known brands are made under license abroad, and excellent bikes they are ( mostly), but somehow the newer 'Dales dont carry on the older ones DNA.
As a footnote, I used my 1995 Kona to commute on the occasions the spokes were being replaced on the 'Dale and not having ridden it since a bit of a rebuild found it to be a breath of fresh air, i can understand why a lot of people are going 'retro mad.

 

[Hydra]

My first bike (since I was a nipper) that I bought from Halfords, which subsequently got me into cycling for proper, was my worst bike. It was an X-Rated 'jump'-style bike. No idea why I went for that one. I guess it was cheap and looked cool. In hindsight it looked stupid. After only 4 or 5 hours on the thing the handlebars came loose from the stem, and the stem the steerer. I blame Halfords' monkeys for the crap mechanics though.
It was uncomfortable, the gears were impossible to set up properly, and the brakes were absolute pants. And it was heavy.

I do not miss it one little bit.