Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Road Cycling
Reload this Page >

What's the worst bicycle you ever owned?

Notices
Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

What's the worst bicycle you ever owned?

Old 09-15-20, 07:24 AM
  #101  
merlinextraligh
pan y agua
 
merlinextraligh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Jacksonville
Posts: 31,273

Bikes: Willier Zero 7; Merlin Extralight; Calfee Dragonfly tandem, Calfee Adventure tandem; Cervelo P2; Motebecane Ti Fly 29er; Motebecanne Phantom Cross; Schwinn Paramount Track bike

Mentioned: 17 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1428 Post(s)
Liked 697 Times in 353 Posts
Originally Posted by fujidon
I have that very bike and haven't noticed any sort of wobble. Maybe it was something specific to your bike... or maybe it's because I rarely go much faster 30mph
Likely something specific to Johnny V, ( or some difference between you and Johnny V). Speed wobbles are the result of oscillation at a resonant frequency. You have to have the right conditions for it to occur. So while some bikes tend to be more prone to the wobbles, whether your bike does, depends on a lot of factors, including your weight, and position on the bike, grip, speed, etc.

So that exact bike could wobble horribly for one rider and not at all for another.
__________________
You could fall off a cliff and die.
You could get lost and die.
You could hit a tree and die.
OR YOU COULD STAY HOME AND FALL OFF THE COUCH AND DIE.
merlinextraligh is offline  
Likes For merlinextraligh:
Old 09-15-20, 08:30 AM
  #102  
grizzly907la
Grouchy Old man
 
grizzly907la's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Western NC.
Posts: 278

Bikes: Diamond Back Insight 2, Gravity Basecamp mountain bike, GMC Denali Road Bike

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 75 Post(s)
Liked 49 Times in 36 Posts
RE: GMC Denali

Originally Posted by bampilot06
gmc denali
I had the GMC Denali. The frame was built like a tank, which I liked, because it could take a bit of a beating. It wasn't uncomfortable to ride. The components were garbage but I was going to replace them out, in a piecemeal fashion. That didn't work out sadly. I still wanted to rebuild the bike, but had to leave it behind when I moved. It wasn't the worst bike I ever road though. It served it purpose...no hate towards you. I knew what I was getting into and dealt with the issues as they came up.
grizzly907la is offline  
Old 09-15-20, 06:32 PM
  #103  
kraftwerk 
my nice bike is at home
 
kraftwerk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Brooklyn, NY USA
Posts: 954

Bikes: 2011 BMC Race Machine / 2012 BMC Road Machine / Trek 2300 / '90's Merlin/ '70's Raleigh 20/ Ti-'swift' folder / Erickson w/S&S couplers

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 66 Post(s)
Liked 34 Times in 24 Posts
Sears "Free Spirit"... I actually raced it when I was 13 or so... today that would be deemed child abuse. The bike weighed 1/3 of my weight 30 lbs to my 90... ugh..
Every bike since was incrementally better but only slightly it was painful, bike by bike rise to a pretty fine 30 year old Rossin, which is still great.
__________________
BMC Race Machine / BMC Team Machine / Rossin Record / 80's Pinarello Traviso / Merlin MTB / Raleigh "Folding 20" / Ti-Swift (!)
Erikson w/C&C couplers / Trek's: 2300, 1200, 990 / Jamis 'Sputnik'


Last edited by kraftwerk; 09-15-20 at 06:35 PM.
kraftwerk is offline  
Old 09-16-20, 01:47 AM
  #104  
znomit
Zoom zoom zoom zoom bonk
 
znomit's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 4,623

Bikes: Giant Defy, Trek 1.7c, BMC GF02, Fuji Tahoe, Scott Sub 35, Kona Rove, Trek Verve+2

Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 549 Post(s)
Liked 721 Times in 365 Posts
The BMX I used to bike to school and deliver papers had no brakes (I went through a lot of shoes slowing down on the hills).

Everything else since has been a luxury.
znomit is offline  
Old 09-16-20, 03:40 AM
  #105  
delbiker1 
Mother Nature's Son
 
delbiker1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Sussex County, Delaware
Posts: 3,111

Bikes: 2014 Orbea Avant MD30, 2004 Airborne Zeppelin TI, 2003 Lemond Poprad, 2001 Lemond Tourmalet, 2014? Soma Smoothie

Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 838 Post(s)
Liked 1,414 Times in 801 Posts
I cannot think of a "worst bike" I have ever owned. The bike I have owned, and still do, that I least like riding is my Orbea Avant. It is a nice bike, great looking, decent components, but I just do not like riding it. I had to try a CF bike, and this is the one I chose, partly because of the sale price when I purchase it. I do not like how noisy it is. The CF frame seems to reverberate whatever noise comes from the drive train, wheels, etc. It drives me crazy. I also find it rough riding and uncomfortable, I rode it yesterday, only 23 miles, and thought to myself that it just may be the last time I ride it.
delbiker1 is offline  
Old 09-16-20, 02:46 PM
  #106  
Jean_TX
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Round Rock
Posts: 145
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 51 Post(s)
Liked 6 Times in 6 Posts
My worst bike - Raleigh Seneca mountain bike (1985). The bike had steel bullmoose handlebars that transmitted so much buzzy vibration to my hands that they would become numb. Once the bars and were replaced with an aluminum stem and aluminum bars the bike was okay.
Jean_TX is offline  
Old 09-16-20, 05:08 PM
  #107  
Bah Humbug
serious cyclist
 
Bah Humbug's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Austin
Posts: 21,147

Bikes: S1, R2, P2

Mentioned: 115 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 9334 Post(s)
Liked 3,679 Times in 2,026 Posts
Technically, it must be the junky Magna I rode around the yard as a kid. As an adult, it must be the Fuji Cross Pro I had as my first "real" bike, which wasn't terrible but was worse than the TCR Alliance, S1, P2, and R2, so it gets the "worst" label. None was truly "bad", though.
Bah Humbug is offline  
Old 09-16-20, 09:43 PM
  #108  
Joearch
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2020
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 150

Bikes: Bianchi Infinito CV Disc Ultegra

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 49 Post(s)
Liked 59 Times in 31 Posts
In 1994 I lived in Beijing for three months. I bought a few of the basic bikes everyone rode around so I could tour the city on weekends. Beyond bad but was fun to be riding in the pack as there were very few cars and millions on bikes. I think the brand was Pigeon. So much fun.
Joearch is offline  
Old 09-17-20, 09:28 AM
  #109  
primov8
Senior Member
 
primov8's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: A Yankee in Houston, TX
Posts: 1,074

Bikes: State Bicycle Co. Undefeated Track SS/FG, Lynskey Helix-Bronze

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 115 Post(s)
Liked 203 Times in 95 Posts
I wouldn't say worst bike I've owned but more in the sense of least liked was the 2012 Cervelo S5. Prior to that, I had a '09 S2, then a '10 S2 so I was expecting the S5 to be all that and then some. Unfortunately it wasn't and within 3 months, I sold it.
primov8 is offline  
Old 09-18-20, 08:08 AM
  #110  
Andy Somnifac 
Senior Member
 
Andy Somnifac's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,297

Bikes: Too many.

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 92 Post(s)
Liked 174 Times in 86 Posts
I have a $65 single speed (fixed/freewheel flip-flop hub) I bought from Target years ago. It's ugly and it's a boat anchor and it's the worst bike I've ever owned. And I still love it.
__________________


Andy Somnifac is offline  
Likes For Andy Somnifac:
Old 09-18-20, 06:41 PM
  #111  
GeneO 
Senior Member
 
GeneO's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: midwest
Posts: 2,528

Bikes: 2018 Roubaix Expert Di2, 2016 Diverge Expert X1

Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 482 Post(s)
Liked 151 Times in 105 Posts
A 1999 Gary Fisher Kai-Tai MTB. Quality-wise it was very good but I just could never dial it in so I was comfortable with the geometry. I rode it a lot though with lots of great times on singletrack and mountain trails. I was always fiddling with the saddle and stem adjustments.

Last edited by GeneO; 09-18-20 at 06:45 PM.
GeneO is offline  
Old 09-19-20, 02:39 PM
  #112  
merlinextraligh
pan y agua
 
merlinextraligh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Jacksonville
Posts: 31,273

Bikes: Willier Zero 7; Merlin Extralight; Calfee Dragonfly tandem, Calfee Adventure tandem; Cervelo P2; Motebecane Ti Fly 29er; Motebecanne Phantom Cross; Schwinn Paramount Track bike

Mentioned: 17 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1428 Post(s)
Liked 697 Times in 353 Posts
Setting aside the no bad bikes viewpoint, my worst bike would have to have been a Lambert with the death fork.


they had nice adds though.


__________________
You could fall off a cliff and die.
You could get lost and die.
You could hit a tree and die.
OR YOU COULD STAY HOME AND FALL OFF THE COUCH AND DIE.
merlinextraligh is offline  
Old 09-22-20, 09:11 AM
  #113  
Velo Mule
Senior Member
 
Velo Mule's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Long Island, NY
Posts: 2,097

Bikes: Trek 800 x 2, Schwinn Heavy Duti, Schwinn Traveler, Schwinn Le Tour Luxe, Schwinn Continental, Cannondale M400 and Lambert, Schwinn Super Sport

Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 801 Post(s)
Liked 1,000 Times in 654 Posts
My dad bought himself a Sears Free Spirit three speed from Sears. It had a Shimano three speed hub and handbrakes front and rear. It was a cheaper version of a Raleigh Sport. I ended up riding it way more than he ever did. The only complaint I had with the bike is that the frame was flexible. Really flexible. It did not have lugs and looked like the tubes were just press fit together. They were probably brazed, but this was not as strong as a fillet braze or lugs.

Despite that, I rode that bike all over. No problem with the hub, the brakes or wheels going out of true. I ended up removing the fenders and painting the frame blue from a Duplicolor car paint spray can. Then rode it a bunch more.
Velo Mule is offline  
Old 09-23-20, 11:38 AM
  #114  
noglider 
aka Tom Reingold
 
noglider's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: New York, NY, and High Falls, NY, USA
Posts: 40,691

Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem

Mentioned: 510 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7287 Post(s)
Liked 2,364 Times in 1,382 Posts
I was a bike mechanic in my young days. I worked on a few Tyler kids' bikes. Tyler is a Polish brand. I guess they chose the name to make it sound appealing. The steel they used for nuts and bolts was soft, so lots of stripping and rounding happened. The rear dropouts were pointed down to the back. The only way to tighten the axle nuts with the wheel in position was to sit on the ground, put my feet on the pedals, pull the bike back with one hand, tighten an axle nut with the other hand, then switch hands and do the same.

Since this asked about bikes we had, I did flip one of these Tyler kids' bikes in my bike flipping days, so I had one, too. I didn't ride it, though.
__________________
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog

“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author

Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
noglider is offline  
Old 09-23-20, 11:58 AM
  #115  
Jack Tone 
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 598
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 389 Post(s)
Liked 255 Times in 165 Posts
I have at least 14 bikes now, maybe more. I had some others as a kid. I never had a worst bike. Every bike I ride, I get home with a smile, and think, why did I ever get another?
Jack Tone is offline  
Likes For Jack Tone:
Old 10-03-20, 03:26 PM
  #116  
CoachPC
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2020
Location: East Tennessee
Posts: 13

Bikes: 2006 Litespeed Firenze

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 4 Times in 3 Posts
I had a 1980's Peugeot - it was an electric brown color which matched the shade in my drawers when the seat post suddenly snapped in twain after a hard brake stop.
CoachPC is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
gringomojado
General Cycling Discussion
21
05-11-21 07:40 PM
ZIPP2001
Bicycle Mechanics
5
08-07-17 03:48 AM
hoiten22
Recreational & Family
16
02-17-14 10:42 AM
ilovecycling
Road Cycling
17
03-22-12 02:34 PM
banerjek
Road Cycling
23
08-28-11 09:50 AM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.