johnnyace 

As I am now the new owner of a 1972 Gitane Tour de France, at least partly due to the kudos I hear from others regarding the ride quality of vintage French bikes, that got me to thinking:

If you own more than a couple of bikes (it seems safe to say that most BFers do!), which of your bikes is your favorite all-around rider, and why? Do you find that certain tubesets or country-of-origin bikes offer a better riding experience than others?

I really liked the ride of my 1983 Trek 760 (full Reynolds 531C), but at the end of the day, it was too small for me, and I just recently sold it. Now, I have a small stable of different road bikes from different countries (see my sig), and I'll be interested to compare the ride qualities when springtime and better weather arrives. Right now it's all about the all-weather XO-2.

Barrettscv 

My bikes are like my children. No favorites! Each has it's place in the quiver.


For fast local rides, the Merckx is my favorite;





If the route includes some gravel rails-to-trails, the Simoncin Cyclocross Special is especially fun;

Lascauxcaveman 

The late, great writer and beer enthusiast Fred Eckhardt, whenever someone asked him "What's your favorite beer?" would hoist up whatever was currently in his glass and say "This one."

I'm kinda that way with my old bikes.

KonAaron Snake 

I like this answer. My wife's favorite cat is whichever is sitting on her lap.

seedsbelize 

Tough call. Usually, whichever one I happen to be riding at the time. I will say, however, that the '87 Prelude has fallen from grace in the presence of the '72 World Voyageur.

romperrr 

Whichever bikes needs the least amount of work

Usually that's my Miyata Team Track. Less moving parts = less stuff that can rub, bend, and break
However, after changing out the cockpit on my Trek 614, I'm really taken by it.

Andy_K 

I'd like to give the "no favorite children" answer, but that's not really the truth. I have a definite favorite to ride, and I'm certain it's so because I would like one of the others to be my favorite and they just aren't. It's not actually C or V, but it does have a steel frame and a quill stem and is named after an 80's racer so I think of it as a sort of C&V bike. It's my 2001 LeMond Buenos Aires.



The main triangle is Reynolds 853. The stays are who knows what, probably some sort of ChroMo. The fork is floppy carbon.

I'm pretty sure that it's some combination of perfect fit and surprisingly good wheels (the DT Swiss R460 rims are a great bargain), but maybe the steel blend and the geometry have something to do with it.

With every one of my vintage bikes, my goal is to get them to ride like the LemonD. I've put the same saddle and handlebars on the other bikes. I set the saddle and bar position to match this one as closely as I can. I've been meaning to swap these wheels onto another bike to see what that does.

So far, my 1984 Pinarello Gran Turismo has come closest to matching the ride of the BA, but it's not quite there. I guess I'll just have to keep buying more bikes until I can make this work.

CliffordK

My favorite, of course, is the one in my garage.

nesteel 

'81 Trek 957 (mildly updated).

willydstyle

Well, I only have one bike, and it's my '79 FUJI America, so probably that one.

That being said, I did have a late-70's Dawes Galaxy for a bit with plain gauge 531. It had stamped dropouts, a cruddy swaged crank, and the worksmanship on the lugs was downright *atrocious*, but I turned it into a city bike and it actually rode really nice. It felt pretty damned fast and comfortable despite weighing probably a good 5 pounds more than my Fuji.

repechage

On a group ride with guys on mod stuff, the Masi 3V with Ergo and dual pivots.
When they all go disc... I will need a disc equipped bike, a rider on one can keep speed up till later and if you can hang you will get pinched when they slam on he stoppers and you cannot match the performance.

Two of the early 70's Colnago Supers are very entertaining.

For the full happy I own and pleasure to ride, one of the Confentes.

bikemig 

Not my fanciest bike but I've really been enjoying my 1984 Trek 610. It is a classic sports touring bike and I find it eats up the miles in comfort:

LouB 

Yup--the one I'm on...and hopefully the one I'll be on--whenever it presents itself to me. It's out there, neglected in some garage or barn. Not sure if its Italian, or French, or Japanese or from somewhere else, but it needs a home, and I'm that guy. Just got to keep looking.

big chainring 

I have several bikes. Full Campy NR Viking, a Frejus, Gitane, Raleigh Competition, but the bike I rode the most this summer was a '71 Schwinn Super Sport. Highly modified, the only original thing on it is the brakes. But Schwinn made one heck of a nice riding bike with the Super Sport. I like it a lot!

nesteel 

One of the Confentes? How many do you own? If I may ask (mega jealous)

Lazyass

My '87 LeMans is my daily rider, but my Univega with 27 inch wheels and 1 1/4 Pasela's is probably the most fun. It'll go anywhere.

Dfrost 

Before I retired in 2015, I'd rotate through the 2003 Rivendell Rambouillet, 1987 Marinoni SLX Sports Tourer and 1979 Miyata 912 quite often for my 38-mile (round trip) commute. They were set up as similarly as possible (fit on very similarly sized frames, 8-spd Ergo shifters and gearing, Shimano dual-pivot brakes) and I swapped wheels+tires every so often to see if that made a difference (not much). Saddles were the biggest difference in setup, and they all had a rack by then for the pannier that I carried every day. The Marinoni was consistently the most enjoyable, followed by the 912. The Rambouillet went to a new home last year. The 912 has become the dedicated fender bike, now with a Rivet saddle, so it's fit/feel is even closer to the Marinoni and I'm enjoying it immensely this winter, and both now have identically located Nitto Noodle bars. But the Marinoni is still the favorite of my very small stable.

ijsbrand

The one bike I do not tire on, the 1988 Raleigh Triathlon. If only because I cannot ride it for half of the year because the roads are too wet then.

toavii

Of all the vintage steel I've had ridden, nothing has compared or has been as enjoyable as my Tommasini Super Prestige.

fietsbob

Since this is about road Bikes, Red RB1, hangs upside down in the house , now ,

the ones by the door have Racks and Mudguards on them, those Get the Miles .. Utility..

SamSpade1941 

I guess my favorite one is the only classic and vintage I own. My Trek 7900 Multitrack

gomango

TGB and I had so much fun with that build.

Thrilled you enjoy that pretty racer.

Definitely in my top 5 for all time Italian riders.

Fast and fun.

It'll go as hard into corners as any of us will dare.

So predictable at speed as well.

Fantastic bikes and I look forward to a Sintesi in my basement this winter.

Hopefully Chrome Molly has some spots on his shop calendar.

juls

Fav is the 74 raleigh pro/fast-light nimble/it is also my beater


https://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...1&d=1481068528

RobbieTunes

I'm not sure.
Yes I am.
No I'm not.
Of course I am.....

AZORCH

I've had quite a few "favorite" bikes over the years. And while my Boulder Brevet is and continues to be the favored "favorite," the one bike to rule them all, the OP specified favorite "C&V" rider. In my ever shrinking collection, one bike stands out as the "go to" rider, my 1971 Raleigh International. It rides comfy, it rides moderately quickly, it rides long distance - and it does all these things very well.