jadmt

show me a cf bike that even comes close......

USAZorro

The only way I can come at this is to ask myself - "which of the bicycles that I have would be the one I'd keep if I had to get rid of the others?" That brings the number quickly down to two... but which one? I've put plenty more miles on one than the other, and honestly, if you asked me the same question a week from now, I might change my mind. The deciding factors of why I'd say this, rather than the 1972 Fuji Finest are nimbleness and nostalgia. They have the same fittings, they have similar clearance, shifting and range of gearing. Both are set up with bar-end shifters and they weigh very close to the same. The nod goes to...




I have changed pretty much nothing but the wheels since sloar was kind enough to pass it along to me a few years ago. My plan is to keep it in essentially this configuration until I'm able to get to Cino and ride it there. After that, I might decide it needs 32's and mud guards, but we'll see.

Eric F 

Close to what? You prefer the look of straight steel tubes. I prefer the appearance of the shapes and curves possible with modern CF technology. These are subjective opinions, and neither is more right than the other to anyone except ourselves.

Eric F 

At 19 years old, this doesn't exactly make it into the C&V category, but it is - without a doubt - the best riding bike I've been on. My newer Storck road bike is lighter, quicker, and exciting, but the handling is not nearly as predictable and sure-footed as my old Time.

mstateglfr 

Of course it's subjective. The poster is sure that one style looks better than another style. That is clearly subjective.
Do you tell everyone that their opinions are subjective right after they say something?

AdventureManCO 

Back to the top! Still interested in hearing about others' great rides!

BFisher

As much as I enjoy variety and appreciate the different characteristics of all of my bikes, current and past, none of them beat this one. None.
Smooth - hot butter on glass. Just glides along like a thoroughbred.
Precise - It'll take corners faster than I can push it. It just goes where I want it to. No extra effort to keep it steady through the curves.
Fast - I know, I know; bikes aren't fast. Riders are. But it always seems easier to go faster on this one than the others. She was born to boogie.
Comfortable - Maybe most important of all. This bike is the opposite of harsh.
They have their detractors for various reasons. I understand that. But as far as ride quality goes, one would be hard pressed to beat one of these. Ernesto got the design right.

obrentharris 

No contest. The best bike I ever rode was this one, my first bike and my ticket to explore the big world beyond my immediate neighborhood.



Brent

georges1

My 1993 Peugeot in Reynolds 708 classic tubing that will get a full 7700/7800 dura ace 10speed upgrade. It is smooth, lively and comfy

My 1991 Raleigh in Reynolds 753 for which I will buy a new pair of wheels

merziac

My bikes are fast, I am not.

So I know when one of them is fast, several are.

Some ride much better if not faster, the Merz's all ride much better than most.

The BG too, it is one of the most drastic examples as it is small yet rides so well for odd geometry.

It, the big silver Merz and Dave Levy's magic begat this and it is the best so far.

darkmoon

1975
When I was a high school kid, I was hooked by the greatest man.




I wanted one.
It has been a grail.
47 years later, I got one.
What could I say?
Satisfaction, or the last bike I would sell, or a dream comes true.

Eddy Merckx, Molteni orange, corsa extra

cocoabeachcrab 

when i was in the USAF stationed in NH back in the mid 70's, i bought an austro daimler ADSL but really wanted the vent noir, but on an airman's pay, that was not gonna happen. a week later, i went back to the bike shop and asked (begged) if i could trade the now used bike for the vent noir, and the guy took pity on me after he told me about his son being stationed in Thailand as a crew chief on F-111a models ( i was a SAC trained killer working on FB-111's at Pease) and he made me a deal to do payments. that vent noir was orgasmic to ride, and a buddy and i rode 20 or 30 miles every day for next few years before we both got orders... he went to iceland to crew f-4's at a fighter interceptor squadron, and i went to Clark AB in the philipines and ended up working on old mid 50's t-33's at base flight. i sold that bike before i left the states but ended up finding it again a few years ago as just a frame and brakes through a friend who still lives just south of the base. i can't seem to want to put it all back together for some reason... maybe i just don't want to find out that i'm old now. i have all the parts in a box... that bike was a bit too small for me, but when you are in your 20's, immortal and superhuman, that didn't seem to matter then. we would stop at the newcastle coastguard station and smoke a doober at the old fort, and finish the second half of the ride motivated in Ferrari mode...

Oldairhead 

My Pegoretti Palo Santo!

geoffr

I have the same Ritchey, with 8 speed Ultegra. Tied as a favorite with my XO-1.

79pmooney

Last summer I bought "that" frame from a forum mate. 1983 Miyata Pro. My 1976 Fuli Professional I raced and loved, only grown up to the best narrow tubes, geometry a tiny bit more "normal" and fully evolved and dialed in. (Identical braze-on decisions except SunTour Auto-trim; the feature I wanted in 1977 so I wouldn't hit those DT shifters climbing walls out of the saddle. Just DT WB bosses so again, that ST bottle is clamped on. 126 7-speed.)

Set it up Cyclone derailleurs and brakes. A slightly newer Campy triple. 13-26 FW. Just plain wow! Pure race with perfect manners. I have no idea how fast is too fast on this bike and I'll never see it. 50 isn't remotely close.

You may never see pictures. Visually it's a mess. Spent real time outdoors. I don't believe tubes are compromised but there is plenty of rust to be seen. It wears a SS Ace Hardware bolt and nut for a seatpin; those thread stripping after my second ride. And the RD also has a history. Parallelagram spring is shot. Got a nice, matching blue bungie wrapped around it to help out. Shifts like the famous Cyclone dream. (Poster who sold the frame had excellent photos. Nothing was a surprise. Well I didn't know of those threads but it was a given there'd be an issue or two.)

Oldairhead 

lasauge 

My answer to this is that the contenders in my mind are all the bikes I've commuted on over the years. I've had some really nice road bikes and mountain bikes, but in the 'overall' sense a bike that's practically useful for going places and carrying things always wins out in my mind against bikes solely meant for recreational use. If I could only have one bike, it would have to be a practical bike that's also fun to ride. Limiting myself again to C&V, because my ultra modern commuting bike is superior in all respects but not very interesting to talk about here, I'd go with this Trek 870. In addition to handling year round commuting duty (I never had any problems with the U-brakes in snow) it was really fun to ride on gravel roads and could handle some trail use. And while not the fastest road bike, it was really fun on pavement too, and had good handling even with panniers on the back. I liked this so much that I had it powdercoated in 2017. Sadly it was stolen in 2019 and never recovered.

romperrr 

Sorry to hear someone stole your bike; glad to hear you had many good miles and smiles on it

Road Fan

My pick is my 1984-ish Mondonico. No model name, no tubing sticker, no formal sizing info, only the frame, the parts, and the ride!

Edit 3/16/2013: The same bike is still my favorite. About a year before Covid began, I had a crash on the MUP. I ran off the road at about 15 mph, ran into some rocky peices of nature, did an endo after a header into the rocks, landed on some gentle soft grass, then felt the intact bike gently land its 20# on top of me. My Giro was beyond repair, and the DT and TT were crumpled at the head tube, paint matched and restored, and the bike came back after several months. Riding it it felt too quick and I concluded the rebuilt head angle is a bit too steep. However the alignment is good and it rides very supple, so I just kept riding it. Its still a great ride, one of my favorites, and good for any area riding. I wish the repair had been more faithful, but I'm much more glad to have my bike back!

I'll post up some new pics soon.


1984 (or so) Mondonico, Columbus tubing, tubulars, Campy 3x10.

DTSs

ticks all the boxes

CMAW 

The Deda Zero Basso I suppose:

sthurman

I am obsessed with riding this bike since building it up. By far the best riding bike in my life. Super compact racing geometry (I can barely fit 23mm tires in rear!), Cinelli fork crown, lovely Ellis style seat cluster, Reynolds 531C. Feels like butter, turns on a dime, but somehow exceedingly stable especially at speed. Just incredible. I wish I knew more about the frame (got it off ebay). Here it is!

Built up with Shimano 600 8sp group. Suntour superbe pro pedals. Cinelli stem/bars. 70s Brooks Professional.

For comparison, I have owned/ridden 80s De Rosa Professional, Merckx Corsa Extra, Masi 3V, Gios compact, Colnago Super, Medici Pro Strada, 90s Tommasini Sintesi. All great bikes. Until the Woodrup ended up in my possession would say the Tommasini was the best overall ride.

Drillium Dude 

The one I rode yesterday:



(although not in this configuration - and I didn't ride today)

DD

VintageSteelEU

And looks great too! I like the seat post.

Kilroy1988 

I posted the 1950 Carlton Continental I had for a brief time earlier in this thread - what I liked about it was how reactive the 23" frame with pencil stays was and how cushy the 26 x 1 1/4" Dunlop steel rims paired with 1 1/2" tires were. Since then, my uncle completed the restoration of his second 1972 Raleigh Professional Mk IV (with my help to source parts) and I was able to take it out for a fast group ride last season with the tubs pumped up to 140psi and the ride was everything my old '72 Professional with a mixed bag of components used to be plus some. Super responsive, fun to sprint and maintain at speeds in excess of 30mph, it just wanted to go! I think it's my new favorite riding bike out of about thirty that I've owned and ridden during my brief cycling career of fifteen years.

-Gregory