PedalTraveler

How long did it take you to find that one great riding bike?

After deciding to get back into cycling I have been looking for a good riding bike in my size for months now, I've bought a couple dozen in the search, but still haven't found a real keeper. Of all those I've only found four bikes that fit right, all were gaspipe and three turned out to have frame damage. The last one I built up, but it just felt dead, I tried different wheel sets and various parts, but I just wasn't happy with it and sold it.

Is this just poor luck? I don't think I'm being too picky, but riding season is fast approaching and I really hope to find a good one in time to have ready for when the snow recedes.

So this brings me back to the question, how long did it take you to find your go-to rider?

Photos of said bike encouraged!

Velognome 

Hmmmmmm......I curretly have 4 "go-to-riders" One to-go get groceries, One to-go on long rides, One to-go out every day for some PE and one-to go to when I'm feeling lazy and want more gears.

I think if you look at all the bikes here, they are our "go-to's" or they eventuly "go-to" someone elses collection.

jimmuller 

About 40 years, but I wasn't looking for most of that time. I was reasonably happy with what I had. Then in the last year I found two, one of which I wasn't looking for.

The real point is this: What is your threshold for a "great riding bike"? That's not as constant as one might think! My earlier not-so-great-riders still get ridden. And the most recently acquired bike hasn't been ridden enough yet for me to judge, but it seems nice. For a 40-year-old French-style bike made in Belgium it's quite good!

big chainring 

Two wheels, handlebars, pedals, aren't they all about the same? To me a bike is a bike. I have as much fun on a Schwinn Continental as a Full Campagnolo super bike. There really isnt that much difference between bikes. I always say, if you are 25 miles from home and bonking, can you really tell, or does it really matter, whats under your arse?

The ones I have owned that I liked best - Peugeot UO-8, Raleigh Super Course, Raleigh Gran Sport, Rickert Weltmeister

cbresciani

^Not even close, two wheels, handlebars, and pedals don't make all bikes about the same. Different bikes for different purposes I would agree but there's no way my Giant full suspension bike rides even close to the same way as my Colnago, or even my Colnago to my De Rosa.

RaleighSport

About 2 years.

big chainring 

OK. Comparing road bike to road bike.
I find little difference from one to the next. Very subtle differences. Like comparing my UO-8 to my Rickert. Rickert is a little more lively, and also 5 pounds lighter. But once up to speed, I can't tell much of a difference.

Chombi

Almost instantly with the first bike I bought for myself..... with my modded up PH10S (Lighter Ambrosio Elite 19 wheelset with Specialized Turbo tires, Stronglight 104 bis crankset lighter seatpost, higher model Weinmann brakes, different saddle and totally dereflectorized/cleaned up to reduce weight) back in the early 80's when I bought it......It still ranks near the top of all my bikes when it comes to riding quality, feel, handling. Surprising for such a cheapy Peugeot, built with their humble Carbolite 103 tubing.... The bike felt like a very willing partner wihen I rode, shooting forward with each pedal stroke with a nice whooshing jet-like sound I can't seem to get from all my other later bikes....I sure miss that PH10....

Chombi

Doohickie

Not as long as it's taking me to get my bike wardrobe straight.

RobbieTunes

I have been extremely fortunate, and a benefactor of coincidence.

In 1987, I couldn't afford an Ironman, and bought a used Trek 510.
In 2008 or so, I bought one on eBay, with 8-sp STI's and a converted rear hub, for $135.
The combination of a superbe bike, great upgrades, and a low price pretty much imprinted it in my RAM.
The rest, of course, is history, in a sub-miniature, minor-leage, bike environmtn kind of way.

By 2010, I'd come across the Cinelli-made Centurion, not knowing what it even was.
Again, for a ridiculous price ($356) and again, without really looking or knowing.
I blindly followed the advice of a fellow BF member. Thank you, A. Winthrop.

Same with Centurion Turbo's, of which I've had three.
Two by way of afilado's suggestions. Gratitude, amigo.

In 2011, a local bike shop/BF member gave me a Trek Y-Foil to "fix up and ride."
It was too small, but the fix was in. It sat on the shelf in my mind for a year and a half.
6 months of 2012's hard looking turned up two candidates.
I chose the one I did not want to regret. The N+1 on these is terrifying.

This weekend, I'll pick up about the 10th or 11th bike I've been offered by BF members.
Obviously, I must pay a fair price, maybe too much. However, no one has led me on, not one iota.
It's always an adventure, in more ways than one.

So, short answer: 6 months for one of them. The rest just happened.
I've posted so many photos, I'm embarrassed at myself.

oddjob2

Terrain, road conditions, weather, and your own level of fitness/age can make the "one great riding bike" a moving target. When riding on crappy roads with hills, like Ann Arbor, a MTB is advantageous, but if you're only on main campus or downtown, no gearing is needed, just good brakes to avoid pedestrians.

I just moved to the east side of Detroit and the roads are wide and smooth. Again not much gearing is needed, but a fast road bike is more enjoyable than a MTB.

Some bikes just fit from day one. I enjoy a Peugeot PGN 10 in the ADK, and a lowly Trek Multitrack 700 hybrid in NJ. I've done 25-30 mile moderate to extremely hilly charity rides on each with no aches or pains!

I hope to sort through another 6-10 bikes awaiting overhauls so that I have a "go to" MTB, a grocery getter, and a sports bike in each location.

wrk101

+1 Almost no time, and if you buy right, you can continually upgrade. My keeper fleet routinely changes, as I find the next great/interesting bike.

jimmuller 

Doohickey, your wardrobe almost matches that hat you are wearing in your avatar.

PedalTraveler, your biggest problem might just be finding a bike that fits. When I bought my Bianchi I had been looking for a project for months. I wanted something very different from my other bikes, though I wasn't sure what that meant. The reason it took so long to find it is that most better-than-average frames my size ("average/medium/middle-of-the-bell-curve", 57-59cm) are expensive or non-existent. I guess most people keep the ones that fit.

When I found an affordable frame of appropriate size on ebay I placed a reasonable bid and was surprised to win it. When I finished the build and took it for a spin I was even more surprised. I was not just different from my other bikes, but DIFFERENT! I still like the previous bikes. Had I not found the Bianchi I would have been content to ride them for years to come.

Miyata110

About 6 months to find my 110. Love, love, love my entry level bike.

auchencrow

Though I've become more discerning in my purchases, I'm still just as happy to ride my first acquisition as my last.
- Each of them has some greatness about them, or I wouldn't have so many crappy old ten-speeds as I do.

Velognome 

This thread needs more pictures!

My son loves his 110 too



My favorite Go-To is my s3x Hubbed Comp GS. I've been thinking, the only thing that keeps me off this is that 3 gears kinda limits my available terrian. But if I added a Metropolis Transmission to the BB then I'd have 6 fixed gears. My Go-to would "get" even more!

repechage

For a road bike, bike #3. Bike #2 for a track bike. Did not hurt that the builder also built for Merckx. For that I was lucky.

There have been other road bikes that are equal, some better at one thing or another, all bikes are compromises, if not in design in application.

sailorbenjamin

I found my Raleigh Super Course on my third trip to the recycle bin (third shopping trip, not third drop of). Spent 5 years trying to find something I like better. This Competition is giving it a run for it's money. Maybe it's a better bike but I think I'd sell it before I sold the Super Course.

jeirvine 

About two years. Once I found my Super Course I could pretty much quit searching. Not that I've quit searching, but i don't need to.
I like my Gran Sport and Team Pro almost exactly as much as I like the SC. But the SC is The One.

jimmuller 

Interesting. Could you sat why you like the SC better? How is it different? Just curious.

auchencrow

4 SC's and a GS:

Creme Brulee

bout two years... jumped from a 58cm to a 66cm

Savagewolf

My perfect bike is always the next one. I love what I have, then I get the itch and buy another that I love. Each one just seems to fill a different niche.

dyander

For me it took about 5 years. In 1975 my parents bought me a Fuji S-10 to grow into, but I never did. By '78 I bought a brand new Trek touring frame and built it up on the cheap. It was great for a few years, but by '80 I was looking for something a little more lively. A friend was looking for a frame to build for off road riding and traded me for his '72 Condor and that was it.

Velognome 

Now that's a growth spurt!! Do the NBA recruiters know about you?