Whats the WORST bike you've ever actually owned and ridden??

[BeegMig]

A 1999 Concorde Tornado. The same bike Team AIG rode that year.

It was way overpriced, heavy and super un-responsive.

Of coarse it didn't help that it was a 63cm farmgate.

[T-Bob]

I had this when I was a nipper and it was so uncool. Raleigh Vektar... basically a cr*p BMX with plastic attached to it to make it look like some futuristic steed. In the future apparently you need massive, useless mudguards. Had a center console 'computer' that made all kinds of noises, had a radio and flashed enough lights at high speed like it was trying to to induce epilepsy... and that saddle! 

 

http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/335965/21386938/1356885719753/1985_raleigh_vektar.jpg?token=8MZTAWYNZJ%2Bzyuh6x%2FQTpmX8JtE%3D

[T-Bob]

Only thing that made it cool again was finding an old 70's R-R-Raw Power unit at a boot sale. Saved my rep' in the neighborhood....

 

[Shebeen]

I had this when I was a nipper and it was so uncool. Raleigh Vektar... basically a cr*p BMX with plastic attached to it to make it look like some futuristic steed. In the future apparently you need massive, useless mudguards. Had a center console 'computer' that made all kinds of noises, had a radio and flashed enough lights at high speed like it was trying to to induce epilepsy... and that saddle! 

 

http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/335965/21386938/1356885719753/1985_raleigh_vektar.jpg?token=8MZTAWYNZJ%2Bzyuh6x%2FQTpmX8JtE%3D

that looks awesome - i want one! 

[Shebeen]

i did an argus on a raleigh E100 - makro special.

bike was too small, so can't totally complain about the discomfort.

pedal broke after 40km - you could see it was not made for the punishment these budget bikes go through,

[T-Bob]

that looks awesome - i want one! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBuDw0oTOIU

Faaaaaark... That was it!!! That's so funny. Thanks. Still was a terrible bike.

[intern]

Oh where to begin! Probably 1987 and a blue Raleigh Bomber single speed, long before the days when a SS was cool. Real POS but rode the dingus out of that thing for about two years.

Then my first 'racing bike', a Western Flyer with cottered cranks and actual GEARS. DNP derailleurs 'Does Not Perform'. Upgraded to a second hand Shimano Tourney RD, a mate who was the school's only 'real cyclist' (and had a mysterious and beautiful blue Cannondale...one of the first ones, with Shimano 105) upset me by describing Tourney as 'Shimano **** man'.

Then got a 58cm Hansom 501, yellow and white, with Simplex derailleurs. Way too big, but I didn't care, it was a real bike.

Also had an Exocet (Exosuck) on which I won the Eric Van Enter hillclimb in 1993 or 1994 (when it was in Howick - beat a now well known doper, David George, into second place there). Crap bike though.

Also, after the Exosuck broke and I was bikeless for a while, got a Peugeot Classique Tange 1 frame from Wally Flint at Jowett's Cycles. Spose that one wasn't too bad; I had coke bottle tops for the handlebar plugs, I remember those things annoying the likes of Clint Curtis in the Kokstad tour one year ha ha...

[Malpiet]

An R800 piece of crap Haro mountain bike from Saint Sports sometime in the early '90s. Bloody thing fell apart and I was just using it to get to work and back. Hated that bike.

Haro was actually a very decent brand back then I had a CR1.0 and CR2.0 and loved them both.

[gummibear]

Trek 2300

 

The bike flexed so much it felt like riding spaghetti [emoji10]

 

[Patchelicious]

A 5 speed Raleigh kiddies sort of MTB that my parent bought me to commute to school with in 1991. All my friends had 18 speed grown up bikes and here was me with my mini wannabe.... Hated it!

[Mongoose!]

I had this when I was a nipper and it was so uncool. Raleigh Vektar... basically a cr*p BMX with plastic attached to it to make it look like some futuristic steed. In the future apparently you need massive, useless mudguards. Had a center console 'computer' that made all kinds of noises, had a radio and flashed enough lights at high speed like it was trying to to induce epilepsy... and that saddle! 

 

http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/335965/21386938/1356885719753/1985_raleigh_vektar.jpg?token=8MZTAWYNZJ%2Bzyuh6x%2FQTpmX8JtE%3D

Like the Skyway wheels!!

[Boerklong]

My friends Huffy 29er. Felt like I was riding a building block.

[Eldron]

This probably deserves to be on the Spesh hating thread but any Spesh with a Brain. Man I hate those things - hit the same bump at the same speed - sometimes it's hard as nails - other times plush as teflon on ice.

 

It was like dating mother theresa with the temper of a mediterranean trophy wife.

[carbon29er]

That's easy. After being spoilt with the latest tech, best groupsets, wheels and frames in the recent past I had a stark reminder of what is available at the bottom end when our bikes were stolen in France during this year's TDF.

 

Only shop open on a Monday was Decathlon, only bike available in 60cm was their old home brand. 8 speed triple that required more strength than I possessed to change gears, brake levers that moved but that was about it, heavier than my 29er dual and about as smooth as an Eastern Cape road.  All for 299 Euro!

 

Still, it got me up the Alps. Even if the descent was slower than the ascent due to the brakes.

 

Can't load photo as it looks like black cycling kit thread has got me into trouble.

[PregoRoll]

Probably my Schwinn I raced as a Junior, 

 

Very 'Flexi' frame and cracked the front wheel hitting a cateye at 94.7, possibly the strangest handing bike ive ever ridden

[gg2]

a 2004 SANTA CRUZ Superlight 26er...talk about a pogo-stick (felt like 80% of each pedal stroke went into the downward squat of the bike vs going forward). Bike was only owned for 2 weeks...