What's the single best bike you've ever owned & why?

[Ispeed_V]

My 1991 Vacari purchased from AvH cycles.

Reynolds 501 tubing and 105 8 speed group set.

 

[DJR]

This no-name single speed. It's not even mine, but I built it. And, sorry to say so Ernesto, it is cooler than the next one.

[DJR]

The next one: My C40

[BuffsVintageBikes]

48 minutes ago, NotSoBigBen said:

Finally something I can contribute to meaningfully, I think 😎

 

After riding an old clunker my father in law had in his garage I bought myself a Western Flyer from Hypermarket ... Got me started as an adult riding bikes, many jokes and laughs from the 'cyclists' at the time about the junior cassette I tell you! 

 

Then I bought this beauty from AvH cycles .... Panasonic DX3000 with a white Sunrace groupset, finally felt like I may be one of them, cyclists that is! 

 

I recall the first ride on it to this day ... Lido circuit on a Sunday morning, improving my time by some 10mins according to my old Cateye 😁

 

No other bike has given me that feeling again 😎

I loved this story, these are the bikes that stir up that raw emotion. My very first "Proper" racing bike was a pearl white Peugeot Rapport which I bought from Pollock Sports in EL with my very first paycheck. I'd just stop and stare at it every time I walked past it. The alloy brakes, the crank, the wheelset... and that pearl paint in the sunlight 🤩 Everything was just so advanced and sporty compared to what we had as kids which was normally heavy, all steel and cranks with cotter pins 🤣

Those Panasonic DX3000's were really great little bikes. So much so that I searched for one a while back to restore. I recently sold it to a young lady from Sea Point and when she picked it up, I saw all those emotions in her eyes. She fell in love immediate 😄

 

[RuaM]

Peugeot Mega Magnum.

First bike bought with my own money, from Bouwer Broers in Pta.

Curly bars, SiS shifting and the most awesome green-purple iridescent pain job.

That bike carried me through many miles of smiles and a few of tears as well. 

 **pictured is not my old steed but the only image I could find on the Internet**

[Paul Ruinaard]

1 hour ago, DJR said:

The next one: My C40

Just sold mine on the hub. Had it since 2001 when i bought it new from AVH. I had all the orignal invoices. Sold it two months ago. That bike was the one that i did all my major rides on and was a piece of my lfe for many years. It stood around for the last couple of years  so i moved it to a Colnago lover on the hub so it can get used again. It amazes me how so many of the roadbikes people post here are Colnago's

[RuaM]

2 hours ago, Just Jacques said:

Having owned many duel suspensions, hardtails and road bikes , i bought this Trek Stache in 2020ish(post covid) as an impulse-buy.  A couple of months into riding this machine a decided to sell it because “duel is a must when you stay i  CT northern suburbs and and and …” only to realise i never ran out of bike when i did all of my rides on the majority of trails and gravel rides . For some reason i always had a fat smile on my face (that matched the tire size) and every now & then i find myself wondering why did i ever sell this specific bike  ? Anyway , bit of an odd bike te post here i suppose , but those who have owned one will agree …it’s an absolute treat to ride ANYWHERE . 

Strange, but really cool bike. Bought mine pre covid. Still have it, will never sell. Done over 40 000km to date together with plenty of nics and scars from using it as a bike-packing/downhill/cross-country/dirt-jumping/monster-cross/gravel-rig. Oh, and it spent some time on the road as well. An odd but true Do-It-All.

[Jaco Steyn]

My current bike is the best one! Pinarello FP Quattro, purchased February 2011 as a "To Dad, from Dad" birthday present in the UK while I was there on a training course. Full Ultegra groupset. Recently serviced and components replaced. Feels like a new bike after the recent TLC.

[Stretched@Birth]

There have been a number of bikes over the years, some of which I wish I never sold.  If I have to choose an all time favorite, it has to be the Ritchey P29.  SS simplicity, nothing fancy, easy to take care of and just a lekker ride.  I'm sorry that I sold it, but it does make my heart happy knowing that the new owner is loving it too!

[Stockman]

Definitely this one photographed on the day I collected it. I kept this Scalpel for years, did many thousands of km on it inlcuding the Joberg2C.

Probably should have kept it for posterity.

[patham]

5 hours ago, Mook said:

What a legend these Choppers still remain to this day 🏆

I had one in the mid/late 70's. As @BuffsVintageBikes wrote, wheelies, ramps & spectacular wipe-outs were all in a day's fun.

I recall my chopper introducing me to torture by Friars Balsam. I would come home with grit embedded under the skin on my elbows or knees. Ma would "debone" me like the poor chicken getting the treatment to make pie for Sunday lunch. Once every chunk of gravel had been removed, wounds cleaned etc, the 🤬 Friars Balsam would appear to engrave the event in my memory banks for the remainder of my days on earth. I am convinced the neighbors regularly contemplated calling the cops to come check out my house for suspected child abuse.

Old's cool  🤙

My mother would use Gentian Violet or Mercurochrome. So not only would it sting like blazes, you went to school dyed either purple or red.

As a result, I would try and sneak into the house without telling her. However, the blood drips on the floor- because I only ever wore flip-flops so my feet always took a beating- were a dead give away. 

And I too had a Mk 2 chopper. Shocking rolling resistance with the fat tyres and heavy weight but so much character. But had a bad OTB  on it that led to me grinding the skin off my face which wasn’t fun!

Great thread by the way OP- thanks.

[Jensie]

The bike that started my cycling as a kid. Got one for Xmas and would not stop riding it till in the night. Had loads of fun and crashes on it. Die grond paaie het lekker wiele gesleep met die brieke...

 

[BuffsVintageBikes]

2 minutes ago, patham said:

My mother would use Gentian Violet or Mercurochrome. So not only would it sting like blazes, you went to school dyed either purple or red.

As a result, I would try and sneak into the house without telling her. However, the blood drips on the floor- because I only ever wore flip-flops so my feet always took a beating- were a dead give away. 

And I too had a Mk 2 chopper. Shocking rolling resistance with the fat tyres and heavy weight but so much character. But had a bad OTB  on it that led to me grinding the skin off my face which wasn’t fun!

Great thread by the way OP- thanks.

 

Ah, Mercurochrome... commonly referred to as Monkey Blood in our house. Man alive, that stuff stung like blue blazers 🤣

[Ozzie NL]

These two

Giant TCR ... first road bike I bought and did 58k km on it before replacing it with 2024 Propel earlier this year

Santa Tallboy ... simply the best MTB I have been on .... If I crack it, I will just get another one.

Only two things not to like about Santa Cruz; their colour schemes and the price

[Mongoose!]

BMW F800 GS 

Own it since 2011 and still going strong as my daily commuter 👌

[patham]

18 hours ago, El Duderino said:

I had one of these in late 70s. Heavy AF, only 3 gears and a gear chain that snapped if you just looked at it funny. But I loved that bike. 

I also remember fondly the cotter pins on the cranks of this bike- NOT! After leaving school I drifted away from cycling for 20 years or so, and I was so glad that the technology of how to attach pedals to a chainring had moved on.