First Love?

My first roadie, a '91 Cannondale R500. Chipped paint, mismatched wheels, and she rides like a jackhammer. But the handling can only be described as telepathic.

First bike with air in the tyres - Raleigh Budgie (small version of the chopper)

First 'real' bike - Raleigh M-Trax 1000. Titanium main tubes made it feel 'wild.' It skipped and bounced all over the place but very forgiving on landing big jumps. Some low-life nicked it a few weeks after I'd finished upgrading it.😠

First 'proper' bike - Giant Peleton. Handled like a dream. Exept that became reality when I destroyed it on a certain corner at a certain speed. Darn it!!!🙂

Specialized Hard Rock. 🙂

shannons dad said:

First bike with air in the tyres - Raleigh Budgie (small version of the chopper)

What about the Tomahawk?

Surely this was the small version of the Chopper and the Budgie was the small version of that?

(I'm showing my age now aren't I?)

I remember the Tomahawk well. Any pressure on the pedals = instant wheelie.😄

wheelist said:

What about the Tomahawk?

Surely this was the small version of the Chopper and the Budgie was the small version of that?

(I'm showing my age now aren't I?)

I remember the Tomahawk well. Any pressure on the pedals = instant wheelie.😄

Buggered if I know. I was only about 6 or 7 then. You're right about the wheelies though. I pulled that many, I ripped the rear mudguard off it!!!

wheelist said:

I know from your posts that most of you have "been around the block" a few times - some of you more than others.😉 So, I was wondering - when did you first fall in love (with a bike)?

I'd already had a few bikes when my dream partner turned up - A Raleigh Team Cadet Road Bike. Fast as anything I'd ever ridden and a dream for drafting the bus home. Obviously it was a pile of [censored] in real terms, but love is apparently blind (with legs muscles that go on for ever). 🙄

Since that first encounter there's been no looking back and I've been a dirty bike [censored] ever since. 😄

So which set of wheels first rocked your boat?

1984, it was my first good bike a Trek 460.

Always liked bikes some, but went to a summer camp at 14 (Camp Minnentonka?) in Michigan where we did about 500 miles of bike touring, and then 250 hiking (2 groups met in the middle and switched). Immediately after returning from that camp put my hard earned money on a real bicycle - Raleigh Technium 440. Light silver blue, indexed downtube shifters, it was awesome. I still wish I had it. I will never again sell any bike I own.

[font=Times New Roman]My first bike was a Huffy BMX bike that I used for freestyle riding when I was a kid. Not long after that I got into road cycling and had an old Raleigh. On one ride I broke the fork and had to go to a bike shop to get it fixed. [/font]

[font=Times New Roman] [/font]

[font=Times New Roman]When I went into the bike shop my soccer coach was working there and talked me out of fixing it and talked me into buying his old Bianchi frame. He then offered me the run of the bike shop to work on the bike. I spent the entire summer working in the shop to build the bike including painting the frame, building the wheels from parts, scrounging for used components (including a Campy NR rear derailleur – score!), and ended up with a sweet ride I used for the next 4 years. It was a great way to learn about the sport and the craftsmanship of bike mechanics – lessons I will never forget. It was also a great way to learn how to value something you build with your own hands.[/font]

[font=Times New Roman] [/font]

[font=Times New Roman]Anyway, I still have the frame in the basement and recently bought a full Campy NR group to rebuild my favorite bike - my retro Bianchi.[/font]

I remember thinking the Grifter was a pretty fly machine, you can now buy even lighter bicycles 😉

My dad got a racer bike from a pal and he spray painted it metallic brown and painted wee cream lines on the joins. The gear levers were on the frame.

I used to work in racing stables and would take his racer to the stables in every weather, even bitter cold, wind, rain etc. I would absolutely bomb the six miles there and back home at night. It was fab, brilliant.

Even though the bike was far too big for me. When I stopped at traffic lights I had to put my toes on the kerb otherwise I might do myself some damage on the crossbar!! :eek:

At my birthday I wanted a bike of my own, but dad got me a Honda Express (a scooter) which I didn't want, but he said he felt sorry for me going out in all weathers on the bike. He just didn't understand, but he meant well.

I wonder whatever happened to that bike ...

I love my Trek 1500. She and I have been together for only 9 months. That being said, I have a huge crush on a Trek 5000!

I fell in love around 1988. Thats when I was 4 year old. I can't even tell ya what kind of bike I had. I remember me falling off the bike alot (they really didn't believe in training wheels). I cried a bit, then I got back on the bike. It gets everytime when I think about it!

sooray02 said:

I fell in love around 1988. Thats when I was 4 year old. I can't even tell ya what kind of bike I had. I remember me falling off the bike alot (they really didn't believe in training wheels). I cried a bit, then I got back on the bike. It gets everytime when I think about it!

Tragic. 😄

My Supercycle BMX with red tires. That was a great bike but I probably didn't treat it well enough. After a many year break I bought a used Trek 820 (no shocks) and it has been my go to bike ever since. I love my road bike as well but the old 820 can go through anything.

A British Raleigh bike with those horrible lever brakes. It was my father in law bike and he graciously handed it down to me. Soon after I stripped the brakes, fenders, chainguard, and rack. I changed the pedals for something with more grip and it became my mean transportation for 4 years. He shook his head while I did that, but after a while he rode it and he felt that it was much better ride than it was before.
I went on impossible distances from suburbia to downtown in traffic with that thing. I had to change sprokets because they were not all that good and it could not handle my mad cadence and they came apart often. I rode that behemoth of a bike to rugby practice - 10 miles each way - , school, girlfriends, friends, concerts, whatever ... did not need a car.
It was somewhat sturdy, but It could not handle the curbs all that well. That thing was not worthy of fixing after four years.

Then the fixie came along. Boy ... I felt like Fangio on that thing. It was so light and fast in comparison .... It felt twice as fast as the old Raleigh. I rode that thing to work and back, dates, general commuting, in the rain, etc.
That fixie had a bianchi frame that I got for peanuts. It had threaded touring tires and It was Ok since I did not know better. Repainted and whatnot, I raced the city buses to see if I could go faster than the already fast traffic.
Going to work I got a lot of respect from the guys since I was pedaling in that old fixie like mad. Only front brake, no tape on the bars, no gloves, no padded shorts, almost standing on the pedals all the time. The seat was all plastic and slippery and harder than concrete! It was one great way to get around and get a workout too. I had plenty stamina and I did not envy my friends with cars. None of my friends would be caught dead riding a bicycle for those distances - I was always the wacky one - and I thought nothing of spending a good hour and a half going from point A to point B. Needles to say that at that time I did not date much since my constant appearance was less than tidy and the girls on our circle wanted a guy with a car!!

Now in retrospective :

With those abominations of bikes I built up the stamina that lets me pedal my 24 gear 48 pound monster for 20+ miles at 18 miles per hour!

huhenio said:

A British Raleigh bike with those horrible lever brakes. It was my father in law bike and he graciously handed it down to me. Soon after I stripped the brakes, fenders, chainguard, and rack. I changed the pedals for something with more grip and it became my mean transportation for 4 years. He shook his head while I did that, but after a while he rode it and he felt that it was much better ride than it was before.
I went on impossible distances from suburbia to downtown in traffic with that thing. I had to change sprokets because they were not all that good and it could not handle my mad cadence and they came apart often. I rode that behemoth of a bike to rugby practice - 10 miles each way - , school, girlfriends, friends, concerts, whatever ... did not need a car.
It was somewhat sturdy, but It could not handle the curbs all that well. That thing was not worthy of fixing after four years.

Then the fixie came along. Boy ... I felt like Fangio on that thing. It was so light and fast in comparison .... It felt twice as fast as the old Raleigh. I rode that thing to work and back, dates, general commuting, in the rain, etc.
That fixie had a bianchi frame that I got for peanuts. It had threaded touring tires and It was Ok since I did not know better. Repainted and whatnot, I raced the city buses to see if I could go faster than the already fast traffic.
Going to work I got a lot of respect from the guys since I was pedaling in that old fixie like mad. Only front brake, no tape on the bars, no gloves, no padded shorts, almost standing on the pedals all the time. The seat was all plastic and slippery and harder than concrete! It was one great way to get around and get a workout too. I had plenty stamina and I did not envy my friends with cars. None of my friends would be caught dead riding a bicycle for those distances - I was always the wacky one - and I thought nothing of spending a good hour and a half going from point A to point B. Needles to say that at that time I did not date much since my constant appearance was less than tidy and the girls on our circle wanted a guy with a car!!

This is it. 🙂

I hope my first fixie brings me as much joy. But more action. 😄

GatorTrek said:

I love my Trek 1500. She and I have been together for only 9 months. That being said, I have a huge crush on a Trek 5000!

Check that. I was at the LBS today and asked about the 5000. Turns out that Trek is not making the 5000 this year (at least not yet). So, I am officially in lust with the 5200!😄

Got to be my first "proper racer" a British Eagle Kinetic 600 my dad bought it for me in 1991, It had STI Ultegra and Rigida rims on ultegra hubs, 653 frame and forks, was 1 of only 50 made. Ive still got it and was using it as my main race bike even last year, 😎

My first love was a girl named Michelle...... oh bike haha.

I had a bike before this one but fell in love with an S&M PBR BMX frame that I built up. Man that thing was sweet, still ride it but not as hard as used to.

I then cheated on the S&M for the first bike that got me into road biking... although it wasn't a road bike at all, a flamboyance yellow Gunnar Street Dog fixie. Wow...