You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Not a thread about bikes you've regrettably sold, but bikes you regrettably never bought.
I soooo nearly bought a Genesis Fortitude Race frame off here about 7 or 8 years ago. Wish I had as I still think they look like a really well sorted ride.
What's your regret?
Lahar Carbon gearbox DH bike.
tomhoward
Full Member
Lahar Carbon gearbox DH bike.
ooft not much is going to top the Leaf Blower arriving in the first reply!
Cannondale Fat Caad.
Not bought because it was out of my budget anyway.
None. I'm too impulsive when it comes to bike purchases it seems - I prefer the Orbital/Satan approach.
I wish I'd bought a Pace RC300 back in the day. That's about the only one I can think of...
[img] 
[/img]
...should have done that rather than a shed full of N+1's
None. I’m too impulsive when it comes to bike purchases it seems
Same as that.... once the thought enters my head, it's getting bought 😀
I guess possibly we could take a SC Megatower which i considered and would have been awesome...
Same as that…. once the thought enters my head, it’s getting bought 😀
This being I don't think I am impulsive.The thought can enter my head and I'll then reseach it to death ("procrastinators unite... tomorrow"), but eventually it'll end up bought anyway! Perhaps the lesson for me is I should trust my instincts and not waste my time with the research...
I wish I’d bought a Pace RC300 back in the day. That’s about the only one I can think of…
Same here. It was second hand but in good condition. I bought a new Klein instead, which I didn't regret.
Yeah, none really. I desperately wanted a Scott Endorphin back in the day. Ended up with a couple of bargain ex-demo bikes from getting to know the LBS owner (not at the same time - a rigid, then a full sus). I've kept all my main bikes for years, run em into the ground.
Colnago Master X-Lite - I passed on a new frame in my size for 800 quid a few years ago - they’re now £2.5K.
Foes "the Fly" quite a long time ago. Even test rode it but decided it was too small for me (2nd hand medium). It was a lovely bike tho, felt way plusher than my superlight.
1995 Kona Explosiv. I chose a Pine Mountain but a few months later I rode my Dad's new Kilauea and knew I'd made a mistake.
I had a Fortitude Race and regret selling it. I wish I'd bought a Genesis Equilibrium Ti disc frame as a do it all commuter / winter bike. I have had a few steel ones but should have dug a bit deeper and bought the Ti.
Trek Sawyer, singlespeed.
Trek Checkpoint, gravel bike (first incarnation)
Cannondale Capo. A polished one.
My friend's VTR1000 SP1 🙁
My first road bike was a bottom of the range Dawes giro.
I should have sprung for the audax type bike that was a chunk more expensive.
I was seduced by the feeling of flying along at an unbelievable rate down the side of Authurs seat.
"None. I’m too impulsive when it comes to bike purchases it seems"
Yes, normally that's the case. No idea what stopped me on the Fortitude.
The "Leaf blower" is quite something!
I bought a Santa Cruz Tazmon from Stif, should have got the original Turner Burner instead, pr perhaps a Heckler.
Stooge, followed the inception of the bike on mtbr and was soooo close to putting the cash down only for Singular to release the Rooster at the same time. Whilst I like the Rooster getting it was a fiasco. Dearly wish I'd opted for the Stooge. I might get one one day but I've a couple of heartfelt purchases and don't really have space for another.
I wonder how it would have gone if I'd bought an Orange full-sus 10 or 12 years ago.
Might have seen the light re. single pivots and avoided going through a lot of other bikes in the meantime, but I bought into the hype for fancier suspension designs.
A yellow, secondhand Ducati 900SL... it was about £300 more than the new Suzuki Bandit 600 I ended up with
Cannondale Prophet was just released when I bought the Gemini.. wasn't long before I realized I'd chosen the wrong bike, I did eventually go buy a Prophet. Does that count?
I always wanted one of those square section Pace bikes too.
Of the top of my head....
A Cannondale Bad Boy Ultra as a commuter
The original Trek 69er
Im still the owner of a genesis fortitude race and still really rate it, my idea of the perfect gravel bike! But was also a fan of the trek 69 and trek district carbon belt drive
The “Leaf blower” is quite something!
Tbf, it was probably a blessing in disguise, it was mega money (£3k, S/H in 2009), heavy and snappy. Got a GT iT-1 instead, which was still heavy, but half the money. Didn’t snap it either
Should have bought a Stooge Rambler about a month back. Now they are all gone
Evil Calling, probably the most fun bike I've ridden. was worried about Evils warranty reputation.
Bought an Ibis instead and I've cracked 2 and been denied warranty claims on both!
Had some money in late 2018 saved for a bike purchase and was seriously looking at the original Unno Burn 160mm 29er, but my sensible head took over and I bought a different bike (complete) and went on holiday instead.
Should've gone for it. They still look space age.
One of the original high end SBC Tricross. It's basically the gravel bike I've had to go custom and have built for me, except the Tricross was alu/carbon and probably also had more tyre clearance 🙄
Ahhh, the Trek 69er. That was an also a close run thing back in the day.
Ditto on this PAce RC200F3, i couldnt afford it so went and got an Orange P7.
Salsa Cutthroat, bought a Ti hardtail instead.
I've generally bought every bike that I've ever lusted after - Rocky Mountain Blizzard, Cannondale Killer V, Nicolai Helius, Spesh Enduro mk1, Shand, Colnago, Litespeed etc. The one bike I wish I had owned is a Kona Cinder Cone mk1 with the splatter paint job. I don't suppose there are many left after 30+ years.
More recent history than classic, Stooge Dirtbomb.
There's a guy on the Stooge owners facebook page trying to sell a frameset for £800, I'm 99% sure he'll never sell it at that price, but they're rare as hens teeth 2nd hand.
Pace RC300 is the only thing I can think of.
And I would probably still buy one!
Salsa El Mariachi.
The one bike I wish I had owned is a Kona Cinder Cone mk1 with the splatter paint job. I don’t suppose there are many left after 30+ years.
My younger brother had one back in the day....
After writing off my Norco Fluid in Chamonix sometime in the mid noughties, the credit card was oh-so-itchy to flex in the direction of the Rocky Mountain RMX in the shop window, in my size.
Sadly common sense prevailed and I went hiking for 4 days instead. Shame that!
Salsa El Mariachi.
I had one, looked awesome in "Root Beer" which IIRC was actually a gold tinted lacquer with gold flecks over an orange basecoat, but it chipped as soon as you looked at it and it was significantly stiffer (especially the forks) than the Singular Swift it replaced.
Sold it and bought a Charge Cooker SS which was a much nicer ride, nicest of the 3 actually despite only costing me £150.
I did buy the original RC200 when it came out - I only sold it last year, to a collector.
My regret was not buying the Lotus 110 road bike or the Zipp 2000 beam TT bike. I couldn't quite justify it at the time.
Orange Vitamin T circa 1991. Ridiculously out of my affordability range, but I lusted after that bike. Original Ibis Mojo. Ooh that was a very individual bike for its time.
I test rode an Orange P7 years ago and loved it. Was very keen to buy it but had just splashed out on a new bike a few months before.
Nothing off the shelf, but I almost bid on a Nicolai BMX frame on eBay a few years ago, didn't bother and then it sold dirt cheap. Wish I'd gone for that.
Dekerf and Bontrager Privateer are two I regret not buying.
First bike review I ever read was a comparison between a Pace RC100, and a Fat Chance Team Comp. I lusted after the Fat Chance, but the mindset changed over the years, and I ended up with an RC200 F4 (then F7 and F8), all absolutely awesome bikes, so fast handling they'd have the unwary on their arse in no time at all, but never ever got the Fat Chance. I'd still love to have a go on one 30 years later.
Yeti 575. After 2 trips to Morzine, my decided my Sugar1 wasn’t the best bike for it.
Late 2005, early 2006 was speccing a build with the lbs. As the Sugar1 was top of the range, the Yeti was going to be adorned with XTR, Chris King etc. Then found out FB jnr was on the way so the Yeti was binned.
Regret not getting it but it would be on 26” wheels, skinny seatpost so no wide choice of dropper, old style geometry and possibly on triples (hadn’t decided on double & bash yet).
It's funny, there are some of those longed for bikes that I'd still buy. I'd definitely buy a Fortitude if I ever saw one for sale. And I thought the same about a Trek 69er too, but there was one on eBay recently and I just couldn't bring myself to buy it - just seemed so wildly impractical and I struggled to see where/when I'd use it.
i have always bought every bike that i have wanted. and there has been many.
thing is i only lust after certain kinds of bike. full sus bikes are never on my radar. or fancy fast road bikes.
so all my bike wants have been achievable.
Wandered into my LBS back in 2001 to find an Orange road bike with curly bars and all. Some sort of prototype/trial. Priced less than a grand, think it may have been under £800. Was already waiting for an Orange MTB to arrive so bike budget was blown, but wanted it for the rarity factor. I'd just about decided I could stretch to it but left it too long and it was gone next time I dropped in
@corroded - you can rectify the missed kona cinder cone right now on ebay. Everyone needs an n+1 retrobike and no it’s not mine.
I nearly bought a Cannondale Slate frame set that was for sale on here last year.
Bought a Spesh Diverge from eBay in 2018 and the seller emailed me asking if I wanted to sell it back to him and like a knob I agreed, only had it two weeks.
Orange Blood.
Talking of BMX, I always really wanted a Haro Freestyler*, was never in a place to actually own one. I did own a Kuwahara mountain bike for a while as that was another big BMX want as a kid, so kinda scratched an itch a bit.
* Was one of the reasons the Stooge intrigued me, I'm sure I recall reading that the Stooge twin toptube was a homage to the 80's BMX's
Turner 5 spot, the original one....
There was also a gorgeous pink HT in one of the early STW mags, which I coveted for many years, but can't remember what it was now.....
Transition bottlerocket. Or even a Preston FR. I kinda preferred the old slightly mental but good value transition. Also a mate had one and it was amazing
DBR Axis TT. Utterly lovely bit of grey. Saw one on eBay for £450 ish and almost went for it.
Shortly afterwards a Dave Yates Vulcan came up. I put a reminder in my diary for the auction and missed it by 5 mins. It went for a couple of hundred quid. Gutted.
A Greg Fuquay frame years ago. By the time I had the money (or at least decided to spend it) he was out of busines 😑
Also, the Cotic Soul MK4 frame on the classifieds here about a year ago. Same deal, couldn't decide, then decided it was a no brainer and had just sold. Hen's teeth.
Only two- a poo brown Pitch Pro, and a pink Orange 224.
I started riding pretty much exactly when the Pitch Pro was £900, and I should have just bought it. Especially in poo brown, it was so beautiful. Ahead of its time, and ludicrous value, I spent more than that trying to get other bikes I bought to work.
And the 224 Evo, well, it was pink, nuff said. I'd actually bought it, even ordered some pink logos for my boxxers, but the seller got cold feet at the last minute and refunded me. I ended up with a blue one. And it was great but, it wasn't pink. I upgraded that to a black one eventually
Another Fortitude Race owner here, effectively a retro 90s mtb but with big wheels and disc brakes. For 250 as new its my cheapest but most fun bike. Doesn't answer the question but hey ho.
Raw Turner Flux, should have bought one when I could.
So,so many, but didn't have the cash at time.
I did have a 1996 Kona cinder cone, but would have loved an explosiv. However most lust after was a DeKerf or Fuquay. Both our of my price bracket at the time.
An original one of these -
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/mDJnTwVc/4freestyler-skyway2-292213644-556413209269926-2550100941991311161-n-480x480.web p" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/mDJnTwVc/4freestyler-skyway2-292213644-556413209269926-2550100941991311161-n-480x480.web p"/> [/img][/url]
But it wasn't available in white. So I went for a DP Firebird instead 😥
Closest I got was this -
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/vTX6WPjT/IMG-20221219-202108.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/vTX6WPjT/IMG-20221219-202108.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
Which I still have about 40 years later!
Swarf Contour - No longer made and outside my price bracket
I'm glad Kuco mentioned the Bontrager Privateer. It means that I don't need to refer to one of the emotions that I don't subscribe to, regret. The other one is "favourite" (DM for a boring rant). Other words and phrases I don't use include life hack, side hustle and iconic.
Boy, I'm good at parties.
Late nineties probably, I nearly bought a Kona Humuhumu-nukunuku-a-pua’a single speed with a stars and stripes paint job. Should have taken the plunge.
Not so much almost bought as I couldn’t afford them at the time, but I definitely can’t afford a Brooklyn Machine Works now
*Looks longingly at Tora Bikes…
Alpinestars Al Mega XT. Specifically the one hanging over the stairs in Centresports in Leeds city centre some time in the 1990’s. I’m sure it would be a terrible bike now but I’d not seen anything like it at the time with the oversized tubing and elevated chainstays. Still love to have one in the collection though.
MK1 Stooge.
Cotic Solaris.
I bought my Spesh Camber Evo instead of one of those two. The Evo has been brilliant for my riding but there's often just a little bit of me thinking that the Stooge or Cotic would have just been a little more interesting. Should have bought all 3...
Only from 4/5 years ago but still gutted I couldn’t justify the price. Orange’s titanium version of the P7.
Cotic Soda, I bought a Pastey Howler Ti instead, it was fine but it broke in not that long, chain stay split inside and out. And they'd gone pop by then.
Pace RC100, 200 . I bought a Yo Eddy instead ... so the opposite of Coatesy. I got a deal on the Fat Chance as it had been a display bike at Interbike... I bought it instead of a Bontrager Racelite. It was very nice, in a 90's style.. it was very direct, very stiff, like a big BMX.
Kuco - surely you mean Bontrager Race lite, though I guess a lot of people saw Privateers in shops compared to Santa Cruz originals. I'd stopped riding the Bonty when it was stolen from my garage as it was so soft, bendy compared to a modern bike and the geometry was god for fire road racing , but nothing techy.
The other bike I wish I'd bought was another Bontrager.... some years ago (10?) Keith B was cleaning out his garage and putting stuff on Ebay, including experimental bikes. He has one similar to a Fisher CR7, but I tihnk it had a steel front triangle glued to an aluminium rear. Probably horrid to ridew, but definitely unique
Late 90s - DMR Trailstar instead of my Diamondback Sorento.
Mid 00s Orange Five or Cannondale Prophet MX (the burlier one) instead of a GT I-Drive Ruckus bike and Mongoose Black Diamond Triple Freeride bikes.
Dave Hemmings fade aqua Yo Eddy from Retrobike for me. Had a deal agreed but it was going to push my finances to the limit at the time so backed out. Was around £600/700 and they sell for double that now, at least so I'll never be able to justify one.
Another Fortitude Race owner here. If I hadn't made that impulse purchase, I'd still be really annoyed with myself.
That'll be a 2005/6 Enduro for me. An LBS had an S-Works frame for sale, I had doubts about the 5th Element shock so I never went through with it. I also baulked at the prospect of having to fund a Fox 36 for it.
I knew a guy who had an SX-Trail, I got to have a go on it a few times and it was an absolute beast of a bike. Long, low, slack and quite a step forward over the 2004 Enduro that I had at the time. I still them being ridden round my way, I know that there are one or two still being used today by forumites too.
They weren't light - especially with a coil shock and 36 Vans - but they were extremely strong and chuckable.
I started riding pretty much exactly when the Pitch Pro was £900, and I should have just bought it. Especially in poo brown, it was so beautiful. Ahead of its time, and ludicrous value, I spent more than that trying to get other bikes I bought to work.
Also. this ^. I had a Marin Wolf Ridge. I paid £1100 for it, because none of the Specialized dealers within a considerable radius could source me a size large Pitch from stock. They definitely were the bargain of the decade.
Not quite "almost bought" but as a kid I loved these. I had a Strika, all my older mates had Grifters, so I badgered my folks for one for xmas. I ended up with a god-awful catalogue special Stratton BMX which fell apart on a daily basis and appeared to have been welded with derision - no fish-scale welds here, a closeup of the seat-tube / top tube join looked like a nasty case of haemorrhoids.
PJM1974
Free MemberI knew a guy who had an SX-Trail, I got to have a go on it a few times and it was an absolute beast of a bike. Long, low, slack and quite a step forward over the 2004 Enduro that I had at the time. I still them being ridden round my way, I know that there are one or two still being used today by forumites too.
I had one of those, time was brutal to it- I got it in 2011 and it was basically as heavy as a dh bike and as capable as a trailbike. Would have been quite a thing in 2005 though.