I was thinking this at the weekend - I wish I'd kept hold of my first mountain bike - a 1995 Marin Hawk Hill. It wasn't particularly special even then (except to me), but would have made a great twangy-steel gravelly/canal towpath cruising thing.
I actually gave it away too, eejit.
Cove Hummer. It was - apart from the god awful chain suck, sublime for it's time.
Planet-X Jack Flash. A wonderful little play/street/mucking about bike that I'd built from scratch. Sold it for not much, should have kept it as it was great fun.
Genesis Day 0 singlespeed.
Lovely thin steel tubing (yes, it did flex enough for the chain to come off, a KMC with deeper side plates solved that issue) clearance for wider tyres (pre-cursor to the gravel trend) mini-V brakes, lovely orange paint job. Modern equivalents are hub gears and disc brakes which just seem to be the antithesis of what a simple steel singlespeed should be.
I upgraded tyres, cranks, freewheel, possibly seatpost and saddle too, then finally decided singlespeed just wasn't for me (or at least my knees) and sold it. Don't even have any decent photos 😥
Have since filled that void with a bright pink Charge Plug which does exactly the same job, but still regret selling the Genesis.
My 1986 Rockhopper would be nice to have. All that's left now in the parts bin is the seat clamp and for some reason I've kept the cantilever brakes.
Equal first place - my Charge Plug SS and my Orange Evo2 with Pace forks.
The one I own now
A XL Ti Fargo if anyone is interested.
Getting rid of? none, really. Not having any more? the 853 inbred that I broke somehow, it's still sitting in a box in my garage with the bent chainstays that rendered it "hors service"
Nothing for the riding, one for Nostalgia (1st proper MTB, Carrera Mission) one cos I reckon it might be worth a bit, or a fair bit more than I paid for it/sold it for, in a few years (GT iT-1)
Similar situation @IHN
I had 1993 Marin Bobcat Trail I used to commute on then started off-road touring (before it was called bike packing) on.
I ended up lending it to a friend to get to work while his car was broken down. He didn’t think I wanted it so lent it to his cousin and I never saw it again. That was around 2008.
Transition Klunker as it looked cool and was lots of fun to ride with a rigid fork, single speed and only having one brake - a coaster brake at that. I don't know what possessed me to take it to Glentress or how I survived. It was a joy.
This.
I wouldn't ride it but it would be on the living room wall.
Wish I hadn't sold my mkII cotic solaris. Would have saved me a fortune eventually replacing it with a cotic cascade.....
An old Pompino with 32c small block 8s, sram red cranks and a white industries freewheel - used to fly along that thing (or maybe my knees were better 15 years ago).
Also had a Bianchi Sass at one point, which was rubbish to ride but looked really good. Would have the frame as artwork on the wall now.
I miss my Mk1 Evil Sovereign. It was so versatile, and the colour was amazing. If one of them came up at the right price I'd almost certainly buy it - it'd be not much use on the trails compared to my modern bikes but I'd take it down the pumptrack.
My Dad's Flying Scot. I sold it and used the proceeds to buy a balance bike, before the concept of having a garage full of bikes was a thing, and before I had the skills or contacts to make it rideable around Calderdale. It was probably worth more than I got for it, but the sentimental value was priceless. Much sadness.
1996 RockHopper.
Sold it to my BiL who gave it to his mate... who left it to rot.
Santa Cruz VP Free - i absolutely loved that bike - still not too sure what i sold it?!
MK1 On-One Inbred. Bought off firestarter of these parts - nothing massively special but it was such a good bike to ride... ended up riding it more than my Cotic Soul I had at the same time.
Curtis S1. One of that batch CRC sold off dirt cheap a good 12ish years ago. Was everything a top notch steel frame should be. Stupid for selling it and would have another in an instant.
Brooklyn Machine Works Park Bike loaded with BMW goodies - stem, bar end caps etc. Somehow had been kicking around on Pinkbike for a while for a stupidly cheap price with no interest so I grabbed it. Was something very special... but I simply didn't use it so sold it for an equally cheap price and regretted it since.
Not quite a bike but back in the day I had a set of Risse Roxxxy single clamp forks on my old Curtis SX. Were shit forks in terms of functionality and the (factory tuned, ex-Martin Ogden) Z1s I replaced them with were head and shoulders above them but I'd love to have them on the wall...
On One 456 Summer Season, I've posted photos of it a few times. Built burly, weighed the same as a small moon, smashed through everything with 160mm coil Marzocchis on. Loved that bike.
Probably my 2001 Intense M1 and my 2006 Iron Horse Sunday. The Sunday in particular was a phenomenal bike, my race results improved as soon as I got on that thing.
2002 Kona Pahoehoe. Probably not a 'classic' Kona hardtail, as it was aluminium rather than the old steel frames; but the spec was good (Marzocchi Z3, full XT groupset etc) and the geometry was just spot on. It was excellent in so many ways; I rode it around the Surrey Hills a fair amount before taking it to the States and riding various places in CA, CO, MT, and Moab.
https://products.mtbr.com/product/older-categories-bikes/2002-hardtail/kona/pahoehoe.html
I replaced it with a custom Ti hardtail, but it never felt quite as alive or good to ride, and I ditched that with a Cotic Soda that I still have.
Nope, I've upgraded by so much (and so infrequently) that the previous bikes were all completely shit in comparison, except for the Ventana tandem which was still very decent as a frame but needed a full set of components.
The first bike I bought myself with money saved up from my paper rounds - a 1993 Kona Cindercone. Was fantastic fun, would've made a great gravel bike.
I'm probably going to feel like it soon about another bike I'm 'keeping' for my kids (who have 0 interest in MTB) - a Santa Cruz Blur TR (old 26" wheel version). I just can't bring myself to sell it.
1987 Muddy Fox Courier - the decision was sort of made for me after breaking the frame riding down the stairs at Uni but could/should have had it repaired.
2000 Freeagent Air-raid BMX - brought it home from Australia and sold it around 2010 due to needed the space in the garage - what a d*ck.
Can also add a 1995 Landrover 110 and a 1998 Discovery to that list.
Probably the Nukeproof Mega TR which, in hindsight, was just under forked and rode terribly because of it, kept binning it in steeper corners and I just blamed the bike. It was the last 26" wheel bike I had so probably wouldn't have lasted long but would like to have got more or of it.
I miss my Mk1 Evil Sovereign.
I really really wanted one.
Still got most of mine. The early 90's Diamond Back Ascent is now a daily commuter, but it had a full refurb in the Winter - resprayed, new stickers and I treated it to new 'period' handbuilt XT hubs/wheels. It's a lovely ride, and can haul some weight. My early 90's race bike I still have and it's used weekly. My late 80's/early 90's other road bike is a bit of a triggers broom, but has remained the same bike since the mid 90's - I resprayed it a coupe of years ago, and cleaned up all the Shimano 600 components.
The only newer bike I got rid of was a nice fast fixie commuter, but I'd got my spine broken on it, so had bad memories, plus I'd stopped commuting then - sold it during lockdown for not much.
'92 Marin Team Marin - first new MTB I ever bought, despite the purple/flouro green paint job.
It rode incredibly well, all things considered, although I don't think adding RS Quadra 21s helped it in any way whatsoever.
Mountain Cycle San Andreas.
Looked beautiful, actually had two of them, one of the early 4.5" travel frames with the pro-stop mounts, then a later DHS with shock shuttle and IS disc mounts.
So short and steep compared to what's about now (or even at the time), but it was a work of art.
Got made redundant just before Christmas one year, and needs must.
RS Quadra 21
They were a total POS! Mine nearly killed me when the elastomer stack ejected from the fork and hit my adam's apple. Big crash into nettle infested rock garden.
Escape Route cafe in Pitlochry have some in the loo for the loo roll, I get PTSD when I go in there.
My 2006 Kona Unit-29, bought the frame to try the new at the time wheel size, really thin Deddaci steel tubes made for a really light (at least that's how I remember it) frame and it rode really well for XC. Only sold it to upgrade to a new On one Scandal 29er (2012) which I still have and is my only mtb now.
Maybe my Orange Stage 6.
Replaced with a Starling which is better in some ways, but I wish I still had the S6 to take on a multi-day ride later this year.
Wish I hadn’t sold my mkII cotic solaris.
I used to think the same, but I reckon my gravel bike has filled the gap now and I ride it a lot more.
Probably the cheapest bike I ever owned but its simplicity was its charm. Genesis iO single speed with the rigid fork replaced with a Rockshox something or other. Such a hoot for charging around trails we would now call "gravel".
@Mister-P - the charity I work for actually has one of those for sale if that would help you relive the memories?
Road bike for me, Canyon Aeroad from 2017. Loved it. Only got rid of it because I wanted a full stop from my road racing, so sold it to buy a more relaxed road bike.
I paid £2300 for the Ultegra Di2 version (in a TDF sale). Would love another. But current price is £6200, being an old fat knacker I can't justify the spend!
1991 Diamondback Apex.
Hard to say why I loved it so much but I did, and so did everyone who borrowed it. I've never found anything that fit me quite so well.
I remember all my bikes, and I occasionally miss them - even the rusty little blue thing that I had my first ride with. Losing the stabilisers was a defining moment in my life.
a 1999 Kona Kula
Threw it in a skip
Kona Wozo it's fat well nearly, great fun but has'nt been out much in the last 18 months and I put a deposit down on a new bike last night.
My jones spaceframe and my salsa el mariachi rohloff oh and my shand stoater rohloff too doh...
Genesis DayOne disk with a fixed gear. Had a consolidation of road, gravel and SS MTB into a new commuter and gravel bike. Shouldn't have sold the DayOne, I miss the simplicity of it.
It'd not be too hard to replace, but I recently got an old Orange P7 so am back up to my sensible limit of 4.
Charge Blender.
So I bought myself a new one (old) this year
Aim was to build a pump track/Dadcountry bike for under £100. Total build came in at £107 so not bad
An original 'Yo Eddy'. Really enjoyed riding it and think I would now. Bikes I miss, stolen Scott Scale 29.... bikes I miss not so much Klein Attitude (too stiff), BOntrager Racelite (got stolen, not great handling and getting 'soft' from aging steel tubes. But beautifully made)
Kona Explosif (91)
Black with a lovely splat paint job and fitted with Suntour XC Pro*
Did some of my best racing on it.
* Worked really well and the only non Shimano kit that I have really got on with
Stooge Dirtbomb - regretted as soon as I’d sold it. Just such a fun bike that I loved riding. Clearly moar top tubes does equal betterer.
Cotic Soul - Final generation with a fantastic light weight build. Sold in anger after I took a huge kicking from long Covid/the Covid treble.
I regretted selling my 456Ti for a bit - but it would probably have outstayed its welcome by now. I regretted selling my Thorn Catalyst on the day it went as it was a great touring/bike packing bike; but I wouldn’t want to go back to 26inch wheels for bike packing.
My Reg Harris Professional that I had as a lanky teenager in the 70's - it was a 1960s built bike rescued from a shed clearance by my Dad. I had no idea what it was, who Reg was or even what Reynolds 531 butted meant but the frame fitted me as I was getting too tall for my Falcon 5-speed so, with the help of Richards Bicycle Book, I transferred kit across.
Sorry misread thread title
An original ‘Yo Eddy’.
The one bike I regret not buying.
1993 KHS Montana Team, super light steel frame and fork with full XTR. A few years later I got the Montana Comp and hated it. Partly the lower spec ( I like nice things) but mostly the fork. It had a horrendous Rockshox Quadra whereas the older one had this fantastically light and compliant steel Spinner fork. Was only mildly irritated when that one got stolen.
An original ‘Yo Eddy’.
I had a broken one of those - a mate gave it to me when he emigrated and it sat under my stairs for 15 years or more with me sort of thinking that it'd be nice to get it repaired etc but I could never afford it and in the end I sold it as that, a repair/refurb project. No idea what happened to it.
I sold my Saracen Kili Ultra titanium (to someone on here). Full XTR M950, Syncros ti seatpost, Mavic CrossMax... It was an amazing bike, I raced it for years from about 1998 and then kept it because of the memories and the fact that it just looked stunning:
[img] 
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That's mine. 1998, upgraded a bit.
I'd have liked to have kept it but had no justification for it really.
A bit of a convoluted tale:
When I bought a Giant Trance 29er 3 years ago it felt so much better than my Mk1 Cotic Soul that I swapped the Soul with my eldest son's Charge Duster which I used for grandkid and pub duties.
When I bought a Scott Genius e-bike last year, I was persuaded to give the Giant to my eldest grandson for his 13th birthday (lucky bugger, but boy, he's put some miles on it and he rides it just about every day).
I noticed that my fitness was suffering because I was doing so much on the e-bike so regretted both bikes I'd given away. Especially when they both came round a few weeks ago, and both bikes were newly washed and some nice new chunky tyres on the Soul. I was full of givers remorse.
But redemption! Son was getting envious of Grandson so bought himself a new full sus. I swapped the Charge for the Cotic, spent a few quid on a 12 speed set-up and got it tubeless again. A couple of rides to get used to the "this bike is trying to kill me" geometry and today had a great couple of hours fighting the bracken on Cannock Chase. It's now my favourite bike!
- Intense Primer - sold it after not using it for 6 months when I bought my ebike. It would be nice to have a ride on a 'normal' bike for a change. Superb bike, light and responsive.
- BMW F800R - traded it in for a Triumph Speed Twin last October. I love the Speed Twin, but it's a wee bit too much for more than an hour or two, the BMW just did everything well (except look good ...)
On One 456 Summer Season, I’ve posted photos of it a few times. Built burly, weighed the same as a small moon, smashed through everything with 160mm coil Marzocchis on. Loved that bike.
surprised to see this here .... I had one of them . The sum of its parts was it should have been a total shit box - Reality is it was a really capable and fun ride. Took it to les deux alpes and had a great hoot hunting down the full sus guys in the club all week.
Sold my Kona Jake i toured new Zealand on as i couldn't afford to fly it home. had such a good time on that bike. - even scored a top 10 at the Bannockburn MTB classic after riding up from queenstown that morning - dropping my panniers and tent at the sign on.
my 2002 cannondale f800 in matt black with lefty fork.
it was my first experience with both front suspension and hydraulic disc brakes and i had always lusted after a cannondale too. i loved that bike and even did my longest ride on it in a day 205 miles.
in a moment of stupidity/depression i sold it to my local bike shop and regretted it as soon as i had sold it (i wasn't riding at the time due to ****ing depression/laziness etc).
i did ask the shop if they still had it so i could buy it back a few weeks/months later but they had sold it.
i would happily have the bike back again as it was before i sold it but obviously no chance of that happening (no cash atm for one thing lol).
DP freestyler , I gave it to my ex's wee brother who let it rot as it had plastic wheels
those plastic wheels were skyways
surprised to see this here …. I had one of them . The sum of its parts was it should have been a total shit box – Reality is it was a really capable and fun ride. Took it to les deux alpes and had a great hoot hunting down the full sus guys in the club all week.
Me too - picked up a cheap frame on its own, threw a load of bits I had in the garage on it and went for a ride... very surprised at how good a bike it was. Ran mine with a 120mm fork but the head angle made it super stable down and fun down steep stuff... Waaaaaaay ahead of its time was the Summer Season.
All my Brooklyn Machine Works stuff - I had #126 Racelink with Avalanche USD forks, shinburgers and bar end plugs. I also had a Park 26"/24" bike. My mate had #11 of 15 Minilink FQ.
Prices for original BMW stuff have gone absolutely mental - I could have bought a new car!
Transition Klunker as it looked cool and was lots of fun to ride with a rigid fork, single speed and only having one brake – a coaster brake at that. I don’t know what possessed me to take it to Glentress or how I survived. It was a joy.
I still have mine, been round 'Degla on it a few times - good skiddy skittery fun!
I miss my Saracen conquest. I'd had a few bikes before that but it was the first one I had where u though 'oh, this is different' and it made me love mountainbiking. Had some great times on it
My Catalyst was an off road commuter for years but doesn't get used since COVID. I'm thinking of getting disk mounts and either 650 or 709 rims built with the rohloff and son hubs to make a flat barred gravel tourer. Plenty of room in the back for 700x40 and I'm pretty sure it would take 45's. Loads of clearance with the pace fork, I've run 29x2 with loads of clearance
Brodie Holeshot ti, sold to get a full suspension bike.
Honda VFR750, lovely bike but 10 years commuting all year meant it was a bit tatty. Engine was still perfect.
None. I tend to keep my bikes a long time and every change becomes a step change that removes any regret.
Bikes I was glad to see the back of is another matter.
I'm with garagedweller. I don't understand the whole retro thing. I like looking at old bikes that I have owned or wanted to but there's no way I'ld want to ride them again. I am not saying every new bike has been what I had hoped but they have always been better than the last one.
Only had 6 bikes in the past 30 years and still got three of them
I'm not really in a position where i can keep multiple bikes, so it's 1 in 1 out. Which means even though for example i loved the Fuel EX9.8, it had to go. Regret it, sometimes, but mostly i'm really happy with the Slayer.. Some hills though, i'd like the Zip of the 9.8 😀
Dawes Ascent. Frame and forks resprayed 3 times in its life and not a single original component on it by the time I’d finished upgrading it. Left it at a mates house to rot after buying a Trek 6500 with a rockshox Judy
Only full bike I regret selling was an On One Fatty as it was hilarious yet so rewarding to ride.
Biggest regret was selling my 99 Zaskar LE frameset. Such a great looking thing and was the frame I always aspired to from the first GT I got - a 91 Timberline in speckled grey.
I'm thinking of selling my Ripmo now as the eeb has taken over but I know it will be an instant regret as it is probably my best loved bike ever.
I’m not really in a position where i can keep multiple bikes,
😂
I like looking at old bikes that I have owned or wanted to but there’s no way I’ld want to ride them again.
Aye,better to remember them fondly,I wouldn't want to ride one now and spoil the illusion*.
* a bit like driving an old Ford. 😆 🤣
Had an '88 or' 89 Breezer Storm, wouldn't want to ride it now but it did look pretty.
Sold my 2016 Marin Pine Mountain 1 to fund a Whyte T130. Wish I'd kept the Marin, it was fun to ride and surprisingly capable for a fully rigid machine. The 27.5x3.0 tyres didn't hurt!
I'll never sell my '97 Lava Dome
I can't say it's a thing of beauty to ride though, it isn't. Just use it as a pub/gym hack
Gave my Genesis Core 40 to my son and didn't miss it. It didn't suit his style so it came back after a year and I'm now delighted with it as a knock around steed. Unpopular view but I didn't really like the 29 inch I had for a while and enjoy 26.
Cotic Mk2 Solaris for me. Assumed the new version would be more of the same but better…. And whereas it’s a great bike - it’s not the mk2 in terms of versatility.
did everything on it - xc racing, marathons, techy stuff, didn’t hibernate for winter. And when my son was young I trusted the steel to cope with his child seat being attached too!
early 80's Raleigh Pursuit road bike, bought second hand as a pub/cummute bike around 2003.
It was nothing special, but it fitted so well; definitely made up for the bendy wandering forks and lower-end-of-spectrum components.
I’m not really in a position where i can keep multiple bikes, so it’s 1 in 1 out.
Thoughts and prayers.
My Spooky Metalhead. Assembled from random parts on a student budget so it had an interesting spec, but I loved it.
I know it's dull as ditchwater but my fsr120. Such a lovely comfortable ride and so light it was the perfect hike a bike. Just outgunned in the end as things got burlier. The noodlyness of it was hilarious and fun
It had a great spec, nothing fancy just good kit all over with some nice upgrades