Regretting Changing your Bike or Frame?

I always hate my new bikes initially. I spend ages tweaking and changing fit and eventually get used to them.

I did with the Aether 7, couldn't get it around turns, not all, not always, but enough that it bothered me. I don't think it's the bikes fault as such, but it wasn't working for me. I just put on pinkbike for a swap.

My Trek is on there for swap currently, not because I don't like it or a mistake, just want something longer travel, maybe, sorta

Not sure if I regret the decision as such but I certainly miss my Mk2 Cotic Solaris having replaced it with the longshot vesion which doesn't feel anywhere near as versatile. Certainly not for the bases I want to cover. Assumed it would be a "more of the same, only better" upgrade. Whereas it is a totally different type of bike.

Sold a Whyte G-150 to replace it with a Mason Bokeh.

I love the Bokeh, but every so often I get a pang of regret for not having a proper MTB any more. That said, the Bokeh is brilliant for what I do ride these days, whereas the G-150 would have been total overkill.

Reckon I'll get another mountain bike when the kids are a bit older and there's a bit more time to go further afield.

Initially yes, I sold a Hightower V1 and bought a Cotic Jeht (much more LLS). The Jeht felt like an oil tanker for the first few rides, then i got used to it. BUT then i went on someone else's hightower recently it felt really sketchy and steep. So i knew id made the right choice. Phew

Take your negativity elsewhere 😉

Not sure if I regret the decision as such but I certainly miss my Mk2 Cotic Solaris having replaced it with the longshot vesion which doesn’t feel anywhere near as versatile. Certainly not for the bases I want to cover. Assumed it would be a “more of the same, only better” upgrade. Whereas it is a totally different type of bike.

Kind-of the same here.

The Mk4 definitely enabled more aggressive riding, but then I started feeling limited by the lack of rear suspension.

So I gave up hardtails and got a short-travel FS. That Mk2 Solaris is one of the few bikes I miss though.

Yep - Hightower LT to the V2 Hightower; the LT was fun, light flickable etc, the V2 was none of those things

Also, the 2012 Orange 5 was a great Lakes all round bike, the 2017 LLSer version was not

I miss a bike I never rode but look at every day…..
Many moons ago I ordered a first generation Cotic Soda and all the light weight spangly parts I could think of; my dream lightweight XC build. Said frame arrived and it was simply too small, the necessary adjustments would have resulted in a hideous machine. As I chewed over the catastrophe of the mid-spec Mrs BH quietly commented that she would “help me out” and take it for her collection. She is still the proud owner of what is probably her favourite off road bike, and it still garners favourable comments from all corners. As for me, I couldn’t bring myself to order a lookalike and I have yet to revisit the Ti hardtail niche. One day, one day.

When I sold my Soul, it took a couple of frames before I found anything that was as good. The replacements were more suitable, so it wasn't a disaster but I could never get past it. But I'd also not have been happy going back- in fact I did, a few years later, and I wasn't.

Right now I have a full suss bike that I absolutely love, an old Trek Remedy 29. And it's much the same thing- there's things I do want to change, a bit more length, more dropper post, maybe a bit slacker- but while the geometry's not quite what I want the overall execution's still brilliant. So I have a Rocketmax that's supposed to replace it, and it can't. It's a better shape and it looks far better, but I just don't love it, it feels uninspirational. So do I stick or twist?

First world problems! These days I keep the old frame til I'm sure it's a good move but that almost adds more difficulty, there's no commitment

Yep - a Cracknfail Jekyll that was a PSA from here via Paul's Cycles.

First one cracked when riding at Stiniog- frame replaced but I just absolutely hated it that much that I 'retired' and sold up and didn't MTB for 3years.

Right. Where do I start.

I sold my very, very nice ‘92 Kona Explosiv to buy a Crackenfail. I’d convinced myself I needed suspension. I truly hated that bike. It was awful.

I bought an Orange P7. It lasted 2 months before I tore the rear dropouts out of the frame on a drop off the size of a large curb. Orange said I’d been using it “not for its intended purpose”. What? Mountain biking. That left me without a frame for 6 months whilst I scraped together enough to buy a Mk1 Cotic Soul.

Selling the Cotic Soul to buy an On One 456 so I could run longer forks that I’d convinced myself I needed.

Yep. I’m an idiot.

Selling the Cotic Soul to buy an On One 456

Oh mate.

Hope you're OK now.

I think I’m slow to adjust

Over 2 years into my current FS bike before it started to feel correct. Now I lover it. But it’s off trend head angle wise. But weirdly this never enters mind riding the bike. Only when I’m on here

My only MTB sale regret is going from a 24” Peugeot with almost-klunker geometry to a 26” Muddy Fox with NORBA geometry / but as I’d grown out of the Peugeot and MTBing had been infected by roadie geometry I didn’t have much choice!

I bought a 2018 Transition Scout, still got it but have a bit of a love hate relationship with it. There is just something about it that doesn't work for me and its in the back of my mind everytime I ride it. I've always been more of a hardtail fan and keep pondering about selling it and getting something else.

My Stooge however, I just love. It suits a lot more of my riding and is the bike I choose 90% of the time.

All the time! I miss my Stif Morf and Stooge Speedball the most. I do really like my current bike but it needs some bits tweaking and I simply don’t have the cash. I’m also getting the sneaky suspicion that I might benefit from rear suspension but a decent short travel 29er is out of my price range.

I always regret selling bikes but can only have one at a time.

I sold my 2017 Intense Tracer 275 and bought an Ibis Mojo HD4. Despite all the reviews saying the sizing was long etc and comparing the geo to my Tracer it felt really short and I hated it. I kept it 2 weeks and sold it.

My highlander doesn't roll as cleanly nor fill me with confidence anywhere near as much as the sb130 it replaced.

The back end gets caught up on shit and I can't get the rebound good. I'm using a coil because the frame naturally has so much friction in the rear triangle that a small air shock would be wooden.

My highlander doesn't roll as cleanly nor fill me with confidence anywhere near as much as the sb130 it replaced.

The back end gets caught up on shit and I can't get the rebound good. I'm using a coil because the frame naturally has so much friction in the rear triangle that a small air shock would be wooden. Spoke with deviate and they just say 'yeah that's how they're designed to maximise sealing'. I don't care about sealing - bearings are cheap, I want a bike that performs. It's also built like a tank and the result is a heavy heavy bike to carry. Oh and the idler design is crappy. Tested it with the seals and I was losing like 30W at threshold.

Honestly still miss my spider 29 carbon.

Mk 2 Cotic Solaris here too. Don't regret the reason I sold it as it's a great bike, totally different though. Nukeproof Reactor.

I just really wish I'd kept the solaris. Such a nice bike to ride, and I've basically just replaced it a year later with a Cotic Cascade....

This is a moaners’ charter isn’t it? 😂

@continuity

I didnt' gel with my Highlander at first either, high pivot bikes (not just Deviate) really need a custom tuned shock to perform, light damping and slow rebound to track the ground. A £50 shock tune from Jtech transformed my Highlander, if you haven't got a tuned shock i'd highly recommend you try it.

It;s more of an enduro bike and not really a trail bike like the SB130 and definitely aren't light...but when the suspension works they fly.

I'm going for a Claymore next so guess I must like them.

Swapped from my mk1 Soul to a Kona Explosif in the mid-2000s: crap. The Cotic rode lovely and was everything I expected the Kona to be. but I'd always envied a friend's 1993 Kilauea and thought this was a good idea. Didn't keep it long, swapped to a Dialled Love/Hate.

I've not regretted any change since.

I really like my current bike, it handles really well, fits me well, it is reliable and does everything I ask of it. It is more stable and faster than my old bike. It is a fairly generic alloy HT with a Marin sticker on.

I do miss a certain "je ne sais quoi" that my old Sanderson had. It felt so nice down the trail - I suspect the 'steel is real' twang. I don't miss the small wheels and twitchier handling at times.

No, because I only change them when they need changing, rather than because something else is new and shiny.

No, because I only change them when they need changing, rather than because something else is new and shiny.

STONE the heretic !

Preferred my too small first Gen SolarisMax to the later / larger version it replaced.

As per other thread, did not enjoy going back to 27.5 wheels on the Mojo 4.

Never really got on with the mk4 Ripley even tho it should have been the perfect bike for most of what I ride locally.

Bikes are odd. Geo/etc looks right but sometimes they don't feel right.

Molgrips

htt

This thread seems to be suggesting that I should hang onto my Mk2 Cotic Solaris...

I did. I built my 'dream bike' from frame up years ago. Never really loved it once built. Too small, too much travel. Stuck with it for 2 years and then sold as complete bike.
Replaced it with an off the shelf complete in the right size and and still love it 7 years later.

Get shot of it if it doesn't suit. Life's too short and you will ride more n a bike you love.

I miss a bike I never rode but look at every day…..
Many moons ago I ordered a first generation Cotic Soda and all the light weight spangly parts I could think of; my dream lightweight XC build. Said frame arrived and it was simply too small, the necessary adjustments would have resulted in a hideous machine. As I chewed over the catastrophe of the mid-spec Mrs BH quietly commented that she would “help me out” and take it for her collection. She is still the proud owner of what is probably her favourite off road bike, and it still garners favourable comments from all corners. As for me, I couldn’t bring myself to order a lookalike and I have yet to revisit the Ti hardtail niche. One day, one day.

better love story than twilight.
I enjoyed that for some reason.

better love story than twilight.
I enjoyed that for some reason.

Agreed, it's got everything. A class bike, partner who rides and appreciates a class bike, contentment yet also wistful desire.

This thread seems to be suggesting that I should hang onto my Mk2 Cotic Solaris…

Or at least helps to reinforce it is a true classic that should be properly appreciated, and you should have a suitable replacement in hand and tested before you let it go.

I was thinking myself that although there are bikes that I haven't gelled with, most of them have been a stepping stone to something else rather than an cut and dry mistake. However I then remembered my scaffold tubed Inbred. I sold a damaged yet brilliant EBB Inbred, and a fragile Specialized Stumpy FSR, for a newer model sliding drop out Inbred. That frame was the first generation with fatter tubing, and had none of the ride feel of the previous models. But that bike has since been passed to a friend, and then on again to a second. They have both been very happy with it. Pretty good for a 16yr old bike, including forks and wheels.

Kinda, for a while I went down the typical 2000's ever increasing travel bandwagon. Ended up with a Specialized Pitch which try as I might I couldn't make work, I think it boiled down to probably needing to be a size larger. But by the time I'd got it sorted I just didn't like. it. Then broke my arm several times and decided that I needed to stick to XC.

I also had a bad run of expensive parts failing (XTR brakes, Marzocchi Corsa SL, Lyriks) and drive chains were just getting astronomically expensive.

So I went through ~7 years of niche bikes, singlespeeds, steel tourers, rigid bikes, fat bikes. They were all great-ish in their own way. But eventually I just wanted a 'normal' bike again. Something that was objectively fun and not a challenge just to ride it! And would actually be the right tool for the job at least 90% of the time.

So I got the Scandal and it's great!

Now I'm looking enviously at Stooges, Hello Daves, and the current generation of slack 120mm FS bikes and can see one sensible bike being chopped in for multiple stupid ones again! I think I just need to get some cheap examples of ebay, ride them for a bit and cure the itch without selling the Scandal unless they're objectively better (I think FS + Stooge might work......)

I’m with Molgrips, spend some time picking the right bike and then ride it until it’s old.

The only bike I’ve regretted buying was a Mongoose Black Diamond Triple freeride bike and only then because witching 6 months of purchase all my friends had switched from DH/freeride to long XC slogs and I moved to Hertfordshire which has a severe lack of hills.

So I got new riding friends and spent more time riding at FOD and in SW.

I miss my Stiffee

Selling the Cotic Soul to buy an On One 456

Oh mate.

Hope you’re OK now.

I’d had too many bangs to the head.

Nope.

Went from 26" to 29"

From hardtail to full sus.

Manual to Ebike.

Night and day.

Took me a little while and a change of fork to gel with my MK2 Solaris.

Went back to FS after that with a Whyte T129, never felt quite right.

Bought a Bird AM9 blind and it's been fantastic, felt much more at home on it than any other bike. Only niggle I had was the forks, managed to grab some of those discounted 38s and it's as close to bob-on as I can get now.

I always regretted selling my VP Free - i loved that bike - still not entirely sure why i sold it?!?

No, because I only change them when they need changing, rather than because something else is new and shiny.

I only change mine when they need changing, but I always regret selling them. I replaced my 11 year old Yeti last year and a few weeks ago replaced my 14 year old road bike. I become very attached to my bikes 🙂 Knowing that they are going to a good home where they’ll be well ridden and appreciated helps though.

I did have some regret with the MTB upgrade, but it wasn’t riding right because the frame was a tad too large for me. I took a hit and swapped for a smaller frame and all is good. The loss from the frame swap will be negligible over 10 years (or at least that’s what I told the wife!)

I’m with Molgrips, spend some time picking the right bike and then ride it until it’s old.

I'd agree, and with a few exceptions probably stick with it, but the majority of my bikes are 2nd hand, so the ones that get sold before their time is up aren't really costing me anything other than consumables over the time I have them.

e.g. Had a Singular Swift, sold the frame and bought an El-Mariachi, sold that and bought a charge cooker, just because I needed a few hundred quid at the time each time and didn't notice much difference in use (the Salsa was harsh, the Charge actually rode nicest). The bits of the Swift went onto a NOS Vagabond frameset, which I didn't gel with but sold for a fairly cost neutral price (probably lost a bit Vs what I'd paid for bits + the swift bits, but not masses).

The only one that left me hugely out of pocket was the Pitch. Cost me about £2.7k to build it, and by the time I'd written off the bits that broke I think I sold about £600 in parts?