Your greatest bike ever

[sante pollastri]

Originally Posted by DCilliams

At the moment, it's my Colnago Master X-Light. My first steel bike and introduction to Italian craftsmanship.

introduction?? This beauty is the arrival point.

[parco]

My mid 80's Pinarello Montello fits me better and rides better than any bike I ever rode . I have even ridden other Montellos that didn't ride as well as this one. It's supposed to be SLX but mine must have some SPX in there because it's stiffer than the other Montellos I have ridden.

[Wakatel_Luum]

For me there is only one...Merlin Extralight..

[marciero]

Colnago Tecnos. But honestly, I ride a Gunnar Crosshairs the most, and it is the if-I-could-only-keep-one-bike bike. It's the ride of the Colnago I will be going for, along with clearance for larger tires, with a future custom frame (Chapman? Hampsten?)

[Hawaii Five-0]

Originally Posted by Steelman

Have owned:

Colnago Super
Vitus AL
DeRosa SLX
DeRosa Genius
Rossin Ghibli
Basso Astra
Basso Loto SLX
Basso Loto Extra Light
Basso Gap
Tommasini Techno EL/OS
Guerciotti SP

Fav is the Basso SLX. They, Basso, handle similar to the DeRosa, but they cost less and the finishing is better.

Hi there Steelman - do you still own and ride the Basso Astra? How did you find the handling and climbing prowess in terms of responsiveness on the steeper slopes? Any insights would be helpful, cheers

[Gpmrntz]

I consider myself lucky to have owned several great bikes, e.g....

Colnago
Merlin Extralight
Cannondale R800 (2.8 frame; Old School - among first bikes to have STI, aka hood shifting)

And several Serotta, of which I still own three.

My Serotta Ottrott, going on 20 years still rides like a dream. It's not as quick / snappy as my Meivici, but it never was supposed to be. It just rides (and rides).

Put another way - Meivici is like a Ferrari - both amazing machines, but the latter can't beat the ride of a Rolls. My Ottrott is like a Rolls.

[pbalser]

I was in the middle of a grim divorce. I was playing with house money. I went and bought a Litespeed vortex with campy 10. Still the best damn bike I’ve ever owned or ridden. Campy 10 went to my kids build (running great 15 yrs later) and it now sports chorus 11. Just sublime.

[sparky33]

The quick answer is this canti fillet Kirk MRB. It was the first really nice bike I had, and it was my only bike for a long time. The ride was special. It is my favorite of a few Kirks that I've owned, but it is unclear to me if that green Kirk actually rode more sweetly than the others or if my memories of it simply carry more nostalgia.

A long train of special and not so special bikes have come and gone since then.
Right now I'm enjoying my Open Wide for it's remarkable ride quality and versatility.

[thew]

I'm glad this thread came back from the dead.

[texbike]

Seven years after posting in the original thread, my Vamoots is still what I consider to be my greatest bike. Smooth, responsive, and incredible build quality.

Texbike

[Gianni Bianchi]

Best bike is the one you love most. I'm lucky i have two.

First one is a 1993 custom built (by pegoretti) Pinarello with 8spd Record. I rode this bike full time until the end of the 2016 season. yep. Over 250,000km on it and wear parts replaced as needed, still rides a treat, even though it's heavy AF by today's standards.

Second is my first ever carbon bike, a Bianchi XR1 with 11spd Chrous. I've replaced all bearing with ceramic, and this bike just turned 30,000km and it is an extension of my body. I trust it with my life. The bike still looks brand new.

I left Pinarello cuz they didn't offer any colour other than black. Glad I left the stable... Bianchi is boss!

[tomato coupe]

Originally Posted by Elefantino

I'm not sure what to make of this, but nearly all of the "greatest bike ever" bikes listed so far have Campy.

I'm guessing that most people that have contributed to the thread are over 60 years of age. The bikes and components largely reflect the age of the contributors.

[Butch]

Originally Posted by Mike Lopez

Prior to riding this bike my highly biased opinion would have been my Meivici.

This year we've taken everything we learned from that bike and raised the bar a level or two.

Bill's grin tells the story....

(PS....Somebody tell JB to change those filters!!!)

That's what happens when you've been "smoking in the boy's room"...

Nice looking bike Mike, and I bet a great ride.

The Bruce Gordon I bought from Bruce in'81 by far the best looking bike and the one I regret selling. Hard to beat my Moots Routt RSL for overall ride quality and the custom Moots full 6/4 Vamoots RSL for pure road, stiff and smooth - yes I am quite biased too

[MoparPorsche]

I am going to take greatest as the one I most enjoy to ride and that is a mixed bag for me because there are three on my list each with different characteristics, and Colnago EPS getting honorable mention. In no certain order:

- Colnago C40 MK1s with presica steel fork - this bike is just rides smooth as silk. I have been trying to figure out if its the wheels, the bike, the fork, what?
- Eddy Merckx Team SC - this bike records my fastest times, its comfy and pure speed
- Derosa King RS (2012-13) - Don't get this mixed up with other DeRosa King's (i.e. 888, Action, King R, SuperKing etc.), when introduced was DeRosa's flag ship bike and I had custom fitted. Next to Merckx record fastest times and its just a gorgeous bike even today.

[TheseGoTo11]

Moots Baxter. After years of riding frankenbike drop bar 29ers, when this was announced I knew it was the holy grail for me. It's a somewhat unique bike but suits the niche of riding I like best--dirt forest roads and trails up and down the Front Range foothills.