That bike that made you go "WHOA!"

[Elefantino]

Had a good conversation yesterday with some folks about that one bike that completely rearranged their thinking about, in this case, what a bucket-list road rider could be like.

Mine was a 2008 De Rosa King that I got to ride in the north Georgia mountains. Kitted with the new 11-speed Super Record and gold Shamals, it blew my mind. I still remember what it felt like the first time the road tilted upward.

Sadly, I never got one for myself. I did get the gold Shamals, though!

What was your hallelujah bike? (Whether you bought one or not!)

[vqdriver]

for me it was the first time i shelled out for a quality modern wheelset.
went from handbuilt (they all were back then) mavic 501/open 4 cd to a set of prebuilt shimanos. nice change, but whatever.
then i shelled out for a pair of eurus when i went thru my campy phase and my mind was blown at how good they were. light, stiff, fast, blah blah blah
never mind what a headache it was to replace a rim/spoke, that wheelset really opened my eyes.
i scoffed before then, but now i'm perfectly willing to spend more on the wheels then a frame.

[simonov]

Gaulzetti Corsa. Game changer.

[Hilltopperny]

A Serotta Atlanta opened my eyes to the world of handmade non production bikes. I then bought a Concours and that opened my eyes to titanium handmade bikes. The biggest Whoa bike that I have ridden to date was a Pegoretti Mxxxxxo. It was a like riding a rocket ship and really blew my mind!

[FlashUNC]

Pinarello Dogma Magnesium. Landmark bike that lives in a "What if" universe where alloy continued to be the dominant frame material. Stunning frame.

[TheseGoTo11]

First bike that fit. I started riding as an adult at age 30 and bought my first couple bikes from Ebay without a clue as to what I was really doing. My first bike in retrospect was horribly undersized. After 3-4 years of DIY dinking with adjustments to stems, saddles, bars, etc., I had a bike fit session and then bought a properly fitting frame. That was the "Whoa!" moment for me.

[dogrange]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

Pinarello Dogma Magnesium. Landmark bike that lives in a "What if" universe where alloy continued to be the dominant frame material. Stunning frame.

Didn’t you have one of these? Why did u sell?


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[FlashUNC]

Originally Posted by dogrange

Didn’t you have one of these? Why did u sell?


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To make room for a Pegoretti Responsorium (also amazing), and that in turn made room for the Gaulzetti Pavaix (ditto).

[NHAero]

The Firefly I bought here last year, after 50 years of riding derailleur equipped bikes. Sharp handling, smooth, and a work of art. The light Fairwheel clinchers I bought here a couple of months ago made it even better.

Thanks Paceline!

[Ozz]

Friend of mine bought a Peugeot PXN10 (or something like that) back when we were in college (1982?)...I took it out for a spin.....knew right away that this was "different" than every other bike I had ridden.......

[m_sasso]

71 custom built chrome p13 Schwinn Paramount, Fiamme red label rims. Never looked back!

[jtbadge]

My Rock Lobster was the first bike that both fit AND didn't weigh a ton. Felt like I was flying as soon as I got it.

[Velocipede]

This is mine. From the late 80's, early 90's. Always wanted one and might be getting it soon.

[exapkib]

Still love to just go out and look at this bike in the garage. Absolute favorite road ride ever.

I remember when this one showed up on a local classifieds site. The build was dated and mismatched, but that just made the frame shine that much more. From the first few pedal strokes of the test ride, I knew this bike was different than anything else I had ridden.

Almost eight years later, I still love to ride this bike. Feel lucky that it came along at a moment when I was able to bring it home.

[texbike]

Really, there were four of them for me:

• De Rosa Professional - around 1988 a couple of friends and I stopped in Ferrari of Houston to check out a 288 GTO that was in the showroom. On a wall near it was a bright red De Rosa with a nicely polished Campy groupset and white saddle and leather bar covers on it. It was very much a "Wow!" moment and exactly when I began to pay attention to road bikes.
• Cannondale Criterium - This was my first road bike around 91/92. Man, was that thing hawt-looking! HUGE downtube. HUGE rear stays. It was just so muscled and masculine looking. It accelerated incredibly well and was a blast. I did my first several centuries on that bike and also had my first stitches from a couple of crashes.
• Cinelli SC - While in graduate school (and broke) around 1994, I picked up a 10 year old Cinelli SC frameset for cheap and built it up with older Campy stuff from a local framebuilder. It was elegant and sharp. The first ride was eye-opening! So smooth, quiet, and responsive. Soooo, much smoother and more comfortable than the Cannondales that I'd been riding the past several years. It changed my biking trajectory to steel and Italian frames for many years after.
• Merckx MX Leader - In 1996, I was at a Motorola event and they had several team bikes at the event that you could ride around on. I picked out a MX Leader in my size that had belonged to Gord Fraser and took it for a spin. I was blown away by how smooth and responsive the bike was. It was like every single watt was being transferred to the rear wheel and into forward motion. It was stout and solid feeling. Like a freight train. It was so fun once up to speed. I ended up riding it around for about 30 minutes and fell in love with the MXLs. I ended up owning a couple of Motorola team bikes over the years including one of Gord's. There's a very good chance that the one that I had was the same one that I had ridden in 1996. I sold that bike - not very smart. Oh well...

I've had quite a few bikes since the experiences above, but these were the ones that made their mark.

Texbike