What is your "dream" bike?

[Kiwi Stoker]

A fully custom carbon Calfee tandem with Shimano Di2 triple gearing (that doesn't exist yet but hopefully soon).

Nice, light and fast and heaps of fun with DH.

[VeganBikeChick]

Right now mine is a Surly Cross Check. If only the budget would allow. I will never buy a bike based on price again.

[nscrbug]

I recently acquired my dream bike - a custom Ti Seven Axiom SL with Ultegra electronic shifting, and HED Belgium rims laces to Chris King R45 hubs. So far, I'm very happy with the bike itself, but I haven't put enough miles on it to determine if the fit still needs "tweaking".

Linda

[uforgot]

Mine keeps changing too, along with my bank account. I've decided that I'm not a go fast rider. I keep wanting to stop, have a beer, take some pictures, then get on and repeat. I took off the clipless pedals a year ago, just sold my only drop bar bike, and now I just want to ride and smell the roses. I just want a bike that will be gentle on my dslr camera and hold a cooler I guess!

[zoom-zoom]

I recently acquired my dream bike - a custom Ti Seven Axiom SL with Ultegra electronic shifting, and HED Belgium rims laces to Chris King R45 hubs. So far, I'm very happy with the bike itself, but I haven't put enough miles on it to determine if the fit still needs "tweaking".

Linda

Winter is dumb. I hope it will soon be nice enough for you to start really testing out your new baby!

[tulip]

A dreamy Luna Eclipse with carbon forks and seat stays, Ultegra...oh wait, that IS my bike!

[Crankin]

I have given up. Even my custom Guru doesn't feel right. DH keeps saying that I expect too much, but I still may have to switch the bars at the least, and the gearing and pedals maybe. I know these are small things (components), but for what I paid, it sucks. I love the plush feel of the titanium, but I always feel like I am working too hard on this bike. On the other hand, I love my Kuota, even though it's probably not really right for me.

[rubysoho]

Maybe it is because I haven't sat on a top-of-the-line but I absolutely adore my Ruby. I spent over a month riding my Tricross and enjoying it but yesterday I finally took the Ruby out for a spin and it was heaven. I like both bikes but the Ruby is still my favorite.

[pll]

More than a dream bike, I need riding time...

Reading about crankin's experiences with a custom build reminds me of my fear of going custom: not being entirely satisfied with the outcome. That, plus the higher expense, will keep me away from a custom bike for many years, even though I'd love to get a bike with SS couplers to take it with me on trips.

[Owlie]

More than a dream bike, I need riding time...

Reading about crankin's experiences with a custom build reminds me of my fear of going custom: not being entirely satisfied with the outcome. That, plus the higher expense, will keep me away from a custom bike for many years, even though I'd love to get a bike with SS couplers to take it with me on trips.

True. I'm a fitting nightmare (super-short torso, long femurs) , and frequently not-so-in-love with the color palettes available for women's bikes, so custom sometimes seems like the best bet in the long term. But I'm terrified of not being satisfied with the results because I don't know precisely what I want.
Not that it matters right now, 'cuz I'm broke.

[nscrbug]

More than a dream bike, I need riding time...

Reading about crankin's experiences with a custom build reminds me of my fear of going custom: not being entirely satisfied with the outcome. That, plus the higher expense, will keep me away from a custom bike for many years, even though I'd love to get a bike with SS couplers to take it with me on trips.

I totally get this. I took a HUGE leap of faith, by going custom with my latest bike. Which is something I thought I would NEVER do in a million years because I too, am (as Owlie so eloquently put it) a "fitting nightmare". For the past 4 years that I've been cycling seriously, I've had a myriad of fit issues and it was always suggested to me by many of the women of this forum to go custom. I expressed the very same fears of not being completely satisfied with the outcome...and even now, as a custom Seven owner, still have those fears tucked away in my head. I only have a little over 120 miles on my Seven...it's still too soon to tell if it "feels" totally and completely right to me. I'm still getting some hand pain/numbness, but with it still being winter here, I can't rule out that it's from the cold. I'll have to wait and see how my hands feel once the temps warm up a bit, to know for sure.

But yeah, I completely understand the reluctance to go custom, if you happen to be an extreme case like some of us. Been there...done that. Keeping my fingers crossed that I made the right decision.

Linda

[moderncyclista]

More than a dream bike, I need riding time...

Reading about crankin's experiences with a custom build reminds me of my fear of going custom: not being entirely satisfied with the outcome. That, plus the higher expense, will keep me away from a custom bike for many years, even though I'd love to get a bike with SS couplers to take it with me on trips.

Not to play devils advocate, but Surly makes a version of the Long Haul Trucker with SS couplers called the Trucker Deluxe! No joke, I ride my LHT the most out of all my bikes. I just rode home in 40 mph winds and I didn't feel like I was going to get pushed over at all. Stable, sure-footed and rugged. Not a speed-demon, but hey no bike is perfect. Surly comes darned close though. (I feel like I deserve a free-bike from Surly because of how much I talk them up. LMAO. )

[zoom-zoom]

Ack, it looks like I may be getting my über bike in the not-too-distant future! We are part owners of a bike shop…we sell Seven. DH just bought an insanely expensive last year's BMC for a steal…we're talking <1/3 original retail. He knows that I'm frustrated by the lack of options in higher-end cyclocross frames in my size (there are smaller frames, but generally only in entry-level materials and components…I already have that. If Redline made their Conquest Carbon Pro Disc in a 44 I would already have one -- LOVE my little Conquest, but it's relatively heavy with Apex). We're starting to talk Mudhoney SL Ti…Ultegra Di. I would probably still ride my Cannondale Supersix for things like Duathlons…or maybe eventually pick up a TT bike. DS is 13 and pretty much can fit that and my Redline (and my mtn. bike…and he thinks the fat bike is all his).

[Jolt]

My "dream bike" would be something that is a good all-rounder, efficient for road riding but able to handle non-technical off-road riding as well. It would also need to be able to haul things and to take fenders without being limited to skinny tires. I would probably stick with steel, for durability. And I'm short, so 26" wheels would be best to avoid toe overlap (a deal breaker for a bike that will be ridden off road), especially with the fact that I would be adding fenders. If the Surly Cross Check had 26" wheels in the small sizes like the LHT does, I think that with a swap to a triple crankset it would fit the bill nicely (provided, of course, the fit was good). The Salsa Vaya looks like it would be good, though I am not sure about the idea of disc brakes.

[zoom-zoom]

though I am not sure about the idea of disc brakes.

And I won't buy another bike without discs, with the exception of a TT bike, perhaps. I'm sold on that stopping power under wet/icy/muddy conditions.