Heuge Mistakes ... what are yours?

[2manyoranges]

1986. I am in Action Bikes in Brighton. I am currently on a stupidly large Dawes Ranger. So...having already managed to save and buy my first house (21,000k..!!), I am looklng at a teal blue M600 Cannondale - rubbish Suntour groupset. Next to it is a Cinelli Columbus tubed MTB with XT groupset. I um and er. I remember a train journey where I saw my first Cannondale frame and I recall just how much of an impression made by the size of the tubes and the smoothness of the joints. And the Cinelli is 'just steel'. The Columbus tubing is wonderful, with an ovalised seattube joining the BB. But the frame on the Cannondale....

I walk out with the Cannondale...

The intervening years and accumulated experience enable me to see that I sure made completely the wrong decision.

XT versus base Suntour
Longer, sloping toptube versus distinctly shprt one.
Top quality steel versus punishing coke can aluminium.

Wrong, wrong. wrong.

Oh well. We learn.

 

[Black_puma]

Back in 1991 I had my Dawes Tracker stolen in Ramsgate where I lived, but as I had moved to the Midlands (Kenilworth) and went to Mike Vaughan's bike shop in Kenilworth to look for a bike, I had just received money from my insurance policy that came with the bike lock on my Dawes. Anyways, my budget didn't stretch too far and ended up buying a second hand Peugeot Anaconda (green and pink) and rode that for a few days but for some reason, but with the shops agreement I ended up trading the Peugeot Anaconda in for a brand new Trek Antelope 820.

And soon found out that the Peugeot was a much better bike for the money but couldn't swap back as they had sold the Peugeot Anaconda.
It was lively and fast compared to the Trek Antelope 820.

I wasn't all that upset when the Trek bike got damaged after being hit by a car later on that year, an incident that nearly killed me.
It gave me an excuse to buy a better bike and bought a 1992 GT Timberline, whilst not top op the range by any means, at least something better came out of it. I had made a speedy recovery from a head injury and carried on cycling!

 

[vtwinvince]

'Heuge' mistakes? If you mean what I think you do, I'd say selling my early Klein TeamSuper and Grandis Superleggera for cheap due to a marriage crisis.

 

[widowmaker]

Joining Retrobike

 

[The History Man]

I am intrigued as to what you got for 21k. My first north London suburban maisonette cost 67k in 87.

 

[Wyndbrook]

I am intrigued as to what you got for 21k. My first north London suburban maisonette cost 67k in 87.

Crikey, London price premium must have been just as high forty years ago.

 

[legrandefromage]

Bournemouth and 21.1mm

 

[2manyoranges]

I am intrigued as to what you got for 21k. My first north London suburban maisonette cost 67k in 87.

Very run down 2.5 bedroom terrace in Brighton. Undesirable street but with great views of the Downs. The living room floor flexed up and down 2 inches as you walked across it. Joists were....rather grim.