Last big purchase you regretted

joeyhalloran

I am struggling at the moment with a regretted purchase.

I have been a cyclist for ~14 years now and last year I decided to pack in road racing as I wasn't enjoying it as much anymore. It was my 30th as well so decided to splash out on a bike. As I wasn't racing, I wanted something 'special' that would last and I wasn't too concerned about aero or weight. I went for a boutique-y small brand making steel frames (and not cheap either, at £1160, which gets you a lot of carbon frameset). I ordered it last summer and after delays, shipping issues, cycle 2 work vouchers and self building I have finally got it up and running for the past 5 weeks and...it's ok.

I have been slightly disappointed by the paint, it's already chipped in two places and due to use on the turbo it's flaking. In contrast my 2004 Genesis and my 5 year old carbon race bike, which has been through the usual bumps and scrapes in racing are both looking flawless still.

On top of this, a lot of the reviews spoke about the amazing handling of the new bike but it's not something I'm finding. I prefer the handling on a lot of other bikes I've ridden. Both bikes mentioned above handle beutifully, I just have to learn with very little pressure on the bars. Whereas on the new one I am finding the bars want to 'dive in' to the corner requiring more pressure on the bars to countersteer.


I really wanted to love this bike but I am finding I just don't. So anyone else out there with a similar expensive purchase you regretted?

joe_totale-2

I've had a couple of friends who've bought gravel bikes with a view to mainly using them as winter bikes and been disappointed at how heavy and sluggish they feel compared to their usual road steed, a few comments about them handling like tanks.

In a similar vein I was not impressed with how my CX bike feels on the road and to me, 1x on the road is bobbins. However, I do a fair amount of off road riding on it and it's a great bike for that so overall I'm happy with the purchase, just meant I ended up buying a dedicated winter bike, N+1 strikes again!

diamonddog

Some 50mm deep rim wheels ordered just before lockdown but only because I cannot collect them from the shop.🤬

joeyhalloran

oxoman said:

Mate got a cinelli and hated it so much he rejected it after one ride. Luckily he got it through C2W at work. He went back to his trek domane and never looked back.

Lucky it was through C2W as in it was cheaper? Also has resale implications doesn't it?

Glad it's not just me then.

ugo.santalucia

Not that big but last year I spent £ 100 on a pair of tribars with folding pads for long distance cycling. For a reason or another I haven't done any long distance event since and I have pretty much given up on the all idea... so total waste of money

DeVlaeminck

I bought my daughter a 2nd hand Jake the Snake which she has used once and then declared it makes her back hurt and will never ride it again. She did use to race cross - gave up when she developed asthma which is not under control and she declared an interest in riding again to get fitter for football. OK it was only £125 but I can't even really sell it now because of corona virus.

I bought a second hand zipp 404 last Autumn with the intention of sourcing a front wheel to go with it and using them for racing - I've not sourced a front wheel, I've not got fit for racing and there is no racing now anyway.

I bought a cheap Tacx smart turbo a few years ago I've used once for about 10 minutes - I had the idea I would get back into turbo training in the garage over winter rather than get a gym membership and use the wattbikes - I just couldn't bring myself to get back into the routine of doing it.

Longshot

DeVlaeminck said:

I bought a cheap Tacx smart turbo a few years ago I've used once for about 10 minutes - I had the idea I would get back into turbo training in the garage over winter rather than get a gym membership and use the wattbikes - I just couldn't bring myself to get back into the routine of doing it.

If it's a 2240 I'd be interested in taking it off your hands.

DeVlaeminck

Not sure what it is bought it from Halfords but I'm thinking if setting it up in case lock down actually becomes lockdown !

bikes`n`guns

joeyhalloran said:

I am struggling at the moment with a regretted purchase.

I have been a cyclist for ~14 years now and last year I decided to pack in road racing as I wasn't enjoying it as much anymore. It was my 30th as well so decided to splash out on a bike. As I wasn't racing, I wanted something 'special' that would last and I wasn't too concerned about aero or weight. I went for a boutique-y small brand making steel frames (and not cheap either, at £1160, which gets you a lot of carbon frameset). I ordered it last summer and after delays, shipping issues, cycle 2 work vouchers and self building I have finally got it up and running for the past 5 weeks and...it's ok.

I have been slightly disappointed by the paint, it's already chipped in two places and due to use on the turbo it's flaking. In contrast my 2004 Genesis and my 5 year old carbon race bike, which has been through the usual bumps and scrapes in racing are both looking flawless still.

On top of this, a lot of the reviews spoke about the amazing handling of the new bike but it's not something I'm finding. I prefer the handling on a lot of other bikes I've ridden. Both bikes mentioned above handle beutifully, I just have to learn with very little pressure on the bars. Whereas on the new one I am finding the bars want to 'dive in' to the corner requiring more pressure on the bars to countersteer.


I really wanted to love this bike but I am finding I just don't. So anyone else out there with a similar expensive purchase you regretted?

Rourke ?

StillGoing

Elite Direto V.1. Drop outs, slow to react in ERG mode and lack of support from Elite. The Neo 1 that replaced it has been problem free.

apv1

Deep section wheels (58mm) on a climbing bike with bottom bracket brakes.
Mainly regret it because they are a nightmare in Scottish winds, descending is terrifying when I'm riding in 40 mph gusts. I'm not that small either at ~70kg and 180cm.

Also because they are extremely stiff wheels (hand built by Scottish wheel builder) and when I ride out of the saddle, they cause the skinny seat stays to flex and rub against the bottom bracket brakes. I could adjust my brakes to be looser, but I prefer them with lots of bite.

In hindsight, I would stick with something 35-40mm deep instead.

One of my better purchases this year was a TACX Flux S smart trainer. Wish I had bought one sooner.

roadrunner20

Buying a 500ml bottle instead of 750 lol. Simple mistake but regretted in middle of day when sun suddenly appeared in the British skies which is unheard-of

lesfirth

From the title I was expecting to see some life changing dropped b0llocks here .Like your new house fell down a sinkhole or something of that magnitude.. So far there is nothing that could not have gone in the "Trivial things that annoy you" thread.

w00dster

My Canyon Aeroad, Ultegra Di2, it’s just had minor fault after minor fault.
The wheels are absolutely awful for me, tubeless ready, but far too tight to seat a tyre without the tool, which is a pain to take on a ride. Even with the tool it’s 30 mins taking a tube out and reseating the tyre.
I just haven’t yet had the bike in a way where it was consistently ready to ride, so haven’t yet fallen in love with it.
Just purchased a new set of wheels and had the bike serviced, wheels should arrive next week so hopefully I get a good summer out of it.

shortfall

w00dster said:

My Canyon Aeroad, Ultegra Di2, it’s just had minor fault after minor fault.
The wheels are absolutely awful for me, tubeless ready, but far too tight to seat a tyre without the tool, which is a pain to take on a ride. Even with the tool it’s 30 mins taking a tube out and reseating the tyre.
I just haven’t yet had the bike in a way where it was consistently ready to ride, so haven’t yet fallen in love with it.
Just purchased a new set of wheels and had the bike serviced, wheels should arrive next week so hopefully I get a good summer out of it.

Why not use plugs or a Stans dart that can be done with the tyre in situ in about a minute or 2?

me-109

Skoda Octavia vRS.

Couple of years ago now. Put the finance docs in on a weekend. Had to head down South on the Monday for a meeting with our Director. Meeting got changed en route to include a member of HR. Experience told me that could only mean one thing.

Sure enough three of us were put 'at risk' with only one job available. I had a really tough couple of weeks trying to get out of the contract with the dealer claiming to have already sent off the docs and VW Finance claiming to have not received it and therefore unable to take action.

Something happened and/or I got the right person at VWF that was able to provide some comfort that the dealer 'can't have actually sent it' and they would 'make a note' in case it did land, but they had processed what they had received from the dealer.

I really didn't fancy paying something like £380 per month (that would have been part-time by my company car scheme) without an income.

mrfpb

oxoman said:

Ex wife, not sure that counts though.

Thai or Phillipino?

lesfirth

oxoman said:

Neither, British. Looked smart to start with but turned into cross between jabba the hulk and the evil ex mother in law.

That certainly was not a trivial bad buy.

teisetrotter

Bought a CAAD12 Ultegra disc, my first ever foray away from self-build and Campag' since being a wee lad in the 80's .......... not good for me. Unfortunately, the front fork is post mount so I can't change groupsets even if everything else has been swapped out.

Been grumpy every winter for 3 years. Saved up. Ordered new frame, Self-building and back to Campag.

Also bloody COVID. Having trashed my beloved race bike last year (not to mention me) I saved for a new frame, got new groupset as that extra gear will make all the difference just as it didn't when I moved to 11 speed from 10, sourced ex pro-team unused un-needed deep carbon wheels ..... all hidden from Domestic Governance. Still sitting in parts as Domestic Governance has mandated complete lockdown due to elderly family care. I'm getting old .... stealing a season is a big thing now. It won't be long before I cannot justify a new bike based on my own longevity ..... God forbid, but at some point, I might have to retire to the golf home or something! I need to get the use out of this bling.

Still, on an up note that turbo I bought when we last had a really really shit winter is finally paying for itself. Even us vets are racing on Zwift now!

neeb

Various wheels, for reasons I can never quite put my finger on.

Weirdly, I never liked my Campagnolo Bora 50 tubulars, although I absolutely love my Bora 35 tubulars.. The 50s alsways felt dead and wooden to me, perhaps they were just TOO stiff for my 64kg frame. The 35s feel just as fast, much more "alive" and are much less affected by crosswinds. On the other hand I love my Reynolds 58 Aeros, which are deeper than the Bora 50s. No idea why.

cruff

teisetrotter said:

Bought a CAAD12 Ultegra disc, my first ever foray away from self-build and Campag' since being a wee lad in the 80's .......... not good for me. Unfortunately, the front fork is post mount so I can't change groupsets even if everything else has been swapped out.

Been grumpy every winter for 3 years. Saved up. Ordered new frame, Self-building and back to Campag.

Also bloody COVID. Having trashed my beloved race bike last year (not to mention me) I saved for a new frame, got new groupset as that extra gear will make all the difference just as it didn't when I moved to 11 speed from 10, sourced ex pro-team unused un-needed deep carbon wheels ..... all hidden from Domestic Governance. Still sitting in parts as Domestic Governance has mandated complete lockdown due to elderly family care. I'm getting old .... stealing a season is a big thing now. It won't be long before I cannot justify a new bike based on my own longevity ..... God forbid, but at some point, I might have to retire to the golf home or something! I need to get the use out of this bling.

Still, on an up note that turbo I bought when we last had a really really censored winter is finally paying for itself. Even us vets are racing on Zwift now!

How old are you? I'm 46 and it's hard racing BC against kids 25 years younger - there's always TLI or LVRC...