You know it: new bikes are (/can be) pricy. And while I am not exactly poor, well, there are other priorities in life… That's why I ride this:
The brand is Favorit. What country is this bike from, you might ask? "It no longer exists", Crazy Vaclav answers. It comes from Czechoslovakia. I am not sure about the exact model, and neither about the exact year – the serial number is barely visible, but I think 70s to 80s. It was originally my dad's bike, he got it during his high school study and had it repainted from sage green to this fancy blue-white combination.
I found it covered in dust in shed of my grandparent's old house, took it home and we fixed it with my dad. Since then it's my road bike – but it is not afraid of some light gravel, forest roads and field roads. For some reason I always end up on some dusty road.
It got a few updates recently – new freewheel (after the old one completely broke apart), new rear derailleur and new pedals – making it ride much much better (original freewheel had only 4 speeds, now 6, much better for riding uphill). I should yet replace the bartape (I have some cheap blue one prepared, but I am thinking that maybe Newbaum's cloth bar tape could suit it? 🤔), reallign the brakes and put on different bottle cage and saddle (the current one is what I found in parts bin, when we were fixing it some years ago).
The frame is steel, shifters are non indexed. It has 2x in the front, but no front derailleur, so I ride it as 1x.
I got another similar frame for free (newer model in fancy purple colour), but since I do not know the exact state of the frame and do not have too much space where I live, and as I want to save up respurces for build of completely new gravel bike, it is yet waiting for it's fate…
My Favorit is old bike, not comparable to the modern standars. Many people on local forums hate them. But without the experience with the new fancy carbon road bikes, I gotta say that it does not really ride bad at all, at least for me, notably with the new freewheel and pedals. It took me to many nice places, brought me joy and we did several 100+ km rides together – today it was 111km. And I gotta say, that while new bikes are for sure lighter and faster, I prefer the classic look of my Favorit (at least compared to the mainstream modern aerodynamic bikes, some smallse brands make cool stuff for sure).
by TheGreatManitou
2 Comments
You are too modest, that’s a great road bike! It may not win pro races, but old steel frames like this are super reliable and most parts are still easy to find.
Most people vastly overestimate how much their needs overlap with a racer’s. Your bike has narrow steel tubes that give a much nicer ride quality than overbuilt alu and carbon racing bikes.
Enjoy the comfort and cash saved by not getting the latest carbon superbike.
That’s a lovely bike!