The Carrera.

The Carrera is a snotter. A clunker, a beater and a shed. A bitsa, a hound, a dog and a jalopy, but also it is the bike I ride the most.

Actually, calling the unfortunate brute such things is a little unkind, as there is some good, but rather old, gear to be found should you stray close enough to examine the beast properly. The frame, suspension seat post and massively comfortable seat are all from a complete Carrera Subway blagged from my LBS's junk pile for £25, but the full Shimano LX groupset with Mavic rims and Rock Shocks forks came from the very first bike I acquired, which turned out to have a split in the steerer tube. All of which means it might look like something left behind at low tide, but it actually rides very smoothly, reliably, and comfortably.

The panniers are voluminous Avenir jobbies, and swallow huge amounts of 'must carry' junk, and occasionally garden waste to the tip as well, but they have faded just a tad, adding to the generally disreputable air of the bike.

I don't fret about not cleaning it when it gets manky, nor do I panic when it falls over and scrapes its paint in the process. I do however maintain it pretty thoroughly as I want the thing to last a good while yet before it is finally put out of its misery.

The Carrera – A bit crappy, but I love it.