Originally Posted by stevo
"Disagree:"
I don't understand how you can disagree with how many bikes is right for me...but for the sake of discussion, here goes...
I have one bike. I ride it on sunny days. I ride it on rainy days. I ride it fast. I ride it slow. I ride it on streets. I ride it on trails. I ride it naked (referring to the bike, not myself). I ride it loaded (referring to the bike, as well as myself).
To be honest, I do (tehcnically) have a second bike; carbon fibre multigeared from my racing days. 'Lent' it to my dad 8 years ago because 2 bikes around the house was too many for me. Dont miss it.
It's nice to have a backup when you have issues with your primary transport that you can't quickly repair. However, 7 bikes of the same style is silly. I really doubt the OP gives them all equal time. Differing geometry, saddles, gearing, bars, etc... all these little things make every bike have distinct characteristics. Perhaps Mr. Shadow also has 500 pairs of shoes in his closet?