Originally Posted by
BigUgly
Am I crazy for wanting a bike for the type of riding I do? I have a nice road bike which I use primarily on the roads. Skinny tires, carbon fork, fits great and I can ride comfortably for a long time 50+ miles. I have a mountain bike I built on the cheap, may be just a teeny bit on the small side for me and it's an older model(1994) so the geometry is a little different that MTBs built today. With the MTB it serves it's purpose for me because the MTB riding around here you are not in the saddle for extended periods of time because you are climbing/descending/technical riding most of the time. It gets uncomfortable after riding the long flat fire roads to get to the trail heads sometimes. I am thinking I am in the need of a cross type bike to ride long distances on rail trails so I can comfortably ride 50+ miles in a day and not feel beat up. I have an old hybrid which is on the small side and I am thinking that I need something a little bigger with drop bars. I would love something like my road bike but with some bigger tires that would absorb the bumpiness of rail trails and I am thinking the carbon fork would not last very long on a rail trail. Is this a sickness needing 3 different bikes depending on the type of riding I am doing? I have 3 kids so I just need to be able to hop on the bike and go and not change wheelsets or make other adjustments, etc.
Many times this comes up for people who think that, like with a car, you need one bicycle to do everything. You need to think of a bicycle as a transportation tool, therefore you need the right tool, for the job your trying to do. Bicycles are relatively inexpensive, so as long as you have storage space..... Personally I would like 3 bikes as well, a nice touring bike, a nice fast road bike, and my current bike as a shopping and grocery getter.