FZ1Tom

I'm only asking b/c a) everyone starts somewhere and we only have so much space to keep everything. Some of us more than others.

For my part I live in a modest apartment - abt 600 square feet, with 2 kittens, both of whom are incredibly active and messy (one's about 8 months old, the other one about 12 weeks now). So it's gonna stand to reason that I'm not gonna be able to have all that many bikes no matter what without running out of room, quickly.

I picked up catch #2 this morning - it's the '00 Schwinn Peloton w/853 frame, Ultegra/DA upgrades, no wheels/pedals. Should be a nice one once I get some hoops.

I went for an RB-1, but that auction didn't work out when the seller reqested payment in 48 hours then demanded to cancel in 24 hours. I thought it unreasonable, but that's another story for another time. I AM looking around at another bike, but I also do have that deposit on the Spec Allez at the LBS. So....I think that either 3 or 4 road bikes is certainly more than enough in my particular situation. I don't want to end up over extending myself, either money wise or spacewise.

Keeping in mind the approximate size of your dwelling, what do you folks think an "optimum" number of bikes/frames is for a given space (apt, duplex, house, etc)?

I have 2 complete bikes (trek 7200 and 420), and 2 frames (old Varsity and Peloton), possibly 1 or 2 more bikes in the near future, then I think that's enough for the time being. That would be enough for me to swap parts, etc.

What's your magic number?

Tom

redneckwes

If I didn't have a basement, I'd have two bikes. One fairly tight road machine, and something very practical for town use.

Andrew F

[QUOTE][What's your magic number?
/QUOTE]

1,286,975

Seriously, It becomes too many when your friends hold an intervention for you or when your wife hands you an invitation to the Jerry Sringer Show. (If she takes off her shoes, watch out! She's gettin ready to fight!)

custermustache

TWo or three if I didn't have a garage or basement. One good road bike, one around gowned, and maybe a MTB if you swing that way.

BigPolishJimmy

1 main bike, one backup, and one project. Of course there's the special purpose bikes like the recumbent & the mtn bike as well. I have plenty of space in my barn, but a collection I don't need. I'm trying to whittle it back to a group of regular riders and not keep dust collectors.

auchencrow

Collect as many skinny-tired bikes as you can - they have a small footprint, so you can always figure out a way to fit more in the same building size.

cb400bill

N+1.

Really, I should have no more than 13.

1. newish bike for club rides - X
2. commuter bike - X
3. vintage mountain bike - X
4. modern mountain bike
5. vintage English road bike - X
6. vintage English 3 speed
7. vintage American road bike
8. vintage Italian road bike
9. vintage Japanese road bike
10. vintage French road bike
11. vintage touring bike
12. vintage track bike - X
13. Sting Ray like I had 40 years ago

Bikedued

Never, and I mean NEVER ever leave a saddle of a bike near a table top, with cats around. Your favorite Brooks, Avocet, Selle Italia(insert your saddle here) near the top of a chair or table top, WILL, when you least expect it, become a scratching post. I lost a very nice Avocet Racing saddle that way. I was just glad it wasn't a Super Corsa, or a Brooks that went "under the knife". I've also had them put puncture marks in the drops, from jumping up and hanging on them. Just a word to the wise with road bikes and cats.,,,,BD

I've also had them gnaw on brake hoods, so if you have any nice gum hoods.....

dbakl

Heck, 200 probably too many, 50 about right. Hang em both wheels from the ceiling and you can squeeze them in, though you might have to duck. No problem sleeping however. It is addicting...

Amani576

I can't justify a bike that has overlapping purposes. Of course I only have two bikes currently, but when I add more, I won't.
1 Road bike or a Randonneuse with fenders
1 3-speed
1 tandem
1 mountain bike.

That's about all I need. Now, what I want is different. But wants are often times hard to justify.
-Gene-

mazdaspeed

2 or 3 road bikes, sell the worst one when you buy a better one. Right now I'm down to one plus a project.

wrk101

Here's my latest storage area. Hey, no one was using the couch anyway. Of course, there's another one on the front porch, and one in the dining room, and so on.

Actually, I pulled out a bunch of frames from storage to finish some projects. This is temporary (until the wife gets back from Chicago.....)

repechage

Not bad, I had a bachelor apt. as my first place on my own, 4 bikes, another 4 sets of wheels, 6 hooks mounted on a 4 x 4 " stud bolted to 3 rafters on the ceiling, some wheels got kept in the closet. Manager freaked out about a year into the situation, I advised that all would be well when I moved, it was, they forgot about it, and all was perfect, got my deposit back less $40. for "sanatizing" (sic) the refrigerator, of course when I had moved in the whole place needed a bleach cleaning... I kept that letter for a long time, I guess the refrigerator was insane or something...

I was ready though, this was the same owner who 10 months in said I had not paid rent one month, I had kept every cancelled check, gave them copies and hoped that would clear up the error in their records... 3 other tenants had to pay an extra month's rent... an early lesson in the ways of the City.

rat fink

2 road bikes and a mtb, or 2 roadies, 1 cross bike, OR 2 roadies, a third roadie for commuting, 1 race bike, 1 cross, 1 mtb.

mazdaspeed

Nice, I never had to resort to hooks because I have one of those things that goes on the wall and hangs one bike over the other. The rest lean on things... lol

shopgirl

When you find yourself working on bikes or shopping for bike needs so much that you never have time to ride, you know you have too many.
Seriously, when I first started with all this in college, I had two bikes, a dept store cruiser and a junker '80s Schwinn. That pitiful stable was more than enough to qualify me as a "bike nerd" amongst my roommates and friends. When I moved in briefly with a boyfriend who was also a bike freak, we had about 6-7 bikes between us, four of them mine. After that I had a studio for awhile and at one point had 6 bikes in there, the same number I have now that I have a small house to myself. It was too much in the studio to have 6, I had bikes leaning up everywhere. In the house, it works alright, though it'll work better once I have access to the garage (still in the process of remodeling practically half the property).
I haven't bought a bike in almost 3 months; I still look every day, but now I'm content to sit and wait for a good deal, and I'm not (really) itching for a project. I am still looking for a touring bike, though I'm torn on whether I really need one. It's probably not a good sign that I still look every day...
That's a good tip about the kittens vs. bike saddles. The fun part of having my cat around when I work on my bikes is when I have to change the cables and he's chasing the ends all over the floor! Or having him bat parts and tools around when they're on the floor. He hasn't done too much damage though.

michael k

douchebagonwhlz

I just moved and I threw several rusty cruiser types I need (really) for parts on the back of the truck, and about 10+ wheels and 25 tires (mostly skinny). so a new neighbor helps me unload for an hour or so and I could only wonder what he though as I unloaded wheel after wheel and about 6 or 8 bikes. I already moved a pickup load of bikes and wheels the other night. anyway, my wife really loves me. Think how much money you save by not havign a car hobby.
Here's what you need:
SS skinny tire fender bike
fat tire townie bike
geared skinny tired fender bike
a commuter if one of the 3 previous is unable to commute.
a road bike you can ride 100 miles
a road bike that is eye candy and you don't really ride often
rigid ss mtb
full suspension mtb
touring rig

ftwelder

I have about ten bikes and a pretty much empty 5000' warehouse behind my shop. It's a good thing the space is rented or it would be full of bikes.

RobbieTunes

As long as you can find your bed, the fridge, and get to the bathroom.
The kittens can be given to anyone named Drew.

Oregon Southpaw

480sq. ft here, 5 bikes.

Basically one rider.

Compared to most C&Vers, its nothing, but its still too much.

I love my main ride so much I'm at a point where I really only need it, a beater/grocery getter/commuter, and a MTB.

stien

I usually say two road bikes and a mountain bike, but now I've got 4 road bikes and a mountain bike, along with like 4 frames and wheels.


So, basically you're in trouble unless you quit the internet.

bobbycorno

To borrow a line from the 50+ forum, N+1.

SP
Bend, OR

escii_35

1. A Sexy bike which hangs prominently in the living room (mine is euro steel with Sachs ergo)
2. Travel Bike which does double track with ease.
3. Road Touring Rig
4. A commuter you lock in sketchy areas.

Opt:

5. Single track Bike.
6. Urban wanna be hipster SS with lots of bling.
7. Tandem

Chombi

You first have to establish the "focus" of your collection to narrow everything down as there are so many types of bikes out there for the picking.
My own focus is on mid 80's to early 90's French bikes. I like that era as I did most of my "serious" riding at that time in college, plus it marks the end of an age for French bikes as the industry in that country significantly shrunk down since that time as cheaper and maybe better(?) alternatvies had come up from the far east.. I want to have at least one steel, one aluminum and one or maybe even two CF road bikes in my stable. I already have steel with my 84 Peugeot PSV and CF with my 85 Vitus Carbone 7. presently on the lookout for a classic French Aluminum and maybe another CF bike to round out my collection, but I haven't really found good ones yet this year to start new build-ups.
Having a small collection also gives me more opportunity to mod my bikes to what I percieve to be their ultimate form and still be able to afford doing so. As it is, my component stash had grown quite a bit these past few months to start a new build but I'm catching myself swapping parts back and forth to try them out on the road on my present two bikes....anyway, I'm having a lot of fun as a result!
I live in the SF bay area so my living space is not that big to accommodate more than the three or four bikes I am planning on.

Chombi