RFEngineer

Those of you who have more than 1 road bike, do you constantly switch between bikes or do you pretty much always ride one? I have a road bike that is too big and a cyclocross bike that fits pretty well. I always ride the cyclocross bike and when I tried to take the road bike out the other day, I realized how badly it fit. I am thinking of swapping a smaller frame for the road bike but I am trying to plan how I am going to use each of my bikes. The cross bike has disc brakes that I really love. The road bike has rim brakes. Both bikes are pretty heavy (20, 22 lbs.). I was thinking I would reduce weight and make a climbing bike, but I am also thinking I want disc brakes on this one too. I also don't want to end up with two of the same bike. Thoughts?
Alan

Wested

I have two, though for serious riding I only use one. I converted the older road bike (15 years old) into a get-around commuter that I don't mind scratching up.

datlas 

Most roadies that I know have an older bike that is a beater/backup and a newer main ride. The older one gets ridden when a cable snaps or newer one out of commission, or when weather crappy.

jamesdak 

I actually rotate through about 6 bikes. They all fit and all are a joy to ride. The various differences between the bikes helps to keep the riding fresh each day.

datlas 

Get ride of the road bike that is "too big" and get one that fits perfectly. Rim brakes are generally fine unless you are frequently riding down long mountain passes and/or wet.

RFEngineer

Well,
I live on the front range of the Rocky Mountains. Long descents and afternoon showers are pretty common. That's why I love my disc brakes. I can absolutely descend faster with my disc brakes compared to my rim brake bike. Plus, it is a little scary to me to switch back and forth. Riding rim brakes and expecting performance of my discs could be really bad.
Alan

silversx80

I have two. One is my favorite, while the other I leave at work, and race.

turkey9186

I have a dozen bikes and three or four of them I ride regularly. They are each setup a little different and I choose based on what the ride will be like.

RonH

I have two road bikes. I alternate between the Litespeed and the Cannondale every ride. Love both.

mcours2006

Yes, get rid of the one that doesn't fit and replace it with something similar if you don't want two bikes that are the same. But having said that, even if you have two bikes with disc brakes you'll end up preferring one over the other.

on the path

I have 3 road bikes. Two of them have gears and the 3rd is a single-speed. I ride all of them, and each for a different reason.

ltxi

I maintain two road bikes, currently a three+ year old aluminum frame Synapse and a new this year CF BMC GF02. Both fitted correctly. Geared and handle differently. The GF02 gets the most daily use but the Cannondale gets it's fair share as well. Depends on my mood and what I want out of the bike/the ride as to which I use.

beechnutC23

I have three road bikes and a cyclocross bike. One road bike is classic steel and custom-built to my fit ('93 Marinoni Special), the other is a brand-new Marinon CF Genius (off-the-shef Columbus Genius frame) that matches the fit of my steel Marinoni, and the third is a Cervelo R3T that is too big for me. It is now for sale. I also have a cross bike on 28C slicks. But I rarely use it, I tend to use it now as our loaner bike when friends and family visit. It's heavy, has kludgy handling and terrible brakes for the hilly territory I normally ride in (when I loan it to visitors its mostly for riding on rails-to-trails type routes).

So of the two the steel and CF Marinonis see the most use, with the CF being the main ride. The steel one is mostly for centuries and some crushed stone paths (I run 25Cs on it), due to its outstanding comfort, but the gearing is too tough for my 58 y.o. legs on the hills.

Steve B.

3 road bikes.

- Ones a light carbon "go fast" bike. Gearing for flats and easy hills. I use this on weekend warrior rides.
- Ones a steel with slightly wider tires then the carbon, has a triple so is the go to bike for traveling or commuting when I leave clothes at work.
- The 3rds a touring bike, triple, bar-cons, rear rack, 32mm tires. I commute on this when I need the panniers, use it with c-cross knobbies (separate wheels) if I do gravel, etc...

I figured out my fit about 20 years ago and just match up the dimensions when doing a new bike, which I just did with my recent Chinese carbon buildup. Some slight differences, seat and head tube angles, wheelbase, etc... But reach is the same a rose the bikes at 67cm. The carbon's h-bar is lower and the seat tube is a full degree steeper then tourer, which is a more powerful position, but by now I have that all figured out. The recent purchase and build up was perfect.

Sidney Porter

2 road bikes one sits on a trainer the other gets ridden. I also have a mtb and a city bike with racks and fenders

kingston 

I have 10 bikes that I ride pretty regularly. I wrote a little article about it earlier this year.

Da Reef

Sounds like you need to build a third bike. Rember rule number 12: the correct number of bikes to own is N+1


I have two. One for bad weather, commuting when I get the opportunity, racing, etc. The other is a built to the max dream bike for weekend/evening laps around the neighborhood (and beyond), fondo's, etc. I'm trying to figure out bike number 3.

a77impala

I have four but since I bought my Arrivee I ride that almost exclusively! I could be happy with only that one, Titanium rocks!

TMonk

3 road bikes, a daily driver/trainer (2013 tcr advanced), race (2016 venge expert) and backup (09 caad9)

caloso

The "A" bike, the "B" bike (which was the "A" bike until I bought the current one), and the fixed gear roadie. My plan is to find an inexpensive used CX frame and move the components from the B bike to it. Or not. Whatever.

Nachoman

The custom, high-end road bike and the back-up bike, which doesn't get used more than 10 or 15 times a year.

Dean V

If you don't want to start collecting bikes you could just get a second wheel set for the CX bike. One heavier duty set with bigger all purpose tires and one lighter set with good fast road tires.

Jean3n16

I have 2 and I plan to ride the Nishiki long distance and the SunCountry to go around town.

rpenmanparker 

I have three road bikes, all the right size and all fitting perfectly with similar comfort. I ride two of them interchangeably. Often I ride one until it is dirty or needs maintenance, then switch out to another and fix up the first. And so it goes. Actually the third one is my special occasion bike, my repainted and fixed up steelie. I just ride it on birthdays and holidays.

PepeM

Sell the bike that doesn't fit, you have no use for it. Then, pocket the money and keep riding your current bike. It seems to cover all of your needs. 20-22lbs is not 'pretty heavy' so don't sweat it.