foamy

Are our bikes extensions of our personalities? I noticed that the Riv frame thread had a bit of emotional fueling and it started me thinking (always a dangerous thing) about how we percieve our bicycles and ourselves. The variations in touring rigs is all over the map and there’s really no absolutes—except where our bikes are concerned.

I can certainly be charged with being emotional about my bike(s). I even name them. Oh, I’m totally rational and objective when I consider a purchase—obsessively so. It’s kind’a like looking for the right woman to be involved with. For me at any rate. I’m terribly picky (and, knock on wood, very fortunate) about these sort of things.

For some, a bike is just a bike. However, I think there’s more than a few folks that consider their bicycles to be loyal, metal friends. I’d be one of those. I’m not considered normal by any of my friends and that's just fine.

jfry541

I totally understand. I come back from tours and family is always wondering why I have so many pictures of just the bike and none of myself. The obvious answer is that I was alone on the trips, but there is always the chance a stranger can take a photo at the well visited rest areas or viewpoints. What it really is is that the bike is a manifestation of me. A photo of my bike in front of some big mountains means that the I was at those big mountains because my legs got the bike there. My mind pushed my legs up their too, but the bike carried my mind and my legs, not too mention all of my stuff; my house!. It's all a beautuiful machine isn't it?

Loaded bikes are sexy

truman

Nope. They're just machines to me. The one my uncle gave me has some attachment, but that's because of the gift, not the bike.

nancy sv

I've never been particularly attached to a particular bike - they are just bikes. The bike I took with my on my India trip is my favorite because it just *fit* so perfectly. I keep thinking I'll dig that bike out and rebuild it with all new components, but haven't done it yet.

staehpj1

I am not particularly a gear head so I don't obsess over bike selection. I have some preferences that I make sure my bike meets, but I don't go all gaga over either the bike or it's parts. I especially don't make a big deal of lusting after expensive stuff. Inexpensive and functional is what I like. I actually like the fact that my $599 bike carried me coast to coast more than I would if it had been a $5,990 bike. I suspect I am out of the mainstream in that regard.

That said I do develop an attachment after I have a lot of great memories with it. My Windsor Touring is nothing fancy, but I find it quite adequate. The attachment I have to it is mostly just the fact that it took me across the country and I associate the great memories of the TA and other tours with it.

twodeadpoets

I think they are extensions of our personalities, even for those who say that they are just pieces of metal in which they use to get around on, something could be said as to what kind of person they are or how they want to be perceived. I am meticulous about all of my bike builds, though not so in other areas of my life. That said, I think I use my bikes to convey what is important to me such as craftsmanship, a healthy lifestyle, adventurous, and green living. I am attached to my bikes and it's common for me to find an ordinary frameset somewhere, think that I "just want to do something with it" (but not for me of course), build it up, and in the process become attached to it - and in the process my basement is getting full. Fortunately though, after some time has passed, I can usually sell or give the bike to someone and move on to something else. The ones I ride the most though are the ones I have a hard time giving up.

BTW, I would LOVE to get a Rivendell!

Wogster

I think a lot of it has to do with how a bicycle can be infinitely customized for the operator, so that our bicycle becomes an extension of our personality. You take my bicycle and compare it to a stock bicycle of the same model, it's tough to tell it's the same bicycle, because it's been transformed into a hybridized touring bike, and after I switch to a solid fork this winter (with low rider mounts) it will be even harder to tell. There is a MTB in there, the only thing that betrays that fact is that it's got a 17 gear inch granny gear

Because we transform our bicycle into an extension of ourselves, it becomes personal, it becomes comfortable, it becomes intensely bound into the adventures and tragedies you have witnessed and become a part of, in that saddle. Part of this is because bicycles tend not to be shared, I have my bicycle, my wife has her bicycle, I think it would be that way, even if we were the same height and had the same leg length, it would have to be, as we often ride together.

Bacciagalupe

Some people treat all sorts of material objects as extensions of their personality, or to signify all sorts of social codes. Plus it's a complicated material object you share in common with others. IMO it's a bit silly, since I'm the one doing the work, not the bike. Besides, I change bike more frequently than I change personalities; and I own a rather pedestrian touring bike and a road bike, and I don't have DID....

But when you get down to it, most cyclists are more impressed by what you do with the bike than the bike itself. Riding a $10,000 Pinarello Dogma FPX won't wow anyone if you aren't strong enough to climb a hill; most tourists are more impressed by a solo "Alaska to Argentina" story than by the bike you did it on. Unless you used a unicycle.

4000Miles

When I was on my trip this summer, I kinda saw this on a large scale. The organization provided everyone with a bike, so most of us had the exact same bike in the same color (Giant Defy 2), with the only difference being the size. It was interesting to see how everyone customized their bikes over the course of the trip - they were all pretty vanilla during orientation - red and silver bike with black tape, no stickers, but by the time we got to Montana, nearly everyone had added stickers or ornaments and had some loud-ass bar tape - something to make our bikes our own. I think when you ride thousands and thousands of miles on a bike, you do develop a bit of an attachment. Maybe it isn't something you'd notice unless you were without it for a long period, but I definitely have. Luckily, it should be arriving at my door tomorrow

twodeadpoets

@Bacciagalupe,
True, but like a piece of art either paint or metal, one can admire a fine crafted bicycle by either looking at one or by owning one. To those who can tell, there's a big difference between a WalMart bike stamp out in some third world country and a handbuilt bike crafted in the US, Canada, or else where.

I started touring on a mountain bike and hated it until I decided to get a dedicated tour bike and then fell in love with bicycle touring and learned to appreciate a well made bike. I appreciate the ride and how nice my bike feels and how much longer I can ride. I can also appreciate finding another tourer with a taste for craft as well.

jamawani 

Even though I call mine "Lucy".
Bikes are merely inanimate objects.
It's nice when you get one that fits and rides well.
But that's it.

PS - Emotional investments usually work better with people, doggies, kitties, etc.

staehpj1

I couldn't agree more.

imi

I "love" my bikes (and my guitars)... however this can in no way be equated with the love I have for my friends... I think this is just a reflection on the good times I have experienced with my bikes (and guitars), so I'm basically saying I love my memories... and my dreams of bike rides to come and songs to be played...

No big deal... If my bike broke, I'd build up a new one...

mustang1

i watch sweat drip onto my frame. I'll miss the bike if it ever went but I'd have no hesitation replacing it. I dont think I'l ever sell it though as it's the first bike I bought after a long time of no-cycling, so I consider it my first revival bike bought. Or somethng like that.

antokelly

do i love my bike's hmmm bet your sweet ass i do love them to bits.if im having a bad day my little sweetheart will take me out for a nice ride cheer me up no end.you need to love your bike not of course in the same way you love friends /family but in the way you love your freedom jeez what's not to love about it .oh yeah i also love my guitar.

rhm

I always used to think of my touring bike --a Trek 720 I got as a new frame in '83-- as just a utilitarian object that I upgraded, changed, even painted as suited me over the years. Then ten or twelve years ago I decided to try something else, so I moved all the parts over to another frame and rode that... then I moved the parts over to yet another frame and rode that. And the bike I was riding seemed to be getting "better" with each "improvement."

But the funny thing is, the old Trek frame hung in the corner in the basement, and I'd see it there. Knowing I'd ridden across the Rockies and all around various places I'd lived, the DC area, CT, Bavaria, etc., and knowing I was now riding something else, I felt bad for it. I mean, I felt kinda guilty, like I was cheating on my wife or ignoring an old friend or something. I eventually rebuilt the Trek into exactly what I wanted, and it has again "my touring bike." I still feel bad for the years I spent riding a different bike.

Do I love it? No, not really; it's an "it" not a "she", it doesn't have a name, and I have no compunction about changing it, riding the hell out of it, letting it get wet, whatever. But I'm proud of it, and proud of the miles I've ridden on it, even though I have no idea how many it's been (could be under 3000 or over 20000, I really don't know).

positron

Investment? Definitely.

Emotional? not so much... its replaceable.

foamy

Hmm. it's curious that those who claim some thought for their machines don't take the "emotional" part of the question too literally and generally seem to be "right-brainers," i.e. creative.

Those who claim no thought for their bike seem to take the "emotional" part fairly literally. I'd guess they are more "left-brained," i.e. analytical.

Obviously, that's a generalization and guess on my part. There's no right or wrong here. It'd be interesting to know how folks make their living and whether that little guess would hold up.

Just thinking about things.

imi

dunno, I think I just "love" a lot of things; nature, life, travelling, my bicycles...

Chop61

Sure, they're an extension. The fact that we're on this forum debating everything about them is proof. We color them with our expectations and our experiences. Not to pick on Pete, but having him describe his Windsor tourist tells me he is practical, frugal, and hard working. Like his workhorse bike.

I am not like my Pinarello, although it is elderly and the decals are peeling, it's more like the bike I wished I deserved to ride. Unfortunatly, I am more like my beige Surly. Wide tires and slow...But comfortable and pedictable.

Steve.D

Yes, same as with our cars, homes, clothing, etc..

If I was to lose one of my newer mass produced bikes, I would just go out and get a replacement. If I was to lose one of my vintage bikes, I would be devastated. They have soul.

Losligato

One of the joys of bike touring is the minimalism. Only so much can fit on the bike. It forces the realization that you are you, not your things. In a world where we equate who we are with what we own the act of touring is a reminder that we are not our stuff. While we may want our possessions, including our bikes, to represent who we are, they do a far better job of showing others who we want to be.

alhanson

Funny you say it like that. I grew up in the boat/yacht world. That is exactly what the woodenboat types (including me) always says about their boat.

mrhedges

The way products are marketed these days (ipods to sodas) is to identify them with our personalities. IE I use apple products because i'm a creative person and so forth. This happens in the bicycle world too, thats how so many fixed gears get sold in places where they are totally inconvenient like SF

Several years ago I decided to make an effort to understand the machines I use on a daily basis. The easiest being the bicycle. I always liked bikes but having taking the time to understand it, and eventually totally rebuild it I feel more of a connection to it. its not love in the way i love my friends but i'd never want to have to replace it and would be sad if i did.

Around the same time i learned alot more about computers but still don't feel particularly attached to any computer.

jfry541

I'm a right brainer and I do love Jasper. 84' 520.


https://www.flickr.com/photos/42639192@N03/3931481865/

So can a new LHT have as much soul?