Originally Posted by
Steely Dan
most things in life aren't "really necessary", but unless you're under severe space and/or budget constraints, having a 2nd bike that can serve as a back-up/foul-weather/winter bike for daily commuting can be a really, REALLY nice thing to have, especially for those of us who live in ice country where riding with studs becomes a pretty important consideration. sure, one can switch out wheel sets too, but having two bikes ready to go at a moments notice on any given morning allows one to more easily toggle between studs and no studs for that time of year when ice is very hit or miss.
like you say, it's not necessary, but a second bike is a luxury that i would strongly recommend to any daily commuter thinking about going 12 months in a 4 season climate.
I should probably clarify my position since it's been a long thread. I have no trouble with the idea of somebody getting a 2nd bike for winter especially since that's what in fact I have done myself.
I do question the idea that a dedicated bike commuter needs to keep a spare bike around "just in case". I think most of us could manage without a bike the one or two days each year that their bike might out of commission for whatever reason.
To take it a step further, I personally would prefer owning single a bike that was equally well suited for the things I use two bikes for now. I have a monthly "bike budget" and since I put a fair amount of miles on both bikes, I have two bikes worth of upkeep rather than one. I have two sets of fenders, I have two sets of lights, two sets of tools, two pumps, two sets of spare tubes, two patch kits, etc. If I only had one bike, I'd go through consumables for that bike quicker, but it would be much easier keeping spare parts and I'd have more money for the things I'd rather spend money on.
The two bikes I have are intended for very different purposes and I doubt there is a single bike that could do what both of these do equally as well.
So I have two bikes.