Originally Posted by MikeR
That's the trap I'm falling into. Any bike nice enough to own is to nice for a beater. I think our problem is just one thing. WE LOVE BIKES TOO MUCH.
Bingo
I think you've expressed it perfectly...
Part of the problem is that all my bikes I put a lot of work into. So even if the bike *IS* a POS, I still love it sooo much. For example, I had a kick-ass fixed gear which I built up myself, built the rear wheel and all. The bike was a totally run-of-the-mill 10-speed from the early 80s, but it was quite dear to me nonetheless. Eventually, I sold it to help recoup the cost of building my fabulous touring bike, but not without some regret.