Originally Posted by
Darth Lefty
The bikes in my "quiver" are pretty different, not a dichotomy of better or worse, faster or tougher. I've got a cyclocross-frame commuter, a MTB, a 3-speed stepthrough with a toddler seat, and a C&V roadie. The latter gets ridden the least even though it has the nicest ride. I think mainly I leave it in the rack due to its short gearing, but it seems like that's part of its character.
Same. Once you have more than a few bikes, the argument for keeping a beater becomes less compelling. I actually have two bikes right now that are significantly lower quality than the rest, but they'll find their way out the door as soon as I need the garage space.
Getting into C&V bikes has significantly accelerated my N+1 habit. When I was justifying the habit by saying that I wanted a commuter, a road bike, a mountain bike, a cyclocross bike, a singlespeed, etc. it seemed as if I would eventually find that I had a bike for every type of riding I did. But since getting into C&V I've found that I need an Italian bike, a French bike, an English bike, and on and on. And even before I've filled out the map, I can see that the day will come when I explore the distinctions between a Pinarello and a DeRosa or between a Motobecane and a Peugeot and so on. Eventually I'm going to need to move from the suburbs to the country just to get a bigger garage. Or maybe when my daughters are grown and out of the house my wife will let me use their rooms to store bikes.
