Back up bikes?? All I know is, I really need another top line 80's French race bike to round out my small stable of two bikes!!!!
Damn!, I just narrowly missed getting that dream mid 80's Gitane pro a couple of weeks ago because of budget limits at that time, after literally waiting for years to find one! It was even the perfect size, and it was in fantastic condition, except for a BB shell problem that seems to be easy enough to fix with the right component! Damitol!!!!!!!!!! Arrrgh!!!!!!Gahhhhhhh!!!!!!Blechhhhh!!!! I'm dying here!!!

Chombi

I always find a reason to add one to the list:

Hill climb/bring a smile to your face bike (Gitane Tour de France)
Time trial bike (Gitane Sprint)
Indoor winter trainer/Errand/gym bike (when I can because I live 10 miles out of town) (Nishiki Marina 12)
Race mountain bike (Klein Pulse II)
Heavy touring bike (Trek 800 Antelope)
Light touring bike (Trek 510)
Fun mountain bike (Scott Comp Racing)
General training bike (Peugeot PX10)
For fun project bike (late 60's Gitane)
Ride with kids bike - project (Peugeot PL8)
Look but don't ride bike (Teledyne Titan)
Wish I could ride it bike (Peugeot PSV - it's too tall)

My rationalization is that it is cheaper than golf (gets expensive very quick, especially w/ bar tab!), strip clubs or auto crossing (used to do that w/ my BMW, tires are EXPENSIVE!) and it is good for my health. I also have 7 guitars.... one for each day of the week

I once answered my wife's question of "what can this bike do that one of the other 7 can't do?" with this: "Be 30 years old and British." She still let me get it, 'cause she's awesome!

Oh crap... now I need another bike.



Seriously... I have all the bikes a person could ever want or need and would only get another if it was a significant improvement over what I have and some bikes just can't be replaced due to their age and relatively rare nature.

I live a car free life and figure that anyone who does this should have a decent B bike in case the A bike fails or had to be put up for work... A bike duties get shared between my P20 folder and my Trek hybrid as both are very capable all rounders and will commute, haul, tow, and take me on weekend tours quite handily.

My commute to the frame shop is a 100km round trip.

If the cargo I need to carry exceeds the capacity of those I have an extrabike that sees use through 12 months of the year and I just swap in the studded tyres for winter and it excels on icy roads. I also use it to run shop errands, help with events, and make house calls so it is akin to my pickup truck.

The A winter bike is my Kuwahara Shasta... it has been fitted with an IGH and the setup is ideal when you might be riding when it is -40C and it is a great foul weather machine.

I have a dedicated touring bike, road bike, fixed gear road bike, and 2 mountain bikes that get used when the riding warrants a more specialize machine... if I used my touring bike for everything I'd end up wearing out higher end parts at a far faster rate and it is nice to have it ready for longer and more heavily loaded trips.

I have second folder... if you come to my shop and need to leave your bike you can borrow it as it will accommodate almost anyone but at some point I will be giving this bike to my daugher.

After that I have a nice collection of vintage bikes that I have built up and restored and none of them are garage queens but why run a 50-60 year old bike into the ground when there are more replaceable options ?

They are wonderful to ride and good advertising for my shop... I have also loaned them out for things like theatre production when they needed period correct, working props and have derived some income from this.

These are;

1951 CCM path / road conversion
1954 Raleigh Sports
1955 Raleigh Lenton
1957 Peugeot PLX 8

And the cool thing is that many of these bikes were free or acquired very cheaply... I have not paid more than $100.00 for any bike I have and the crown jewel in the collection is probably worth more than most of my bikes combined.

And she was free.

So all you need to do is start a bike shop and work as a frame builder, go car free, and really like riding in all it's myriad forms as they are more than just transportation and tools.

Sometimes you just want to ride with no other purpose save to have a lot of fun.

Since my cat Sacha never wants for anything and I'm in the process of becoming single again, I don't have any need to justify N+1 anymore!

However, for the record:

Fast, cool vintage bike #1 - Colnago Mexico
Fast, cool vintage bike #2 - Colnago Super
Fast, cool vintage bike #3 - Alpina
Fast, cool vintage bike #4 - Dennis Sparrow
Fast, cool modern bike #1 - Bill Davidson
Medium fast, cool vintage touring bike - Mondia Special
Frameset to build into fast, cool vintage bike #5 - Somec Supercorsa
Frameset to build into fast, cool vintage bike #6 - Casati Perfection
Frameset to sell to some male or female needing a 53cm fast, cool vintage bike - Atala
Frameset to sell to some male or female needing a 57cm fast, cool vintage bike - Cinelli Supercorsa

I think that just about covers everything

DD

I try to make each bike unique though most have steel framed, Brooks saddles, and barcons. I'm over my self imposed limit of 10. Not all are vintage.
I commute on all but the muscle bike and MTB.

go fast, feel good, updated old school carbon Miyata w/DA and TT bars
titanium flashy Colnago Oval Master w/9 speed STI and DA
Sunday ride to meeting 86 Paramount w/barcons
DT equipped chrome forked Columbus tubed Swiss Cilo
Performance track frame commuter with SA 3 speed, drum brakes, generator hub, Honjo fenders - long term build
MTB - rapid fire 9 speed Giant
SS / Fixie Grand Sport Raleigh with elkskin bar wrap, fenders, and rack
Commuter 9 speed Fuji World touring frame with rack, fenders, barcons, home made dual halogens w/Lightbrain controller, 18v 6ah system
Cross bike, Ritchey breakaway (steel) w/suitcase, fender, rack, barcons does double duty winter with Bionx electric kit and studded tires
Muscle bike remake w/26" wheelset, 7 speed, white banana seat, custom red sparkling paint, sissy bar, ape hangers
Classic Raleigh RecordAce with gleaming components, 531 tubes, cloth tape, bell, non-aero brakes, chrome crankset, 600 and VO components, barcons

Here's what I've been able to justify so far:

My keep at work and ride at lunch road bike (Late 90's Titanium MongoosePro Cipressa with DA 9-speed)
My Touring bike (1985 Fuji Touring Series V with barcons)
My ride with Kids and around the neighborhood bike (1971 Raliegh Super Course with trail tires, fenders with moustache bars + barcons)
My in the house fluid trainer bike (1988 Centurion IronMan Expert the only bike with DT shifters)
My Italian keep at home and ride on weekends road bike (90's Giordana XL-Strada with 9 speed Ultegra)
My hardtail Mountain bike (90's Titanium DB Racing)
Our Tandem (Burley Rock and Road)
Her road bike (1997 Bianchi Virata with 8 speed brifters - she's ridden it once)
Her cruiser bike (1980's Olympic 12 Nishiki Mixte with stem shifters)
Her Mountain bike (1993 Nishiki)
Our daughter's cruiser bike (1980's Bridgestone 300 Mixte with stem shifters)
Our daughter's Mountain bike (2006 Schwinn)
Our son's BMX bike (Generic garage sale find)
Our son's road bike (1980's Bridgestone 90 Jr Tenspeed with stem shifters)
Our two folding pack in the car and take to the beach bikes (twin Dahon Mariner 8-speeds)
I've also got a Mixte, and a Fuji Royale that I've committed to flipping but haven't had time to tear down yet, and the Bridgestone 700 that I loaned to a friend at work....I think I really may have a problem.

I've gone through a lot of bikes in the past few years, but I think I'll be sticking with my current stable for a while. It serves me well, even if non-biking folks are shocked- shocked!- at the astounding seven bikes I currently have
Fast fair-weather bike that happens to fit me perfectly- 93 Greg Lemond
Fast foul-weather commuter/touring bike- 93 Specialized Allez
Vintage MTB-to-townie conversion- 93 Specialized Stumpjumper
Can't get rid of it because it's the first bike I built up myself, so now it's the backup foul weather road bike: 70s Gitane Grand Sport de Luxe. I may at some point have to break down and take this one apart. Now that I know what a good-riding bike feels like, I never ride this one anymore! But I'll probably still keep the frame and display it in the garage or something.

Then I have a modern dual-suspension MTB (hey, another Specialized!), an Electra cruiser that serves as a stylish grocery bike, and a Schwinn mixte that I intend to flip, when I get around to fixing it up. Meh, I've got a few more months.

It makes me feel better to know that there are so many others whose bike-hoarding tendencies are at least as bad as, or worse than, my own.

I have several "I don't have to justify my bikes to anyone, so I'll ride what I like when I like" bikes.

I only have one name, MINE! I have a great wife who doesn't care if I have one bike or one hundred bikes as long as I enjoy them that's what matters. I only have one bike that I named like that and it is my fishing bike, my Swiss Army mountain bike I built up to hit the trails carrying my fresh water fishing gear all the others get called by the company names they were given.
Glenn

There are two classifications in my stablet: this one & those. Seems to work.

I have a tandem in france, then a tandem in england in my parents shed (along with a few others).

an attack of Bicycle Acquisition Syndrome (BAS) - otherwise known as a BAS attack.

what the heck, there are sooooo many bikes I DON'T have, why SHOULDN'T I have this one.
(besides, I don't lust for expensive grail bikes, just give me a nice ride on a quality frame that fits)

I've tried to keep the stable nice and tidy recently and I'm down to what I think is more than a good number

1986 Miele Elite S -> vintage speed
1980's (ish) Bianchi Ibex -> fairweather commuting
1980's (ish) Bianchi_______ ( I have no clue what model this one is) -> winer commuting
1970's Galaxy Merici -> too small for me, therefore I ride it when I can't find a lock/key.

I see a major problem with the OP's list.

How can one have a list so long, with so few British bicycles? Absolutely unthinkable!

Glenn, would that "Fishing Bike" be a Condor MO-93, by chance?

I have a friend in West Seattle that's into the entire cycling spectrum, from balloon-tire to lightweight, and he has a 1944 Swiss Army bike and one from the early 90s. Both built by a Swiss manufacturer called Condor, his 90s bike is model number MO-93. I'm thinking you have the same type of bike - and there aren't a whole lot of them in this country.

Cheers,
DD

Yes it is by Condor,the difference between the 1944 Swiss Army bike and the Swiss Army bike of the 90's is that the 1944 bike was made for the military and the 90's bike was made for the knife company ( Unless he has a newer military model). If you look at your friends bike from the 90's if it has red crosses on it just like the knife company then that's who sold it. I really like mine and have upgraded it to the point that only the frame and wheel set are stock. I had a buddy who wanted to trade me a Trek 1000SL for it and wouldn't take the message that is not for sale period, he later found the same bike in red in the trash. I got the Trek anyway for some labor to a lawn mower. The only thing not shown is I have a fishing rod holder that is mounted to the rear rack, when I break my rod down it keeps it from getting hung up on trees and bushes when I go off road.

Oh don't say that! I hope to have my E30 going around some cones next spring!

It's a ton of fun! PM me some pics of your car! I always enjoy seeing other E30s.

E30s rock (my first car: 1991 318is)

Just explain to her that collectable vintage bikes are in investment for the future, so:

JR's college fund bike #1 through #50
JR's law school fund bike #51 through #100

Just make sure that if you use this approach, JR is not 25 years old and married. She might not buy it.

I'm going to sell it and make a profit #1
I'm going to sell it and make a profit #2
I'm going to sell it and make a profit #3
and so on...

(It wears thin when you sell nothing.)

Wow, now I see they way you guys position these, I have a lot of room to grow my collection. You can differentiate on weather conditions giving you 3 versions, and then backups, giving you 6 versions of one type of bike.

So far I have positioned mine by purpose and nostalgia:
Race Road bike - 07 Titus Oseo
Race MTB - 08 Giant Anthem
First bike I paid retail for / Century bike - 98 Sampson Z7 Pro Road
Retro Touring - '80 Trek 610
Tow the kids trailer MTB - '93 GT Timberline
Ride the suburban trails with the kids bike - '95 Cannondale V500
Loaner Road bike - '02 Cannondale CAAD6 (very successful with this actually, got 3 people hooked on cycling this year with the loaner)
Time Trial bike - Rossin Crono of unknown year.


I also use the trick of replacing a bike with one of the same color and she won't notice.

I use the same trick with bikes that I do with guns. Almost all my guns are revolvers or Marlin lever action rifles. They all look the same to her, especially if they are all in the same area. With a dozen bikes all hanging up in the garage, what's one more? I also work out of the house, so, I can drag one home while she is at work and put it in the basement with out her knowing. I'm pretty sure this is the same trick she uses with shoes!