confused on which bike to use
 

hi all, i usually do not post , as this forum is so 'huge' that i almost get my answers immideatly from people posts, i have this dilemma lately, i cycle to work in all weather, and i love it , the distance is not big just 9kms each way . i have 4 bikes at the moment, a nishiki landau 1982, a cube sl road which i used most , i attached panniers fenders etc, a giant xtc mtb, and i have a giant expressions city bike, i used tham all to go to work , but i always have that big smile on my face when i use the city bike, riding position is perfect, i dont have too change in cycling clothes , the sad part is that i feel like i wasted a lot of money on the other bikes. the cube is light and it has panniers so it can carry a lot more things but the position is still not that confy, uphill its great. mtb is useless with knobbly tyres on tarmac, and the nishiki its like my little classic bike. have you people ever been in my situation? i think simplicity is the nicest things in bikes

thanks for reading :thumb::)

I think you answered your own question there. Just ride what feels best. You only have to justify your choice of bike to yourself.

yep i think yre right

I have four bikes. I have a 1986 Nishiki Sebring, a 1994 Giant Innova, a 2007 Trek 7.5FX, and a 2011 Raleigh Grand Prix.

I think that I'm so accustomed to my Nishiki, that I find myself riding it most of the time. I seem to switch between the Sebring and the Innova. I used to ride my Trek into the city on Sundays. I haven't for several months due to a fall I had in July where I dislocated my shoulder. Currently, my Raleigh usually just ends up being eye candy!

This means that I basically, only ride two out of my four bikes. However, I'm primarily riding one of those two, the Sebring!

What the heck am I doing with all these bikes?

As a matter of fact, I'm thinking about buying another one....So go figure! :lol:

- Slim

PS.

I usually smile when I ride too! :)

I have nine bicycles; three mountain bikes, two touring bikes, three road bikes and an Xtracycle. The only one that I actually ride is the Xtracycle.
I enjoy the Xtracycle the most. All of the others I bought were a good deal and fit me. They are all LBS brands (i.e. not Murray, Huffy, Next, etc. brands)
I didn't pay more than $30 each for them. At the very least, I will always have something to ride.

I am always amazed by people who have 4,5,9, 15 bikes to choose from. I have ONE. I ride it for fun, I ride it for the commute, I ride it touring, and as it is a recumbent I never leave the pavement. But, for what these things cost, I have not found a way to afford multiples. I would LOVE to have one bike just for go-faster, and one for the commute, but it has never been the case. Perhaps I should switch back to diamond frames, which are more abundant and therefor mostly cheaper so I can build a 'stable' of rides????

Tractor Tom in Okeechobee, FL

Three of my four I bought second-hand. That saves a chunk of coin.

I love road bikes, so all of mine are some variation on a theme of roadie. Two are outfitted as commuters with full fenders and racks, and one of those can fit my studded snow tires. The other two are pure roadies.

On Mondays and Thursdays I use one of the commuters to haul in clothes and food for the week (and library books) on Monday, and to haul home the laundry (and more library books) on Thursday. Tuesdays and Wednesdays I can ride any bike I want.

The perfect week is my four-day, four-bike week. Each bike goes to work one day. This is what I miss most in the winter.

What do you pedal when one bike has a mechanical or needs repairs. I ride 8 bikes. One main commuter, 2 winter commuters, one touring, one beach cruiser tandem, one fs 26er mountain bike, one 26er hard tail mt bike, one 29er hardtail mt bike. I'm primarily a mountain biker and commuting is just for fun. Sometimes I commute on my mt bike too. Ride, rest, repeat.

I have 5 bikes at the moment, 3 ready to ride and 2 being rebuilt. I commute but also ride on the weekends so I try to keep my stable mixed and then modify the bikes to best fit their usage. I also keep some crossover abilities so if one is down, I have a good backup.

Current
1) 29er MTB - dedicated offroad only
2) 80's Peugeot MTB - Daily commuter(Fenders/Rack/Slicks)/Intermediate weekend rides(10-20 miles)
3) Fuji Touring - Longer road rides(>20 miles)/hard packed trails/Commuting

In Progress
1) 70's 10 speed - Going to be a city bike. Porteur rack/Upright bars and riding position/Shopping bike/Commuter
2) 80 Trek 400 - Eventually will be my lighter long distance bike. Will be doing some Century rides.

All of this and yet I still need one more bike. I'm going to add a single speed MTB to the stable at some point. I'm just waiting to grab the right bike of Craigslist.

thanks for all your replies... its seems the more the merrier than... :)

I have three different bikes that I commute on, plus another two that I previously rode before selling or decommissioning. Two of my bikes are sport touring frames with fenders, mounts for a large seatbag and geometries that make them ideal for commuting. However, I also enjoy riding my classic De Bernardi Italian racing bike on days when the weather is nice and I don't have to carry much gear. Before I sold it last summer, I often commuting on my Merckx Corsa during the warmer months. The racing bikes are faster, lighter and more fun to ride but not ideal for carrying loads and lack clearance for larger tires and fenders. Variety is the spice of life.

I have two bikes. An OK but nothing fancy road bike and an all purpose bike. I prefer to use the road bike most of the time but it's not suitable for winter riding so it sits in garage from December through March. So for me it's an easy decision.

Life without choices is not a life I want to live. Since I really like to ride bikes, I have bike choices. I have 4 at the moment and a total of 13 in the garage covers my family of 4. My commuter/town bike (cross check) gets more miles on it than all the other bikes combined probably by a factor of 10. But I love them all.

If I could I'd have specialty bikes for all the different types of riding I do (road, mountain, touring, commuting, winter etc...) I would own at least 9 bikes. It's good to have dreams....

Beware the man with one bicycle; he probably knows how to ride it.

My commuter rig is a 2 bike system. A multi-geared aluminum framed 2x9 CX bike set up w/rack, panniers, rain covers, trunkbag, full fenders, lights, etc. It hauls a weeks worth of clothes/food in on Mondays. The rest of the week I use a steel fg conversion w/25mm tires and a seatpost rack/trunkbag, SKS Raceblades, lights, etc. set up. Works well for hauling forgotten items in and the days clothing/food containers homeward. The tb is expandable as well. For me it's a perfect system as I love riding fg, but would rather not haul 30-40 lbs on one for 20+ miles. And I like my knee joints pain free. :p

Also, if I get burned out on the fg I can take my multi-geared for a day or 2 and come back to it feeling renewed. :thumb:

I have seven bikes, but I only commute on one . . . my DaHon Curve SL. Because: Part of my commute is on the Metro Train and the DaHon folds up nicely (16" wheels so it's a pretty small fold!).

However, and this big, they have just started putting "bicycle" areas on some of the Metro train cars. They aren't marked from the outside (yet), so they're difficult to find in the few seconds the trains stop for unloading/loading passengers . . . and there are no hooks for bicycles (yet), just this area where three rows of seats have been removed on one side of the train-car. Still, it's progress!

So hopefully, someday, maybe someday soon, they will have the cars marked (or maybe always use the last car, or always use the middle car, something consistant) and I'll be able to ride some of my non-folding bikes to work! That will be great!

Rick / OCRR

One car costs about as much as 15-30 decent, new, bikes. Maybe more, depending on the bike and the car in the comparison. If by being a bike nerd, you cut your family's car needs from 2 to 1, or from 1 to 0, you can buy many, many bikes and still be in the same financial position.

Those of us in the lower ranges - 2-4 bikes - just buy a bike every 4 or 5 years and never get rid of the old bike. I get the impression that those with a higher n rarely buy their bikes new.

I had eight bikes in the last three years. I'm down to three, and two of those I ride more often than the third. Of those two, the one that gets the most work has fenders, drop bars, a rack n' panniers, and a dynohub. It's like my hatchback/small 5-door wagon, while the other bikes are a sporty GT car and a Jeep. ;)

I've got 3 bikes, all for different reasons. I have a 2006 Trek 4300 mountain bike for the trails, a 2006 Trek 1000 for the road (and formerly the commuter) and a 1987 Schwinn World Sport I just picked up for commuting. I haven't ridden the Schwinn yet, but it's a beauty. It has been stored inside since the fall of 87. The original ticker style odometer reads 121.5 miles and it was installed the day it left the bike shop.

Some have made the analogy with a harem but I'm going go with single malt whiskies. There is no ultimate whisky; each one has its individual characteristics that make it distinct and enjoyable. So, as a whisky enthusiast, I'd never want to be limited to only one version (even though I may have a current favorite). Same with bikes (beers/ales & many other enjoyments too).
Of course in my walk of life, I can't afford to be a connaisseur, of anything, but I get plenty of enjoyment at the level I can afford.

This is not a problem limited to commuters! In fact, most of these numbers have been bush-league! Ask the same question in C&V and hold on to your hat!

I do not commute by bicye (24 miles one way amd 24 hour shifts keep that from happening but I'm working on it). Heck, I don't even vet to ride as much as I would like. BUT I have:

26 hard-tail MTB (dirt)
26 hard-tail MTB (baby-hauler,grocery-getter, bike path monster)
Old Roadbike. ( been slowly tweaking it for over a year. Still not right)
New Roadbike (wow! Is this fast! And uncomfortable)
New CX bike ( big plans for this baby)

PLUS I have a few project bikes waiting in the wings!

N+1 is the universally acceptable number of bikes to have.