yankeefan

I've had a few people over my place during the holidays and all of them asked me this same question upon seeing my stable of trusty steeds. It seems very difficult for the uninitiated to understand the need for different bikes, so I began responding by asking them why do they have more than one pair of shoes. The reasons they gave usually fell along the lines of "different styles for certain occasions" or "different purposes/weather conditions" and I told them the same logic applied to owning more than one bike. Some of them got it, others not so much...

I'm sure most of you have been asked this question before and I'd like to hear you guys respond to it, and how people react when you attempt to explain it.

wahoonc

Shoes, underwear, coats, golf clubs... etc.

My stock answer is "because" and let them figure it out.

Aaron

Retro Grouch 

"Why do you ask?" Their response to that question will drive my answer to theirs.

Some people can understand the "bag full of golf clubs" analogy. But if somebody hasn't ridden a bicycle in 30 years, they probably have a fixed idea in their minds of what riding a bike means and they can't stretch their imagination to include more than that one kind of riding.

Many folks and are just making conversation and can't understand why anybody would choose to ride a bicycle at all. When that happens I prefer to discuss a different subject.

Billy Bones

Agree.

Or...let the inquiry go unheeded into cricket territory.

Thing is, Yankee', in this life once you're tagged as someone who needs to stand, deliver, and explain yourself, you've lost personal control. Chuck 'em, Farley.

caloso

my answer is the same as yours

knobster

Different tools for different purposes.

Mark Stone

I always answer "So I can ride in 3D." When they shrug their shoulders, I say "The same reason you have two eyes. It's safer to ride in 3D".

Machka 

This.

Kindaslow

Why not.....

kingston 

People usually regret asking me that question, because I'm the guy who doesn't understand the difference between people asking polite social questions and genuine interest in the differences between each bike. Luckily my wife has the social awareness to cut me off when I start to bore our guests.

bhchdh 

I just sigh, smile and walk away.

Fastfingaz

I just can't help myself ,,,,, Why did I go to my local thrift store and buy a 1973 Murray phoenix 10 speed and spend all day repacking all the bearings with grease and washing the bike, putting on a new saddle I had ,, after I used a liberal amount of degreaser and washed it, it looks great and the good thing it only cost me $13.00 dollars plus the elbow grease which is what I enjoy doing , my wife would stick her head out the kitchen door and just smile at me , but I could see what she was really thinking,,, Bike # 7

yankeefan

Remember, N+1 only applies to single bros. S-1 is the relevant equation for you

Machka 

Actually in our case, it's more like N+2.

BR46

If its a co-worker I like to say I have so much money I don't know what else to spend all my money on.
If its my wife I like to say I could spend it on gambling and strippers.

bikejrff

Me.

Stucky

Same reason Jay Leno has a pile of cars. But bikes are relatively cheap and fun to play with, and I'd much rather be riding one or working on one than sitting in front of a TV watching a bunch of over-paid grown men chase a ball around.

catgita

The same people who would buy a $6500 bundle to get leather seats or a radio with more complicated controls for their car will never understand how, much less why, someone would spend more than $300 for a bicycle.

I usually say "This one is for off road, this one is for commuting, this lawn chair one is for sight seeing, and that one is for running the dog." Grossly oversimplified half truths, but adaquate most of the time. It kills me to call a full custom allroad randonnuer a commuter bike, but even cyclists don't get that one. Fortunately my bikes all look very different.

KenshiBiker

Harley riders have a saying: "If I have to explain, you wouldn't understand."

either that or "For the same reason some people have a truck, SUV, sports car, etc."

CliffordK

I've had one primary bike (Colnago Super) for most of my life. I have tried out an MTB, and a couple of other bikes over the years, but most of the riding is on the Colnago.

My "second" bike that is now racking up a few miles is a cargo bike. I built it for a local DRT race, but it has proven quite handy as I've reduced my driving to essentially Zero.

Hopefully soon I'll finish up building up a CF bike... just because I want to try it out, and I also need to get some of the pressure off of the Colnago. I'd like to do a mini-restore of the Colnago. And, there may be benefits of doing some of my winter riding on a plastic bike instead of the old trusty steel bike.

I also have rebuilt/repaired, and given away a few bikes, and done quite a bit of community bike maintenance, depending on where I'm at. It is always handy to stock some spare parts, and I'd rather pay $5 for a complete bike, rather than $20 for each tire.

a77impala

Why would anyone only want one bike?

Stucky

Yeah, that's why I bought my Venge. I was never overly enthusiastic about CF- but always wanted to see what all the comotion was about- so when I saw it on the local CL and it was my size, I couldn't resist. Nice bike, and I really like it- but to tell you the truth, it's got nothing on my Klein. The old Klein rides just as well (if not better), and both are very comfy.

pdlamb

Would you use the same thing to pull your bass boat as you would to impress a girl on a first date?

Of course, in some areas, the answer might be "yes." Then you'd have to follow it up with, "Would you take the pickup truck you hauled the pigs down to the slaughterhouse to the A&W truck show?"

rydabent

Maybe not "more than one bike" but it might be more than one type of bike. I for instance have a LWB bent and a trike. If I had the money, I would like to add a Rans crank forward mountain bike type. That way I would have the biking tools to cover most any type of biking.

modelmartin

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have the winner right here! Nail on head, squarely hit!