bikerjp

How do you use them?

I've only got a caad9 atm, but getting the itch for something else. I'm thinking of a "fast" commuter (probably steel) that could double as a longer distance bike. I've also been eying the super six but it's basically the same thing as the caad but in carbon. If you had both, would you ever ride the caad?

If you have an aluminum and carbon bike, do you ever ride the aluminum? Would it be the bad weather bike or the short ride bike?

For those that have 3 or more, how do you decide which to ride? Do you find you ride one most often and the others are kind of collecting dust?

kbro1986

1 race bike
1 training/weather bike
1 beater

cuda2k

Carbon - go fast bike
Steel - go fast on poor roads bike
Steel #2 - go fast in style on nice days bike
Steel #3 - go not so fast in "vintage" style bike
Steel "hybrid" - go slow over what every the road or end of the road brings.

(coming soon): Steel #4: Go fast, in major style and comfort, on nice days

bikerjp

So what are each of those steel beauties?

halfspeed

Race/road bike
Backup/TT/Indoor bike
Touring bike
Gravel/fat tire road bike
Winter bike (disc brakes, studded 26" fat tires, road drops, barcons, steel frame)
Folder
Rigid MTB visitors sometimes use
Various frames and parts that really need to go to ebay.

merlinextraligh

1. the race bike
2. the back up race bike (which also has S&S couplers and doublrs as the travel bike
3. the time trail bike
4. the cyclocross bike (for cyclocross races)
5. the track bike (for jra,and off season base, and someday maybe actually on the track)
6. the tandem
7. the mountain bike

I think I've almost hit the limit of n+1.

A bike dedicated to touring would be nice though...

Homebrew01

7
one at a time

bikerjp

What about the non-race just tooling around road bike?

Okay, what about those that don't race?

ColinL

I have two real bikes, a carbon road bike and an aluminum hybrid with a headshok. I technically have a really old trek steel MTB, but it's rigid and 2 sizes too small, plus a BMX bike. (Both are from my youth.)

Anyway, I ride the road bike on MUPs, roads, cobblestones, anything paved. It does great on all of it. I ride the hybrid crosscountry, technical singletrack, gravel roads and anywhere I pull my son's Trail-A-Bike. Just did 15 miles XC on it last weekend... was glad it was a family ride, my FIL can't drop me even with the TAB.

I posted this last week as to what bikes a person should own. If you don't want/need one of these roles, move down the list. I see no point in two road bikes at this point.
1. road bike
2. MTB
3. cross bike
4. TT bike
5. hybrid or commuter
6. another of one of the above

As you can see, I screwed up and I shouldn't have a hybrid since I lack a lot of stuff I would prioritize above it. Two years ago I thought it would be enough for the mountainbiking I wanted to do... and I was wrong.

look566 rider

Look 566 to ride as fast as I can and keep pace with my 25 year old son.

Cannondale Optimo 800 w/flat bars for errands and riding with the wife. Just de-commissioned her from daily duty.

JoelS

I just pick the one I want to ride that day.

bikerjp

I have a full suspension mtb, but I'm thinking of selling it. I just don't enjoy mtb riding anymore. I get too beat up. I'm thinking 2-3 road bikes is a good goal.

Al "race" bike for short fast rides
Carbon bike for longer but fast rides
Steel for commuting and comfort oriented long rides

Says the guy with one bike...

urbanknight

1. Road bike
2. Mountain bike

I'm sure their uses are pretty obvious.

Commodus

Rigid CF MTB - currently missing some parts, but I use it as a XC bike. I like to climb on it.
Marinoni Delta - any ride in nice weather up to about 300kms in length.
Soma Smoothie ES - commuting, poor weather, really long rides.
Old Italian Road Bike - eh...I don't know what I'm going to do with it when I'm done. Currently awaiting powder coating and a crankset.
Rocky Mountain Solo CX bike - CX racing, sometimes I'll commute on it. My commute right now is like half pavement and half dirt, so it's perfect, even if it's geared a little too low.
Kona Sutra Touring bike - commuting, groceries, touring...eventually.

bikerjp

So what qualifies as a really long ride? 300km is just a walk in the park?

ColinL

Whoops, I forgot vintage bikes. That's a valid choice.

I still don't see why I would want two road bikes because I would only ride the best one. I literally would rather put another $1,000+ into making my one road bike better, buying clothes, a tacx virtual trainer, or paying for a cycling vacation rather than have two or more bikes that serve the exact same purpose.

If you can't use the road bike -- in the rain, unexpected flat right before you leave, waiting on a part or repair, etc etc that's why you have the cyclocross and/or TT bike.

ilovecycling

1. 2009 Look 595 - This is my primary riding/training/century bike. It's a 55cm/Large but has a 56cm effective top tube length. I'm 5' 10-11" and it is set up for a "French fit" with a -6 degree 100mm stem. It fits me perfectly and the ride is soooo sweet. I'll never get rid of this bike. I've made a few changes since the crappy pic below was taken. It now has PRO Vibe carbon bars and black Keo Blade pedals.




2. 2009 CAAD9 race build - A work in progress. It's a 54cm and it will have a -10 degree 120mm stem with a single 5mm spacer above the headset top cap for a lower front end. I plan on racing this next season, hence the smaller frame and longer stem. It should work well for short fast club rides after work in the early fall too.





I'd like to build a lugged steel bike with a quill stem and a Campy group too. All chrome/silver parts, of course. A fixed gear, hard-tail mountain, and full suspension mountain bike would round out the collection. Maybe one day I'll have the extra time to justify all these bikes.

Commodus

Haha, no, 300 is long. But I can carry enough food for that distance on my Delta. Beyond that I need more carrying capacity.

Commodus

You need more than one road bike:

- Crit racing.
- Stage racing/normal riding.
- Randonneuring rides, 300km+. Up until this point just use your stage bike.
- Commuting, depending on your parking situation one of your other bikes may or may not be suitable.

Jandro 

1. Cervelo S2 - go fast machine. Eventual race rig after I get out of cat 5
2. Specialized Allez - crit bike I wasn't afraid to crash - it was stolen so it's being replaced by a BMC SR02 soon
3. KiloTT - fixed, around the town, beater bike - it was stolen as well and is being replaced by another of the same soon

I want to throw in a vintage build, and CX bike in there some day (aka over a year from now).

lwrncc

1. Carbon Bike 1 - Cervelo S2 - Sunny day bike
2. Carbon Bike 2 - Specialized Tarmac - Trainer/rain bike
3. Steel Bike - Peugeot Chorus - Kept for sentimental reasons
4. Hardtail - Specialized Rockhopper - My first real bike my Dad got me more than a decade ago - Use it for fun rides sometimes that include curb hopping, stairs or wheelies.
5. MTB - Giant Trance X3 - for MTBing, what else?
6. Single Speed - Felt Brougham - Flat city commute - Basically something I don't mind getting stolen.

pgjackson

Bike 1 - my road bike
Bike 2 - wife's road bike
Bike 3 - my MTB
Bike 4 - wife's MTB
Bike 5 - son's BMX
Bike 6 - daughter's BMX

AlexZ

2 carbon road bikes
2 steel vintage road bikes
1 carbon Mt bike
1 Cannondale tandem
1 Short wheelbase StreetMachine recumbent
1 Long wheelbase Gold Rush recumbent
2 Cartrike tadpole trikes

cyclezen

funny how that works...

I'm not gonna put a number, cause it would be a stoopid number. I'm not a collector, my bikes are mostly well used. They span 90% of my riding history. So they all bring back some great memories.
I would be ok, fine, if I had just one bike.
However, I can't imagine it.
I can't imagine not having a really good road race machine - the cornerstone of me as a rider.
I don;t have a pit crew, or a bike mec, or a butler - so I can;t imagine not having a bike I would ride in inclement conditions and would be ready for that.
can;t imagine not having a commuter/shoppper with reasonable carry capacity.
can't imagine takin my roadie, off-road, thru the conditions I find and like ridin - hence mtb
now that I've decided to give TT a go, next season; a TT machine seems necessary if I'm gonna be in the game.
so thatz 5 machines
then if I was still ridin track I would have a good reason for keepin my track bike
and if I really wanted to cx, I could prolly make a cx bike do as the foul weather bike, or just do both...

I've stepped out into the garage just a few minutes before I'd have to head out to the group ride I was lookin forward to - and found my bike has a flat, or a wheel which needs a tune, or I forgot to clean a real dirty chain.
Ok to miss the ride? NOT!
At least one roadie is always ready to go. One mtb is ready to ride, and the commuter - well its a nice quality tank.

Someone posted - They would only always pick their 'best' bike, if they had more than one.
Best is very relative.
If you're not always lookin at your bike computer, then speed and time are relative. Relative to how nice the day is, relative to whether you have coffee money or not.
Given relativity, many 'not the fastest' bikes are a joy to ride.
if you haven;t had the opportunity to find that yet, maybe you're missin something worthwhile?

garage space can become an issue.

bobonker

1. Road bike #1 for flat riding - 53/39 with a 11/21
2. Road bike #2 for hill riding - 50/34 with a 12/26

Bob