rjones28 

I really like my current road bike the way it is.

2014 Specialized Allez E5 (D'Alusio Smartweld)
Campagnolo Record 11 speed shifters
Record RD
Super Record FD
Chorus cassette
KMC 11L chain
Quarq Riken powermeter crankset
Planet X CNC brake calipers
Specialized aluminum bar, stem, and seatpost
Fizik Kurve/Arione seat
Black Cinelli Caliedo bar tape
Handbuilt wheelset (by me ): Kinlin XC279 rims with lightweight Novatec hubs and Sapim Race spokes
Continental GP4000s tires

Dan333SP

I've always been happy with my bike (2013 Madone 3-series with 5700). My only complaint is my wheelset, Vuelta Corsa Lites. My freehub bearings failed for the 4th time due to water ingress. Once I get that sorted I'll be happy again.

Homebrew01

My bike's good
Motor, not so much.

Hiro11

I love my road bike. Motobecane Le Champion Ti frame, ancient 6600 Ultegra from another bike.
- fits me perfectly
- very reliable and has worked silently for five years and ~20K miles. I don't have to think about it.
- practical: threaded BB, bulletproof Ultegra alloy wheels with cup/cone hubs that cost <$10 to overhaul, round seatpost, standard-sized everything, has a bottom bracket drain hole etc. Also, I can afford to destroy it and replace it the next day without conferring with the wife. Not that Ti is easy to destroy.
- brushed Ti means that any scratch is fixable with Scotchbrite. Not that you can scratch Ti easily.
- reasonably light at 18 lbs.
...etc.

Jean3n16

Im happy.

I would like someday to get a better saddle and figure out handlebars that work better.

bonz50

I'm very happy with my Synapse 4, the frame fits my needs very well and the price was right, I need to get a pro-fit done to dial it in a bit and I would love to get a nice set of wheels for it, but not because I ~need~ them, mostly a vanity thing. I'd like to get some new bar tape for it as well, some little things like that, but the core bike is about as close to perfect for me as it gets.

now, that doesn't mean I wouldn't entertain alternatives, but I'm not a searcher either. if someone offered me 'the right price' I'd sell and look at something else. I'd rather keep the synapse and get a gravel bike like the Slate for the gravel mups and etc around here and a decent mtb for trail riding in WI, but frankly my budget doesn't allow multiple bikes, so having a nice road bike is my best option. It would be easier to get a nice bike if my wife would start riding, but she'd rather just cruise the neighborhood (which I get since we have a disabled daughter that can't be left at home)

WhyFi

There's a reason that N+1 is the ideal number of bikes.

memebag

At this very moment I wouldn't change anything about my CAAD12. I upgraded the tires after I got it.

Oh wait, it needs better bar tape. And maybe new pedals. But then yeah, it's perfect.

rjones28 

So, you're not completely happy?

Nachoman

You'd think I should be happy with custom titanium and Di2, but I always see more room for improvement.
I think I'm a mal content at heart.

Fldaves

I took a long, long time researching the purchase of my next road bike. I can unequivocally say that my decision to aquire a Lynskey R230 was spot on perfect for me. From fast club rides to conquering 3Gap I couldn't be happier with my choice!

WhyFi

Of course not. Wouldn't be a very good consumer if I was.

WalksOn2Wheels

Surprisingly, I am most pleased with my mostly stock Domane. I've done plenty of ground up builds and could definitely go that route if wanted, but this was my last screamin' deal from the shop before I went on to my "big kid" job. The only things I've changed are the handlebars, tape, and saddle. Having Dura Ace 9000 and decent stock wheels really helps me to resist the urge to drop any more money on it.

But for sure, the next road build will most likely be a ground up job in modern steel with Campy.

thin_concrete

I'm quite happy with my Dogma 60.1 and my Marvel, but keep playing with my other one to fine tune it.

mcours2006

Happiness is fleeting. I'm happy with the bike I ride now, mostly because everything on it works great. I wasn't happy with it last week because the rear hub didn't feel so smooth. After repacking the bearings it's all good now. So happy with it,..until I'm not anymore.

Maelochs

I am wholly satisfied with my Workswell/Ultegra.

I have four road bikes and a mountain bike. I cannot see buying another bike, ever. I might occasionally dream about it ... but I( have bikes to do everything I ever want to do on bikes. having more would be wasteful.

I take extreme exception to this.

From my point of view, buying and upgrading bikes has nothing to do with cycling. It is a wholly different part of life, a wholly different set of pleasures (and believe me, it is one I have explored in great depth and detail.)

Thing is, if I do not Ride a bike, I do not enjoy cycling. it doesn't matter what new part I put on my old bike or what new bike I bought ... if I am not our riding, I am not a cyclist and I am not enjoying cycling.

Riding a bicycle is "cycling." Shopping, dreaming, upgrading, buying bikes and parts are pleasures associated with but separate from cycling.

If buying new bikes and new parts were an Essential part of cycling, no one with only one bike could be a "cyclist," and could never enjoy "cycling." That is patently absurd.

I like photography ... a relatively expensive hobby. If I constantly shopped for bikes and bike parts (which I could easily do) I would never have cash to upgrade my shooting rigs. If I spent all my time and cash on photography, I would never have cash for bikes.

However ... if I spent all my time and cash buying stuff, I would never have time to go ride or to go out to shoot. And if I spent all my time and cash on acquiring gear, I could never take vacations to go to great new places to ride and shoot.

I am done doing bike shopping except for tires and tubes. I have all I need (unless something breaks.) I have Enough.

I have a few upgrades I'd like to make to my photography kit, but none are necessary. As with cycling ... my Gear isn't holding me back. I might want to buy one more lens and one more body and one extender ... but I don't really need to and might not.

Shooting more would do more to improve my shooting than any new gear. Riding more would improve my riding more than any new gear. I have Enough.

If I person can never be happy with "enough" ... so be it. nothing wrong with always buying more and better if that is what that person decides.

But for a person to criticize someone who Can have "enough" ... is just small-minded.

I have Enough. Now I can stop looking for more and focus using what I have more and better.

Yee-ha. Life is good.

WalksOn2Wheels

I think you may have just stepped over a line there. To be fair, I don't think the N+1 advocates look down on those happy with one or two good bikes. N+1 is just a big running gag. And when dr_lha talked about being baffled by those searching for their "last bike" he may have actually been on the same wavelength as you in terms of enjoying what you have and not obsessing over the unobtainable perfection that you don't currently own.

He just also so happens to feel (I am assuming. I didn't ask him.) that occasionally buying new bikes is one way to get away from that obsession by not really having to be 100% happy at all times with his current ride because he will probably sell it and move on.

RJM

Being happy with what you have is great, but sometimes tech improvements or just new tech make the act of cycling more enjoyable, IMHO. In my own personal experience a power meter and a garmin head unit has really helped not only make some rides (not all, but certainly training rides) more enjoyable and more helpful. I also think that gravel bikes, disc brakes, and quality wider tires will open up new routes for riders to explore. These are things that weren't really available to riders a decade ago, at least in the mainstream marketplace.

79pmooney

My criteria for bikes is pretty simple. Bikes that meet it are keepers. Does the bike disappear when I ride it? My good bikes, both custom ti's, do. My Mooney will when I bring the drive train up to spec. (It's SunTour Command. Sweet function and egonomics but I have long ago seen my last SunTour FW for which it is designed. Time to get a good, consistent system on there.) My Raleigh Competition needs attention, but is a fun ride, sweet in snow and ice! And my workhorse TREK fix gear is just that; the best workhorse fix gear I have ever owned and the bike I would keep if I could have only one bike. It feels right the instant I get on it. (My much better customs would get stolen. Then I would be down to an unacceptable zero bikes.)

When you have dimensions that are far enough off spec, the attraction of stock "superbikes" is a lot less. Bikes that don't fit don't "disappear". The bikes above do.

Ben

WhyFi

Correct. To me, N+1 is probably more about varied functionality than it is about simply upgrading. Honestly, after the maiden voyage on the Haanjo this morning, I'm probably not going to have a new bike itch for a couple years - between it and my road bike, they cover a lot of bases.

DaveQ24

I've got no problem with anything you said, so please dont' take this as criticism of you in any way. A very good friend of mine is like that - kind of minimalist, very happy with what he has.

I just see it differently. For me, part of the fun is in the chase of the next thing. I do admit, the last few years I've acquired a lot of cycling gear, and I am definitely at the point where I don't have time to utilize it all fully. I came to the realization over the past few months that the one last bike I'm considering really is the LAST bike for a few years.

But, I do intend in the future to go forward as the technology changes.

I have a 2002 SUV. It was a great vehicle, all the bells and whistles, when I bought it. It seemed so modern and so great in 2002. It's now my spare car/winter car for really bad road days. Now it seems so dated to me. I bought a 2014 with all of the current bells and whistles - and it puts the old one to shame. I generally keep my vehicles until they have about 100,000 miles on them - I'll get something new in another maybe 5 years. I'm sure I'll be as blown away by that one as I was a 2 years ago.

I expect to be just as blown away in, say, 2024, by the latest inovations from Specialized or Cannondale as I was 2 years ago by what Detroit had come up with.

mpath

Not that it inflicts anyone here, but most hoarders don't know they're hoarders.

TMonk

I'm happy with this:

2013 TCR advanced ISP
Ultegra 11 6800
Hed Belgium/DT Swiss/Ptap wheels

I'd like to put some carbon bars on it (or an integrated bar/stem to splurge ), but the Shimano PRO alloy stuff is fine.

RonH

I'm very happy with my 2001 Litespeed Tuscany (full Ultegra). It's my favorite ride. No upgrades, only changes/replacements when things wear out.-
I'm also very happy with my latest bike — a 2014 Cannondale SuperSix EVO Hi-Mod (SRAM Red). The only change was to sell the aero wheels after 8 months (turns out I'm not a fan of them) and replace them with nice hand-built wheels.

Shuffleman

If I get attached to a bike, I keep if for the long haul. I still have my GT Karakoram from 1992. I never ride it anymore as it is too small for me now but I can't get rid of it. My 9 yr old will ride that when he out grows his bike. I have a newish Giant mtb. It's ok. Not a longer term keeper.
My road bike is a Colnago CLX. I bought every part individually and love it. I do not see changing anything on it.
Campy Athena Full Groupset. Campy Scirocco wheels. Vittoria Rubino Pro tires, Pro Logo saddle. Ritchey WCS bars. Colgano headset and post. Fizik tape, shimano spd pedals and a white Giant stem. I had to change out my stem size when I was healing from an injury and I just bought the only white one my lbs had in stock. I will put the Ritchey one back on soon. I thought about upgrading the wheels when I first got the bike but honestly, I love the bike and won't change anything.
I am building a new Kona steel bike to take with me as I travel during the week. I don't want to ding up the Colnago. The Kona will be cool but the Colnago is going to be with me until I no longer ride, it gets stolen or wrecked. What can I say. When I get attached to bikes or cars I tend to keep them until the no longer run.