How many of you only have one bike?

[bkboom123]

I have had quite the issue the past few days in upstate NY......Its friggin beautiful out, for us at least! Only problem, I have one bke, and its a beautiful bike.....Cannondale SuperSix Hi-Mod, sram red, 14.8 pounds, etc....

Its my "baby" more or less.....

Only issue is I dont want to ride it with all this melting snow, and dirt, and salt everywhere......for once i wish I had a cheap crappy bike to ride in these conditions (weather being amazing, but all the melting crap everywhere)

I have never felt so "caged" as I have this year...It could be my recent MTB build, it could be I only got to ride my new bike 5 times last year, it could be we set new records in snow fall this year by mid-january.....Either way, I want to friggin' ride.

Anyone else in this same predicament? :crap:

[akelman]

This is why I bought a rain bike a few months back. I highly recommend following suit.

[TMB]

It's like a foreign language .....

One bike .... I just don't understand.

[OBD]

It's like a foreign language .....

One bike .... I just don't understand.

+1

[bkboom123]

I am still trying to do that college thing, while working, and supporting a never ending love for "the best of the best cycling stuff"......its a disease i swear

[bmeryman]

Last year I decided to get an 'early season' bike and I have to say that it's turned out to be a great decision. It's actually a cross bike (which is practically necessary for some of the dirt roads around Vermont) so I get the added bonus of feeling super fast for a bit when I hop on my road bike. I highly recommend a second bike.

Have fun!

[azrider]

move to Scottsdale, AZ........6.4' rain here last year

[dave thompson]

Uno bicicleta? No entiendo.

[eddief]

rain, sleet, snow, sun.

[akelman]

What about fog? All the kewl kidz have a fog bike, man.

[maxdog]

What about fog? All the kewl kidz have a fog bike, man.

You only have one?

[TMB]

rain, sleet, snow, sun.


Even better, I have one for each month!

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . he only has one. :D

BBD

[robin3mj]

Maybe a contrarian view around here, but bikes are made to be ridden, and don't actually melt in the rain.
Get a cheap second pair of wheels with slightly fatter tires, and ride away. Rinse and repeat.

[AngryScientist]

Maybe a contrarian view around here, but bikes are made to be ridden, and don't actually melt in the rain.
Get a cheap second pair of wheels with slightly fatter tires, and ride away. Rinse and repeat.

this. put a nice coat of wax on the paint of your bike, and ride it with abandon, you wont hurt anything riding in less than optimal conditions, make sure to wipe it down after wet rides and re-lube the moving parts, but there is no reason to feel "caged" because you dont want to ride a nice bike outside.

[troymac]

Crashing can be far worse than a little rain and salt on the bike. It's usually worse on the body also. I've crashed in all seasons. Go ride what you have. Craigslist and garage sales are great things for finding cheap or even free bikes. Ps I've seen some people throw perfectly good bikes in the trash. Deals abound everywhere.




Maybe a contrarian view around here, but bikes are made to be ridden, and don't actually melt in the rain.
Get a cheap second pair of wheels with slightly fatter tires, and ride away. Rinse and repeat.

[ti_boi]

One Serotta, so in effect, one bike. :)

[majorpat]

Also a snow country dude here...my second bike is a Surly crosscheck and it gets ridden a lot more than I thought it would. Frame and fork are super cheap, scrounged some parts bought some others (Dura Ace downtube shifters, for example) and BAM! you've got a bike you intentionally ride in the rain and early-late season. Any LBS can get one as they are part of QBP, and that will help when you ask them to help you complete the build.

Get one... your other bike is lonely when your not around.

Pat

[OBD]

I got myself a Kona Smoke for early season riding.
Best thing I ever did.. It's heavy, but it has fenders for riding thru snow melt puddles, and it only cost $300...less than the decent set of wheels I would trash in pot holes.....and as a nice side effect, it makes my fair weather bikes feel like rockets!

Winning.

[bobswire]

Built this one up for $300, Nashbar CX frame $99.99, Ebay score $49 Van Dessel CX fork, CL mavic wheels $75, Soma bars $35 and $45 bar end shifters all other parts I had laying around. old triple shimano cranks, v brakes,etc.
Anyway it's a surprising agile ride fun ride that I use for errands , commute
whatever when I don't feel like getting kitted up or want to go funky "retro".
Something I can lock up and not worry about.
I do have other bikes though serious road rides.
http://i54.tinypic.com/2hia0ch.jpg
http://i51.tinypic.com/23mscxf.jpg

[Scott Shire]

I have a beater/lockup bike. If, for example, I go to a baseball game here in Atlanta, there's just no way I'm locking up something nice for 3+ hours.

I also switched to a job where it's now impossible to take the bike inside every day -- even though I ride every day. So that could be 8-9 hours at a stretch, and I won't leave anything sweet outside that long.

I'd try to find a good used lugged frame and cover it with framesaver and DA7700 - in that order.

If you want to go even cheaper, the Mercier Kilo TT (http://bikesdirect.com/products/mercier/kilott.htm) is $359 shipped. Less parts to ruin/steal on a fixed/ss, and the Kilo is by far the best of the cheapo SS frames.

[EDS]

I have had quite the issue the past few days in upstate NY......Its friggin beautiful out, for us at least! Only problem, I have one bke, and its a beautiful bike.....Cannondale SuperSix Hi-Mod, sram red, 14.8 pounds, etc....

Its my "baby" more or less.....

Only issue is I dont want to ride it with all this melting snow, and dirt, and salt everywhere......for once i wish I had a cheap crappy bike to ride in these conditions (weather being amazing, but all the melting crap everywhere)

I have never felt so "caged" as I have this year...It could be my recent MTB build, it could be I only got to ride my new bike 5 times last year, it could be we set new records in snow fall this year by mid-january.....Either way, I want to friggin' ride.

Anyone else in this same predicament? :crap:

This is embarassing. Ride the bike, clean it after if you are concerned.

[veggieburger]

Get a cross bike for early season/recreational riding if you are worried about your baby. I got one last year and ride it all the time! They are available on the cheap (sometimes you can find used Kona Jake the Snakes for $6-7-800), generally have fender mounts, longer wheelbases, accept fat tires....etc. Many benefits.

[Scott Shire]

This is embarassing. Ride the bike, clean it after if you are concerned.

Totally. Nothing more embarassing [sic] than wanting to keep the things you like in nice condition. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[benb]

I have never felt so "caged" as I have this year...It could be my recent MTB build, it could be I only got to ride my new bike 5 times last year, it could be we set new records in snow fall this year by mid-january.....Either way, I want to friggin' ride.


Why aren't you riding the mountain bike? Even if there is too much snow for the trails you can ride that on the road.. unless you're too embarrassed by not riding a fancy pants road bike on the road. That is what I've been doing.. I have one road bike, and one MTB, and right now I'm riding the MTB, mostly on the road.

I honestly don't even get why I see so many people here on their fancy road bikes... the roads are horrendous right now, tons of water, tons of salt, tons of sand, potholes have not been fixed, there is still occasional ice in the morning/night, and the frost heaves have not subsided..

And riding the MTB keeps you from overdoing it early in the season, because of the low gearing, and if you have 26" wheels that effectively lowers the gearing even more.

[Pete Serotta]

I can only count to one in bikes :D Just ask Dave.

[EDS]

Totally. Nothing more embarassing [sic] than wanting to keep the things you like in nice condition. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

I thought we were talking about a bicycle.

[HankHornbuckle]

I have one road bike, the custom IF Crown Jewel,

one fixed gear road bike, the Steamroller built to my specs.,

and one "beer bike" - a Specialized Hard Rock converted to single speed with big 'ol honkin' chrome cruiser bars, pink Oury grips, and fat Schwalbe Kojak tires.

I wouldn't want to take the beer bike on a fast group ride, nor would I want to take the fixed gear bike to the gaps, nor would I want to do the late night swervy ride in flip flops on the IF... and hey, I'm a minimalist! :D

[cdn_bacon]

one bike. Suits me just fine.

[SPOKE]

One for each day of the month!........plus a few backups.

[d_man16]

I sort of feel like this conversation is a lot like that clip of Zoolander when Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson are asking Matilda Jeffries when she last had sex....... :p

[spiderman]

i like to ride my bicycle, i like to ride my bikes:
one bike for rain, one for the snow
one to ride fast and one to ride slow
one to climb uphill, one to coast down
and one just to ride all around town...
i like to ride my bicycles, i like to ride my bike!

now, i have one serotta and one of something else
for each purpose
just for comparison...

[gdw]

Sorry Grasshopper, if you can only afford one bike and are afraid to ride it in bad weather than you bought the wrong bike.

[false_Aest]

I have had quite the issue the past few days in upstate NY......Its friggin beautiful out, for us at least! Only problem, I have one bke, and its a beautiful bike.....Cannondale SuperSix Hi-Mod, sram red, 14.8 pounds, etc....

Its my "baby" more or less.....

Only issue is I dont want to ride it with all this melting snow, and dirt, and salt everywhere......for once i wish I had a cheap crappy bike to ride in these conditions (weather being amazing, but all the melting crap everywhere)
:


Reality Check

1) You have 1 bike and, it is, in fact, a bike.
2) STFU
3) HTFU
4) Ride it.
5) If you wanna baby your bike, treat it like a lover would: Ride it HARD, get all sweat and dirty. Then bring it in the shower with you and clean it all sensual like and then apply the right amount of sweet smelling lotion afterwards.


FWIW. I follow my own advice except that I leave my whip in the corner to sulk after a fun dirty romp.

[Charles M]

I ride 1 bike at a time. Does that count?

[Nooch]

i have two of the same bike..

a bought a caad9-4 last year with rival -- a buddy gave me a great deal on a red group, so i upgraded.

i found a caad9-5 frameset on craigslist, for not a lot of money. i bought it, and built it up with the rival, as a back up/winter/whatever bike.

my feelings: i worked hard for the 9-4, lusted after it, and bought it. there's sentiment behind it, and it's built to be more of a race bike. the 9-5, on the other hand, i have less $$ into it overall, and less of the sentiment. the fact that, in reality, it should be worth what the 9-4 was worth new, is lost on me, and I figure if something happens to it, well, i have that much less into it.

Also, and this has been mentioned before on this thread -- homeowners/renters insurance. Mine will cover the full replacement cost of the bike, no questions asked. Yeah, I'll lock the 9-5 up while I'm at work and deal with the deductible if it comes to it.

[djg]

I only have the one road bike . . . not counting the other one, and the cross bike, and the tt bike, and a fixed gear bike.

O.k., I guess I only have 5 bikes. Plus an old mtb, from the last century, that I hardly ever ride.

Sorry.

The fact is, I did just fine over the course of a couple of decades with just one bike. And, at my fitest, and best, I had just one bike. But it can be handy to have a back-up, and somewhere from way handy to necessary if you are going to race different types of events.

[soul survivor]

This is why you should NEVER sell your old bikes when you buy a new one -- so you can ride the old one in less than stellar weather!

[Tim]

I've found that three is just about the perfect number- one great road bike, one cross bike for spring and fall lousy road weather and one single speed city/beater/commute to work bike/ with fenders that I can lock up in the city and not worry about.

[axel23]

How about one of each type? Road training, mountain, racing, vintage, beater . . .

[Fixed]

even i have 6 bikes
3 fixed one 29ner one road race one vintage classic
cheers
but i could get by with one
they just find me over the years

[TMB]

I went for many, many years with 1 bike.

Then I bought a mountain bike.

Then I went crazy for a few years and started gathering some nice ones.

I'm now 51. I have too many bikes ( <- get it?) and will probably lose some over the next couple of years.

But I enjoy them, and in the grand scheme of things they are pretty cheap.

That 1 bike I had for years, I still have and still ride. It got it in 1985, it is steel. I lived in VAncouver for many years and rode that bike everywhere, in all weather, in all seasons.

A few years I had it cut and spliced and the framebuilder that did the work told me that when he opened it up and looked at the tubes inside, they looked brand new.

To the OP - take your 1 bike out in any weather, ride the stink out of it, enjoy it and don't pay any attention to a bunch of middle-aged old farts yapping about having a "bunch of bikes".

That's my USD $0.026 ( <- that's $0.02 Canadian ).

[rice rocket]

I used to have only one bike, and I'd never lock it up in a rainstorm, etc.

But then, someone put something on craigslist in my size (really small), and I picked it up for $15. New tires and tubes, bartape, and some de-rusting, and I'm putting her back on the road.

[Rueda Tropical]

A little patina will look good on your high zoot bike. Press photographers used to take their new cameras and scuff them up, so they already looked like they had been through a few wars and riots even new. Wouldn't want to be seen with a shiny new camera that looked like it never left the shelf.

[David Kirk]

I never have more than one bike of a given type. I have one of each of the following -

road bike
cross bike
mountain bike
BMX bike

So........ only one bike.

Dave

[eddief]

it might be fun for us, me to see your collection. shoot us some photos or a quick picasa?

[Frankwurst]

I have more than one. They all have fenders and get to see rain, dirt, sun and fun. :beer:

[Fixed]

not many t.t. bikes out there
cheers

[rice rocket]

not many t.t. bikes out there
cheers
True, but it's not a very versatile bike. You either train for TTs or you don't. Few people ride TT bikes leisurely.

[Fixed]

True, but it's not a very versatile bike. You either train for TTs or you don't. Few people ride TT bikes leisurely.
lots of young women do around here good way for young guy to meet a fit healthy girl
cheers

[rugbysecondrow]

First day I had my new Bedford, I took her out for a ride in the cold rain. I really enjoy that bike, but it is just a bike. I can have her repainted, retreated, even rebuilt...it is custom but not one of a kind. Sure, RD and chains are consumable, but so are bikes, the lifecycle is just different.

Enjoy the bike, ride it anywhere you want. If she gets dinged, dented, scratched, etc, its OK...just a bike folks.

Cheers!

[rice rocket]

I agree Paul, but I'm also not locking up a $5k bike to a parking meter for two hours.

[130R]

she seems to be doing fine riding a colnago in the snow?

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/049k3Vg6BU2DT/x610.jpg

just ride man. your other bike will come in due time. you won't even know where it came from. :beer:

[Bob Loblaw]

I have a fantastic rain bike...fantastic because I don't care if it gets messy or rusty or ground down. Living in an area with lots of rain, it's actually cheaper to own a beater than to try and keep up with wear and tear on a quality road bike. I save the good bikes for good days...it's cheaper and I still get out there whatever the weather dishes out.

[thwart]

Rule to live by: Several bikes... but just one woman.

Of course, that brings up Rule #2: Too many bikes... then no woman. :rolleyes:

But, back to the point here: You need a ~ $300 beater bike.

[slowandsteady]

Rule to live by: Several bikes... but just one woman.

Of course, that brings up Rule #2: Too many bikes... then no woman. :rolleyes:

But, back to the point here: You need a ~ $300 beater bike.

Best post of the day!!!

[Chris]

I've tried having more than one road bike and it just doesn't work for me. I like having only one bike. I feel a little too indulgent (just me) having more than one. I do have a cross bike too, but I can't very well race cross on my road bike...

[jlwdm]

I have one bike in Texas, one bike in Arizona and one bike in Washington - so yes, one bike.

Jeff

[Dlevy05]

I have two, one for the roads and one for the mountains....


...and three more sitting in the garage that I've outgrown over the years....

[vsefiream]

I used to own only one bike, until I joined this forum :confused: I have owned a Schwinn Homegrown Factory with XT for some time, it started life as a Paramount RS80 (wish I still had the trashed frame). I bought a nice Raleigh Technium 531 Competition with Ultegra just this spring for the road/commuting. However, it's not a Serotta. Sooo.... I bought an Atlanta from the Pheonix area, just waiting for it to arrive!! Dunno, I might sell the Raleigh and use the Homegrown when the weather's bunk.

[veloduffer]

Rule to live by: Several bikes... but just one woman.

Of course, that brings up Rule #2: Too many bikes... then no woman. :rolleyes:

There is a strategy to counter #2. You need to compromise woman by getting her into biking. My wife has 2 bikes (road and cross) and I might get her a full suspension mtb. :hello: I've got 8 bikes (3 road, 2 cross, 1 cross fixie, 1 tourer, 1 full susp. mtb), and my son has two (well, he's going to have one as he is transitioning from a youth bike to small adult). :banana:

I have one bike...collection. :p

[ridemoreoften]

Suggest picking up a cross. Got one over the winter and it has been great for early season riding.