How often do you have to ride a bike in order to justify keeping it?

[zmalwo]

if you don't touch it every week - sell it. bikes depreciate so fast. every year you are losing at least 40% of its value. for say you ride once a week on a $6000 bike. 40% x $6k = 2.4k. 2.4k/52 weeks thats roughly $50 a week just to have that bike! might as well rent a road bike if you don't at least ride once a week.

[OtayBW]

Zero. I don't have to justify keeping a bike.

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by zmalwo

if you don't touch it every week - sell it. bikes depreciate so fast. every year you are losing at least 40% of its value. for say you ride once a week on a $6000 bike. 40% x $6k = 2.4k. 2.4k/52 weeks thats roughly $50 a week just to have that bike! might as well rent a road bike if you don't at least ride once a week.

I honestly can't tell if this is a serious post of snark?

[purpurite]

Why do you have to justify keeping anything you like?

[NHAero]

I only have to justify my bikes to myself. I don't like to own excess stuff, so when I am pretty sure I'm not going to ride a bike any more I sell it. Case in point is my Nagasawa fixed gear road trainer, which I ended up parting out and finally found a very appreciative home for the frameset. I was feeling my knees were done with fixie riding. I could have kept it for a ceremonial ride once a year, or hung the frameset on the wall, because it is beautiful, but I feel better knowing it's on to the next owner who will ride it. He was really excited.

My old Raleigh 20 folding bike gets infrequent use, as does my Big Dummy, but they have clear use cases so there's no question about keeping them, even though together they get about 60 miles annually. The other six bikes, road, all-road, vintage, MTB, and old MTB as errand bike, all get ridden.

[Seramount]

not into collecting bikes...own two, but ride one exclusively unless it's down for repairs.

the backup ride (1991 Spec Allez Epic DA 8) also does roller duty, but the weather hasn't been bad enough in a while for that to happen. haven't ridden indoors in 3 years.

doubt it has much resale value and I think it's a cool bike, was my first high-$ ride, paid a whopping $1700 for it. that was pretty spendy bitd...it's worth more in nostalgia, so it'll have a forever home.

[Repack Rider]

I have seven bikes. Some I haven't ridden in a while, but I never sell any. I gave away a few bikes I no longer cared for.

Today, I was riding my oldest bike, the 1983 Ritchey Annapurna. Still a great bike.

[JMT3]

6 bikes. One rood bike that I’m currently riding in the bay area of California. Back home 2 road bikes. I do ride my Blue AC1 on the rollers and an occasional road ride. My Liespeed T3 disc is my go to road bike. I have a Sette CX-1 15 lb cyclocross/gravel bike that I only use for gravel. My Borealis Crestone since 2019 I used for snow and trail riding. I just bought a carbon Specialized Stumpjumper so I don’t have to work so hard to keep up with my friends on the trail. None are going and no more to be added to the stable.

I do have a 2000 Harley FXST that is 102 hp and 110 fp of torque at the back wheel. It’s staying. Looking to add an adventure bike to the garage.

[72gmc]

Originally Posted by robt57

More books fit in same space though...

We donate books, guitars and bikes... not so much.. ok, once in a while.

I donate old-to-me books to make space for often-old-but-new-to-me books.

I don't have to ride a bike at a certain frequency to justify keeping it, but I have to be honest with myself about whether I'm going to ride it instead of another bike I have. I have some nostalgia clutter but I'm more and more strict with myself on that stuff.

[EB]

Assuming you have a good place to store it - Often enough to keep the sealant from congealing in the tires.

[Bob Ross]

Originally Posted by robt57

We donate books, guitars and bikes... not so much.. ok, once in a while.

I donated a bike once, ~15 years ago. The guy I gave it to appreciated it, perhaps not as much as I would have, but Ef it, he got a free bike out of the deal.

Likewise, I donated a guitar once, and holy crap am I not worthy of the effusive gratitude that the recipient bestows on me regularly and routinely.

Y'all are welcome to any/all of my books. Who wants 'em?

[mickey.d]

I never sell bikes, but i have started finding local juniors or collegiate athletes to give road and cx bikes i’m not using but don’t care to part with custody of, mostly because if we don’t teach young people how to ride and race road bikes, the sport will die. 20 years from now I would still like to have people to ride with that learned how to ride on and appreciate the same bikes I learned the ropes of racing on 20 years ago… If people my age now hadn’t given me hand me down stuff and loaned me equipment- I never would have been sucked into the drop bar world. Some of the kids even get their bikes cycled out seasonally from road to CX.
Redistribute your wealth!

[saab2000]

My S&S Serotta doesn’t get ridden very often. But I keep it because it’s a great travel bike and just a great bike in general. Every time I actually do bring it out to ride I’m reminded of how great those steel Serottas really are.

I’m keeping it for now even though it probably sees road use fewer than a half dozen times annually.

[NHAero]

Originally Posted by EB

Assuming you have a good place to store it - Often enough to keep the sealant from congealing in the tires.

Ride frequency is a criterion I use as to whether a bike gets tubeless or not! Of the 8 bikes, three are tubeless and generally are ridden weekly (and TBH, weakly).

[zmudshark]

From personal experience, never.