A question for those of us with a bike buying addiction

[jpritchet74]

Maybe it's just me, but the need to have more bikes seems to be limited to road bikes. Many of us have several road bikes in the stable, but I don't really hear of multiple gravel, cross, or MTBs in anyone's stable.

The most fun that I ever have riding is on dirt, but I just have one gravel/cross bike and one MTB. Oddly I don't have a desire to have another of either.

But with road bikes - oh boy, the options and desires are plenty...

Am I alone in this?

[mlc]

I agree with this sentiment, MTB's are objects for utility, drop bar bikes are objects for lust. I think that the paceline forum may just select for that sort of folk though, I have plenty of friends who see road bikes as a way to get fit, and aspire to collect mtbs in the same way many here do for road.

[BRad704]

I'm the opposite usually. Before my 2022 Purge I had 2 road bikes, 4 CX/Gravel and 1 MTB.
actually even AFTER the purge I have 1 road, 4 CX/Gravel and 1 MTB. But they aren't all the same bikes as before.

[corkycalvin]

You must gravitate to grabbing your road bikes more often. I would think if it’s the reverse, you’ll have more gravel and MTB.

I guess there’s seasons where you want to do something different and now maybe more dirt riding?

[johnniecakes]

I am in a similar mind set, 9 road bikes, 2 gravel, 1 MTB. I keep the road bikes pristine and gravel bikes so so and the MTB is not looked after well. The road bikes are displayed in the finished basement while the others are in the garage. I think it stems back to the 1970's when I could only afford 1 bike (road) so it was kept pretty

[AJosiahK]

pretty relatable content imo

I have 5 road bikes, one actually a gravel bike, and one a cx bike with the wheels swapped out, and a 3rd SS fixed. I tend to ride slicks on stuff to dial in fit or just get out on a particular bike when I don't have time to hit real dirt.

That's my actual dilemma if you can call it that. I have a hard time not taking a long way home that includes dirt tracks, paths, trails, etc even when on a road bike. So most of my rigs are generally dialed in that direction.

Riding the pure road probably a bit less than the rest considering my habit.

That's not including the 3 mtbs I hop on the regular.

The real issue now is with life/age looking different, the options are too much and sometimes wish for days past when I would just ride whatever I had

[jtbadge]

I usually end up buying a couple of frames a year to have a project. The road frames last the shortest amount of time as the desire to ride a skinny tire bike just isn't there most of the time and I have a custom road frame that will get picked up every time when that urge strikes.

[mtb_frk]

I think it also depends on where you live. I have 0 road bikes because there is no good road riding anywhere close to me. I have miles of beautiful dirt roads right out my door however. I have multiple gravel bikes and until recently multiple cross bikes. I think I have 5 mountain bikes currently as well. Sometimes I get the urge to buy a road bike but it would be mostly pointless other than wall art.

[dolface]

I'd think it's dependent on what you ride most; I have 2 (soon to be 3) MTBS, 1 gravel and one townie/commuter in regular rotation.

Don't have a road bike anymore (I have a 700c wheel set w/ 35mm slicks for the gravel bike for the times I ride pavement).

Edit: @mtb_frk beat me to it

[Toddtwenty2]

I try to have a pretty scaled fleet, with a myriad of tire sizes and use:

1 steel road bike with 700 x 27
1 carbon road bike with 700 x 28

1 steel road bike with 700 x 32 - This bike gets the most use

1 randonneur bike with 700 x 35, dynamo lighting, and fenders

1 long haul touring bike with 650 x 42, dynamo lighting, and fenders

1 steel rigid mountain bike with 26 x 2.3

1 full suspension mountain bike 29 x 2.35

I feel very well covered for any whim. I'm somehow able to rationalize a lot of bikes with a slightly different use case, but I have a hard time with bikes that have a strong overlap.

[XXtwindad]

Originally Posted by mlc

I agree with this sentiment, MTB's are objects for utility, drop bar bikes are objects for lust. I think that the paceline forum may just select for that sort of folk though, I have plenty of friends who see road bikes as a way to get fit, and aspire to collect mtbs in the same way many here do for road.

This sums it up pretty accurately. Most modern MTbs are uglier than hell. Not something you collect for aesthetic value. The same can (generally) be said for gravel bike - especially the carbon flavors. Those dropped seat stays are an acquired taste. Which is being diplomatic.

[Toddtwenty2]

Originally Posted by XXtwindad

This sums it up pretty accurately. Most modern MTbs are uglier than hell. Not something you collect for aesthetic value. The same can (generally) be said for gravel bike - especially the carbon flavors. Those dropped seat stays are an acquired taste. Which is being diplomatic.

I agree on aesthetics on the mountain bikes.

I'd also add, however, that I only typically ride one mountain bike because I want to be extremely familiar with that exact bike. I prefer not to have much of an acquaintance period on rides when I'm riding off-road. The level of attuned familiarity matters more than my road applications.

[Clean39T]

Multiple CX bikes is a matter of need if one is seriously racing cross.

Multiple MTB bikes may be a matter of need if one rides/races significantly different terrain. Enduro vs. XCO, for example.

Multiple "road bikes" may also be a matter of need if one does a lot of different types of road riding. Ex. ultra-distance, TTs, crits, training in crap conditions, commuting, etc.

But multiple road bikes that all have the same tires, wheels, and parts, and are all basically meant for the same type of riding ----- well, that's not an addiction, per se, but it does represent a certain priority in one's life.. and I'm okay with whatever the implications are.



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[spoonrobot]

Being I live next to 20 miles of singletrack and about an hour drive from a few hundred miles of gravel/dirt roads and about 100 miles of singletrack at several different trailheads - I have 2-3 gravel bikes and 2-3 MTBs at given times during the year.

They're all setup slightly different and I'm always buying and selling trying to optimize for the events I do each year. I have one road bike but I only ride it a bit for racing.

[flying]

Originally Posted by jpritchet74

But with road bikes - oh boy, the options and desires are plenty...

Am I alone in this?

I may be an outlier here but yes while there are many options & desires I have always had just one road bike at a time.

35+ years at it & there may have been a tiny overlap when I built something new then sold the old but that was only a week or two.