Appreciating each of my bikes

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All uphill

Still rolling along
Location
Somerset
When I bought my first new bike in twenty years I half expected to fall out of love with my other three.

The new machine is a road bike and I am enjoying the slick gears, lightness and nimble handling.

It has also made me appreciate the comfort of my old steel tourer, the unlikelihood of my shopping bike getting stolen and the sheer fun of my old 531 singlespeed.

Has that happened to you?
 

Dogtrousers

Kilometre nibbler
No. I'm mentally a two bike person: A bike that folds up and one that doesn't. I can't cope with subdivisions. So my poor old Dawes fell into almost instant disuse when I got my Spa. I've tried without success to give it special powers to make it still useful (it currently has ice stud tyres on it, that I rode once about 2 years ago before realising I neither want nor need them)
 

12boy

Guru
Location
Casper WY USA
I have about 5 that are ridden regularly...in the order of which I would save if my bike sheds were on fire.
Brompton because it would cost most to replace, I love riding it and it is the most useful due to fenders and its ability to carry a lot of weight. It is also great for coming along on trips to other cities.
My Surly Steamroller because it is so versatile...a tire or wheel change from single to SA 3 speed can adapt it to lots of different conditions. It is simple and sturdy and with cartridge bearings on BB, hubs, (except for the IGH) and headset as maintenance free as It gets. Very comfortable, too.
My m400 Cannondale mtb for off road or worse weather conditions. With 3 chainrings and either 2 inch semi knobby or 1.95 inch studded snows it is good for some situations that would be much tougher for the Surly.
An 82 Holdsworth Special, comfortable and fast in the sense the miles tick by before you know it. There is a beauty to the craftsmanship and style of those old 531 lugged frames. Probably sacrilege, but sometime I will set it up with the SA 3 speed for a change of pace. Perhaps even do the Lake Pepin 3 speed tour in Wisconsin.
Last would be a Xootr Swift...a fast Al 20 inch folder with 8 speeds which is fun for a change. It is versatile, too, as it uses standard parts and can be ridden as fixed, single speed or IGH if preferred.
Of course there are more. For examle, my son found a Fuji Absolute 3.0 in the dumpster at his apartment which I am rehabbing but although it rides well I will probably wind up giving it away or selling it although I love its curved top tube aesthetic. My friend and neighbor across the street shares my affliction and has 1/2 dozen bikes himself. A lot of enjoyable time has gone into rehabbing and modifying our little herds and as far as pastimes for old retired guys this is fairly cheap and innocuous. Considering other demands on my time and the winter weather here, I probably average riding 4 days per week. Bikes have been very good to me.
 

Ming the Merciless

There is no mercy
Location
Inside my skull
I love my bikes but they are functionally different

My Brompton, great in traffic, commutes, and local trips round town, or trips further away by train or car.
My recumbent, fantastic for long distance and out in the lanes; comfortable in whatever clothes I'm wearing no matter how far.
Road bike, kind of in between the other two, can be used for light off road, and medium distance rides.

Brompton is rim braked, 3 speed sturmey archer.
Recumbent is hydraulic disc, 3 X 9 speed, bar end shifters with friction mode for rear as well.
Road bike is cable discs, 3 X 10 speed, bar end shifters

Recumbent and road are Dynamo , so great this time of year for evening rides and Audax with lights always ready to go. I'm increasingly choosing the recumbent for Audax now. Road bike will probably be retired from that task. Brompton goes out on mid week social rides to country pub with battery lights.

Road bike is tubeless whilst Brompton and Recumbent use tubes.

So I have three bikes which ensures they all get ridden fairly regularly depending on the type of riding, distance etc. I did have a mtn bike till recently but it hadn't been ridden a while and the frame was end of life. So it went whilst I salvaged what usable components I could as spares.
 
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Recumbent and road are Dynamo , so great this time of year for evening rides and Audax with lights always ready to go. I'm increasingly choosing the recumbent for Audax now. Road bike will probably be retired from that task. Brompton goes out on mid week social rides to country pub with battery lights.
.

I think my non attachment may be related to the easy riding setup of my commuter with Alfine hub gears, dynamo lighting, Big Apple fat slicks, disk brakes and wrist neutral On One Mary bars.
All of this combined requires much less interaction with the bike than my beloved old, steel road hack with downtube shifters. It was like going from a violin to a stylophone and at this stage in life, that is OK by me.
 

Globalti

Legendary Member
2014 Roubaix SL4 for all-year plodding comfort and reliability.

2016 Bianchi Specialissima for ridiculously light weight, speed, climbs and descends like a goat but makes my shoulders ache after 50 miles.
 

PaulSB

Legendary Member
I'm emotionally attached to my bikes. Each is female and has a name. I find it extremely difficult to part with them; I have four.

My 15 year old Dolan Dual which is a wonderful bike but rarely ridden. She will soon be given a full service and TLC and passed on to my eldest boy.

A hybrid which I get out from time to time for a shopping run. It's the one I wouldn't lose to much sleep over if stolen.

My carbon tourer which has no brand. It's a frame I found at Paul Hewitt's. My LBS got a frame and we built her up as a bespoke bike for me. This doubles as my tourer and winter bike.

My summer bike and absolute favourite for her comfort, speed and responsive handling is my Cervelo C3. Her name is Carys, Welsh for "loved one."
 

rogerzilla

Legendary Member
I built all of mine except one, a Boardman Team Carbon. That's my least favourite, although it's the first choice for a very hilly summer ride due to the low gearing.
 

Gunk

Guru
Location
Oxford
I built all of mine except one, a Boardman Team Carbon. That's my least favourite, although it's the first choice for a very hilly summer ride due to the low gearing.

I can relate to that, although I haven’t built all of mine, I have upgraded and changed them, plus I do all my own maintenance, so it does make you slightly more attached.

I also think you get attached when you’ve finally found something that’s “just right”
 
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