How is it possible to replace your bike?

[roubaixtuesday]

I remembered a Facebook post I made on retiring an old bike:

Eulogy for a bicycle

My first purchase with my own money, you carried me with my girlfriend through Brittany's summer fields.

Young and foolish we raced the Sunday drivers down Holme Moss.

Together we conquered the southern Alps of New Zealand and the high passes of the French Alps too.

We hauled children to the beaches of Cornwall and braved morning frosts to work.

But the strange noise turned out to be a fractured frame and even the Black Forest welder's repair failed soon.

Nonetheless for one last time together with the whole family we toured the Ardennes, 200 miles fully laden, and broken but unbowed you didn't let us down.

Farewell old friend (and inanimate object, lest we forget).

 

[iandg]

Another one here who upgrades components. I still have the Raleigh that I raced on from 1978 to 1981 and a Henry Burton Audax/Tourer that's nearly 20 years old. I have sold a couple of frames in the past - a couple of frames from my schoolboy days that became too small (including the Holdsworth Professional that I won the GHS10 on ) and a Bob Jackson that became surplus to requirement that I had only had for a few years.

 

[BrumJim]

I sold one bike to a bike shop, as I was finishing university and didn't want it anymore. I sold another - a Peugeot Carbolite. Good ridance!

Other than that, they've all either gone because they are too small, or because they got stolen, or broken. My current bike has taken me through my first 50 mile, 100km, 100 mile and 200km rides, on some epic adventures (coast-to-coast in a day, Kidderminster Killer), through floods and snow/ice (shouldn't have done that last one), and to a driving day. Not too sure how I can part with it - just too many memories.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

You do it in bite size chunks , a bit like Triggers broom

You start by replacing the components, as and when required, and if the frame reaches end of life you get a new frame and transfer the components over. That way your latest bike is connected to your earlier bikes in an intimate way.

 

[confusedcyclist]

I don't replace mine. I just add more to the collection. But if a bike starts collecting dust, it's better to let it go than let it disintegrate, I don't want to have to maintain bikes I don't ride, and it's a waste of potential for it to rot away unloved in a shed. Bicycles are tools, not children. It's usually a change in personal circumstance that leads me to a new bike. For example, when I stopped regular commuting, and started taking the bus, I fancied a folder, when I tired of the bus and moved further away from work I got an ebike. My first bike wasn't getting any use, so I sold it. I suspect some people engage in conspicuous consumption, because they like to demonstrate their financial standing with pricey bikes. My expensive bikes have always been more about function, than status however. You get what you pay for more or less.

 

[Threevok]

With the exception of the single speed (which was buit up brand new) the last 4 bikes I have owned have all been the same bike.

I've either changed the frame or the parts on it

 

[ColinJ]

There are some very strange folk on this forum.

I realised when I was very young that I was different to 'normal people'!

Sometimes, that's a blessing but often it's a curse...

 

[further]

Its a good thing manufacturers and bike shops don't get attached.otherwise you would never be able to buy one.
I have no emotional attachment to inanimate objects.

 

[Ian H]

I have no emotional attachment whatsoever to any of my bikes - they are just pieces of machinery, not people! I keep them because I can't afford to replace them, but I don't need to anyway because they do what I need them to do.

If the day comes when a replacement is affordable and necessary for some reason, then I will go about it without hesitation. I would do my best to sell (or give) the old bike to a keen new owner though.

I agree with this. However, when I've spent loads of time and effort getting stuff just right, throwing it away and starting again from scratch isn't appealing.

 

[Drago]

I have no emotional attachment to inanimate objects.

Must...resist...urge...to...tell...joke...about...

 

[ColinJ]

I agree with this. However, when I've spent loads of time and effort getting stuff just right, throwing it away and starting again from scratch isn't appealing.

And I agree with that!

My best bike used to have a 53/39 chainset but the range of gears was way too high for me, given our steep local hills. I replaced it with a 48/36/28 triple. The 48 gets a lot more use than the 53 used to. The 36 gives a great range of gears and I spend most of my time on that ring. For the steep stuff, the 28 is much kinder than the 39 used to be.

Still, there all sorts of gearing options on the market these days so I'm sure that I could find something equally useful if I ever replace the current bike.

 

[gavroche]

I have three bikes and don't intend to get rid of any as I use them all. Whenever I am tempted to buy another one, I talk myself out of it by reminding me that my age is against me and no matter what new technology is on the bike, my legs can only do so much. I use my bikes according to the route I am going to do: hilly = Cube Peloton. Fairly flat / small hills = Specialized Roubaix Elite and the Specialized Allez for winter. Sorted.
I like looking at new bikes though.

 

[further]

I agree with this. However, when I've spent loads of time and effort getting stuff just right, throwing it away and starting again from scratch isn't appealing.

Don't throw it away sell it for a small profit.

 

[Moon bunny]

I have three bikes and don't intend to get rid of any as I use them all. Whenever I am tempted to buy another one, I talk myself out of it by reminding me that my age is against me and no matter what new technology is on the bike, my legs can only do so much. I use my bikes according to the route I am going to do: hilly = Cube Peloton. Fairly flat / small hills = Specialized Roubaix Elite and the Specialized Allez for winter. Sorted.
I like looking at new bikes though.

Do you have a "bike caddy" following you in a van?
"1 in 6 gradient for 1/2 mile sir, I would recommend the Peloton. I'll nip ahead and have the Allez ready for the stretch through a muddy farmyard."

 

[vickster]

I have three bikes and don't intend to get rid of any as I use them all. Whenever I am tempted to buy another one, I talk myself out of it by reminding me that my age is against me and no matter what new technology is on the bike, my legs can only do so much. I use my bikes according to the route I am going to do: hilly = Cube Peloton. Fairly flat / small hills = Specialized Roubaix Elite and the Specialized Allez for winter. Sorted.
I like looking at new bikes though.

But you have said yourself you don't cycle in winter