Justification for owning several bikes

[RoyPSB]

Keen to get some thoughts on this...

Having just purchased a rather saucy Wilier carbon roadbike, my number of bikes was up to 4 (2 x road, 2 x mtb).

I then sold my 2yr old mtb last week as I've not ridden it for over a year. I'll keep the 18yr old Giant mtb for off-road rides with my son.

So I can see the Wilier always being chosen ahead of the other roadie - a Secteur Elite. This seems to be such a waste of a very good bike. I'm very tempted to sell it.

There seem to be many out there with multiple bikes. Do you just use them at different times / for different rides or do you find the older ones just tend to gather dust?

 

[ianrauk]

I have just got rid of a couple of bikes. I gave an old but still in great nick, Subway 1 hackbike to my brother. I sold a GT flatbar roadbike, which although a really nice bike I was never going to use again.

Which leaves the Secteur Elite which was my commuter but is now my hack bike/spare. Kona Honky Inc which is my commuter, my Roubaix Elite which is my sunday best and the Catbike Recumbent which is my fun bike.

It is nice to have a choice of bike at the end of the day.

 

[jugglingphil]

I'm currently thinking that maybe I should sell my GIOS as I don't ride it much. I can't quite bring myself to make that decision, and don't think I will until I see something else I'd like.

If you have the space to store multiple bikes then why not keep them all? Secteur will make a very good winter bike/light tourer.

 

[Boris Bajic]

If it's something you've tinkered with over the years and put a bit of care into, it's hard to flog it.

If you're tightfisted like me, none of your bikes is worth a great deal anyway...

It's good to have spare bikes for visitors.

It's good to have a couple to lend to colleagues or friends and family.

 

[benb]

I've got 3. MTB, roadie (well, ish - it's a cyclocross with slicks on), and a utility bike.
Thinking of getting a tandem that my boy can get on the back of - the Circe Helios is tempting - in which case I'd probably ditch the utility bike.

 

[raindog]

You've got to have two road bikes so you can still get out and ride if one of them is being repared, which is bound to happen at some point. I've got two roadies, plus a hard tail MTB, plus a multi-purpose "heap" - a really old Decathlon MTB with slicks, mudguards and rack, so hopefully I've got everything covered. Well, that's my theory anyway.

 

[Hebe]

I thought I'd never need more than one bike, but I seem to have three and I'm still a fairly new rider... Vita (flat bar roadish hybrid) is for fun and the occasional errand. HardRock mtb is for off-roading and towing my girl to nursery. The Marin Comfort bike is nominally for errands but tends to get used as a fettling test bed.

 

[mcshroom]

I just got rid of my MTB after realising that I only ever seemed to ride it on snow or for some light trails once a flood. I now have three bikes: -

• 501 framed ralegh - used for drier commutes and audaxing

• Tourer- used for wet commutes (I can't see the potholes as well when the roads are flooded) and touring

• Claud Butler hybrid - my hack which is there for snow tyre duties and going shopping/to the pub as it's the cheapest of the three.

I would like to have a singlespeed/fixed and a MTB as well, but there's not enough space in my flat.

As I commute to work having two bikes ready to go is very useful. It is so much easier to jump onto the back up bike when you find a flat on your main bike just as you are about to set off than fix the puncture and then race to work. Also it means that I can still ride when the other bike is at the LBS.

 

[Norm]

Mine are:

• 30 year old Viking "racer", bought for getting to school (in the guard's van from Windsor to Barnes) when I was doing my O levels. Now used when the sun is shining and I don't have far to go but want to have a good time getting there.
• 20 year old rigid Giant ColdRock MTB. A great hack-bike, despite / because the low bars and 26x1.5 slicks, which make it a bit of a hooligan on the roads and tracks. I'm not sure why but it doesn't like to be ridden sedately, even when just heading off to the job centre or Tescos.
• 3 year old Giant Talon hardtail MTB. With a few subtle upgrades (Rockshox forks, Avid hydraulic brakes, XT hubs, Mavic rims etc) it's a great bike and up for anything off road now.
• 2 year old Spesh Secteur, also with a few subtle upgrades (105 brakes, cross top bars etc) makes for a superb road bike and there's little else that I want to change.
• 2 year old Spesh Tricross, which is the most standard bike in the garage because it's a pretty darned sweet all-rounder straight out of the box.

So, there's a few bikes but every one has a different purpose and there are very few times that I actually have to choose between two of them.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I don't need a justification for owning several bikes. So there.

 

[musa]

well i think my sig says it all dont you?

 

[tyred]

Because I want to.

 

[Gareth]

Because I can

 

[subaqua]

I'm with Greg on this. I don't need any justification. permission from SWMBO however, is another matter.

 

[RoyPSB]

Yep - plenty of good reasons to keep it, although the funds would come in useful and they're going for decent money on ebay at the mo. Difficult decision to make.