Not Usually a Fan, But...

[raleighnut]

So is the Speedwell

View attachment 414672

Mods, can we have a drool emojii please.

 

[Crackle]

Mods, can we have a drool emojii please.

And an extra helping of leg muscle to shove those gears around. Look at that inner ring, is that a halving ring or whatever the term is. I had an old 1950's campag chainset like that once.

 

[StuAff]

I would love to know how many bikes people have. Especially those that criticise all the choice out there. The irony is, I bet those that say “one bike can do everything” actually have more bikes than I do.

Not that I am saying that one carefully selected bike couldn’t do everything. I agree on that bit.

My opinion is that, if you’re going to have more than one, then at least make them do different tasks. Having multiple bikes that can do everything reasonably, but nothing brilliantly, is not worth the garage/shed space!

I've only got four. At least five or six short IMHO.

 

[ChrisEyles]

I must admit to having accumulated rather more bikes than I would once have thought sensible...

Road / best bike - 1960s steel frame racer previously belonging to my father in law
Commuter / tourer - Raleigh royal, a bit of a bombproof hack bike
Pootling bike (do I really need a pootling bike? No! But I restored it to teach myself bike maintenance, and I love it) - 1950s Raleigh Sport
MTB #1 - modern-ish disc brake hardtail for Dartmoor/Exmoor/trail centres
MTB #2 - 1990s rigid bike, lives at work and mostly gets used for bike packing expeditions

As I said upthread, the Raleigh Royal could do it all with a change of tyres, but I would definitely miss any of the others if I sold them. At the end of the day they are all luxury items I could do without if push came to shove. However if you buy second hand and can do all your own maintenance you don't have to spend a lot on a nice bike, and I'd consider them very "good value" compared to other luxury items I own.

Occasionally I get guilt-ridden and find a charity to donate to (had to do this after buying a dropper post, felt like the most frivolous cycling purchase I've ever made but looking forward quite a lot to getting it in the post)....

 

[bpsmith]

So this ridicule about “marketing” is hardly new at all then. Shock horror, people have multiple bikes, with multiple descriptions, which are set up in multiple ways fir different uses.

The need to rubbish the current types of bikes is therefore lost on me.

For the record, I have two working bikes and a third damaged one which is out of action pending insurance claim. I have only ever had two working bikes at any one time, as latest purchase was to replace the damaged one.

 

[freiston]

And an extra helping of leg muscle to shove those gears around. Look at that inner ring, is that a halving ring or whatever the term is. I had an old 1950's campag chainset like that once.

Never heard the term "halving ring" but back in the 70s/80s, I remember virtually every double being a 52/42 (mine was but I did swap the block out for one with a 34T bottom gear - had to replace the derailleur for something with a longer arm - out went the Shimano 600 and in went the Suntour VGT).

 

[freiston]

So this ridicule about “marketing” is hardly new at all then. Shock horror, people have multiple bikes, with multiple descriptions, which are set up in multiple ways fir different uses.

The need to rubbish the current types of bikes is therefore lost on me.

For the record, I have two working bikes and a third damaged one which is out of action pending insurance claim. I have only ever had two working bikes at any one time, as latest purchase was to replace the damaged one.

I'm not sure if I've got this right but I think there are two things going on here - people having different bikes for different purposes/reasons, and the consumerist advertising machinery/bicycle industry inventing different types of bikes and different purposes for them. I'm all for choice and I'm all for folk buying what and how many bikes they want (even if think some of them to be daft purchases). Advertising isn't just there to allow the consumer to make an informed choice/decision, it's there to manipulate and influence people (and though not 'advertising', the Cambridge Analytica case illustrates how seriously such manipulation is practised). I think the issue some folk have isn't so much about rubbishing other people's bikes but with the way the industry treats the consumer via inventing and promoting new bike types.

I liked SkipdiverJohn's first post in this thread and I read it as a criticism not of people having multiple bikes for multiple reasons but of what are effectively inventions of problems by the bike industry that require its newly invented solutions. On a lighter note, I do have to admit that when I read your post mentioning your aero bike and your climbing bike, it did put an image in my head that you used one for going downhill and the other for going uphill

 

[bpsmith]

The issue I have is that there may well be two elements to this discussion, but the posts rubbishing the so called marketing we’re made in response to me stating I had an aero bike and a climbing bike. Therefore the two elements were combined into one massive assumption that I only have those bikes as a result of being sucked in by said marketing.

The fact is the aero bike has deeper section wheels, higher gearing and is set up to get lower at the front for going out for shorter fast blasts, whilst the lighter climbing bike has shallower rims, lower gearing and positioned slightly higher.

I see the funny side of the one for uphill and one for downhill joke, although if anyone thinks an aero bike is for downhills then the so called marketing has gone completely wrong.

The reality is that some people have strong and blinkered opinions about what others should or shouldn’t buy and anything that they don’t like or understand is ridiculed as being marketing hype.

 

[Blue Hills]

I would love to know how many bikes people have. Especially those that criticise all the choice out there. The irony is, I bet those that say “one bike can do everything” actually have more bikes than I do.

Not that I am saying that one carefully selected bike couldn’t do everything. I agree on that bit.

My opinion is that, if you’re going to have more than one, then at least make them do different tasks. Having multiple bikes that can do everything reasonably, but nothing brilliantly, is not worth the garage/shed space!

Interesting post.
Declaration. I may have between 8 and 10. None are bad bikes at all though. Most are great. Tis true that the most expensive one, at least at list price, is now broken down and bits transferred. Posting this mid ride on a bike many of its bits ended up on - ride is better.

 

[Blue Hills]

I see the funny side of the one for uphill and one for downhill joke, although if anyone thinks an aero bike is for downhills then the so called marketing has gone completely wrong.

e.

I know someone with a light "climbing" bike who was so nervous and slow on descents any minimal notional advantage was totally lost.

All the best, suspect there is no great difference between our opinions.

I do though think there is a lot of bullshoot talked about bikes these days.

Ride on folks.

 

[Blue Hills]

Edit
Went to the slightly poncy cycling event at herne hill velodrome the other day.

The best thing there by far was the pretty extensive display by the national cycling museum. Some wonderful bikes there from the 50s, and in truth if you aren't planning on going seriously off road it was difficult to see that there had been mega advances since. Am talking about the bike frames, not lights or clothing.

 

[FishFright]

I've actually got several 26" rigid MTB's and 2 x 700c hybrids. Whilst none of them cost (or are worth) much, there's only two (skip MTB's) I don't really care about getting stolen or smashed up, so they are regarded as beaters. The others are all either good quality machines and/or have very little wear & tear for their age. They are each best at different things. Because I get my bikes secondhand, I can have half a dozen all slightly different, all ready to ride - for less than the average punter pays for just ONE new budget market bike. It works for me, and a puncture or mechanical isn't going to leave me bike-less - I can grab a different bike and fix any problems at my leisure with no time pressure.

No really ? You should really post a lot more about how you're better than everyone else at shopping, we'd be sitting here with bated breath ready to learn from such a purchasing guru as yourself.

 

[Ian H]

I would love to know how many bikes people have. Especially those that criticise all the choice out there.

The choice is rather more limited than all the marketing bollocks might have you believe.

I shall still be putting my own bikes* together, for want of anyone supplying what I actually require.

*Yes, I do have several.

 

[Jody]

"Mountain bike" means a bike with suspension at one or both ends. Bikes with 26" wheel rigid frames are no longer considered to be Mountain bikes, but "26" Tourers".
"Downhill bike" is a mountain bike with full suspension and absurdly wide handlebars.

The whole aim of the industry speak is to convince the cyclist that they have to buy a specific marketing-created genre of machine for each type of road surface and type of riding they undertake. .

There is a massive difference in types of MTB though. You can't comapre a XC MTB to an Enduro or downhill bike. Throw in jump, street, trials, rigid and there are a lot of sub catagories. Its not just marketing hype to relieve you of cash.

 

[bpsmith]

I know someone with a light "climbing" bike who was so nervous and slow on descents any minimal notional advantage was totally lost.

All the best, suspect there is no great difference between our opinions.

I do though think there is a lot of bullshoot talked about bikes these days.

Ride on folks.

I am far from that on the descents. There’s no point wasting efforts on climbing if you’re not gonna hammer it down the other side. Descending is my favourite part, the faster the better.

Not far off in opinions at all, when getting down to the crux of it.