So currently have a mountain bike (does 500 miles a year), a road bike for Sunday rides, the occasional audax and sportive (1500 miles a year) and a CX commuter/towpath thrasher (that does about 3000 miles a year)

I also have lights and a range of clothing (from Aldi to Rapha) for all seasons riding

Unfortunately, the arrival of the latest road bike (bargain Defy 1 in the sales) has coincided with various bits on the other ones needing repair/replacement, so it’s been a heavy couple of months on the bike spending front, and realistically, the CX could do with a proper overhaul.

The only thing MrsMC and I bicker over is the bikes and their ongoing cost. This week I’ve been getting ear ache over £23 of tyre to replace a bald one on the CX. And I’m rapidly approaching the end of my tether with it all, both the wearing out of bits and the resulting arguments.

Recent and impending work changes mean that she is probably going to become the main wage earner and I will cut right back to be a part time househusband. The CX commuter will probably not be used as a result of this. What was night riding night has become yet another household chores night so the Soul is only ever going out for pootles with the kids. And road rides are being overtaken by various family events at weekend, having sporty and musical kids.

So I’m seriously considering selling the bikes, surplus parts and clothing, and just getting one half decent MTB for family rides and occasional “me-rides”.

Am I mad? False economy, just keeping the one bike that will see the most grit and wear? Creating endless longing for former bikes and rides? Should I just hang on to the bikes and leave them to clutter up and seize up in the garage?

What does the great hive mind think? And before you start, she does not have a handbag/shoe mountain to compare with. And all money goes into the joint account as “our” money, as it’s been the only way we have got through while part time working round small kids.

TL;DR – OP is currently trapped under the weight of his good lady’s thumb, who is ignoring his requests to hand him his balls back.

Sounds like you need to change your forum name..

you could probably flog em all and get something like a Gryphon / Fargo that will do most things? possibly with 2 sets of wheels

I feel your pain!

I could and should reduce the number of bikes I have. The thing that puts me off is the pittance I’d get for them relative to what they cost and what they would cost to replace if I decided later I shouldn’t have sold them.

So, if you’re sure you can live without them and won’t miss them, go for it and sell them to score brownie points, which you can then cash in if/when the finances (and time available!) improve. If you’re not sure, or if the proceeds of these sales would be too low, I’d hold onto them. Would it hurt for the repairs/overhaul to wait a while?

Funny enough i am in the same predicament and have decided the only way to ease the situation is to sell the Soul, i did 63 miles on it last year the CX and road bike get the most use so they stay.
I always regret sellling a bike but sometimes needs must, and if it keeps the good lady off your back.

Sell them all and buy a decent MTB..

Road biking is a waste of a good pedal..

Some people have this kind of relationship and others dont, there is no right or wrong, just what works for you two.

If its causing relationship grief then cut back to one bike, you’re not being asked to give up bikes altogether.

I came down to one steel hardtail earlier this year when i was trying to get my outgoings down to as small an amount as possible in preparation for a mortgage application, its fine….obviously never as good as the specific bike for a specific type of ride but it served a purpose….now things are more sorted i can start collecting bikes again in the new year.

Personally I would keep the new cheap road bike and one other MTB for all general and off road duties. Sell everything worth selling.

If you aren’t so bothered about road bike for road riding then get rid of it too.

Explain to the Mrs that biking is part of the total sum of what you are, and that killing or suppressing this part will cause a little bit of you to die and never be the same again, and if she doesn’t like it she can bu66er off….then run away.

I’ll be doing the same at some point soon. I have the FS which gets minimal use along with a 29er and a singlespeed hack which get a bit more. I’m going to sell the 29er and turn the SS back into geared. I was looking at road bikes but I can’t justify it as I don’t get time to ride the ones I have.

My problem with multiple bikes is not the cost or ear-ache from the Mrs, but the amount of time it takes to keep them all maintained and working normally. It feels like a full-time job sometimes. I’d suggest you keep two rather than just one for the inevitable occasion when you have a ride planned then discover that your chosen bike has something wrong with it.

Reducing the number of bikes does seem to cut down enormously on expense, and IME means the remaining bikes are much better maintained.

What was night riding night has become yet another household chores night so the Soul is only ever going out for pootles with the kids

If you are to become a househusband, is it really the case that you are not allowed an evening off for a night-ride? That sounds an unhappy situation…

yeah, sack them off until you’ve got a bit of spare cash! It will ease things with the lady, she’ll appreciate that you’ve made a sacrifice, and you can reappraise what sort of riding you do/want to do when it becomes time to buy a new one. Having 3 bikes to do a total of 2000 miles p/a would feel extravagant even if I was quite flush, let alone tightening my belt…

Usual range of responses!

She’s not asking me to reduce the bike count, just feel that if chances to use them start to go then I have less justification for keeping them.

Really tempted to keep the road bike, but need a mountain bike as the kids are getting keener at riding off road, and the road bike would fund most of the new MTB…and the MTB offers more scope for night riding, hate night riding on the road.

Jamie – not sure I need my balls back, she had them deactivated a few years back anyway

One bike? Pull yourself together man!

Start looking at websites/magazines about racing motorbikes.

It’ll put the fear of god in her

I did just that in January and I feel enlightened. I had a stable of bikes and bits in various states ranging from rideable to needing TLC. I got fed up with the amount of TLC they all needed and the fact they were getting old skool or overrule and the value dropping. I sold the lot which funded a new fully working lowish end xc full susser (and a CX bike for commuting). Its refreshing and means I just ride the damn bike rather than tinker all the time.

Keep the HT and the Newer roadie, then you’re covered for every thing. HT for bridle path tootles or trail ‘me-time’. Roadie if you want to get out and smash some miles out. The defy is new so won’t cost for a while.

The CX needs work and is your commuter and you’re not commuting as much so that goes.

With a HT and the Defy you’ve got all bases covered.

This is exactly what I’ve done this year, I miss the road a bit and will probably go back to it when money is less of an issue but for now I’m happy with my 29er HT with a little bit of cash for spares.

Have you not learned to hide your purchases yet?

Many techniques to be mastered, including….

Calculating when parts are most likely to be delivered then rushing home to arrive first at the letterbox.

No big changes all at once and make sure parts look similar to those being replaced.

Ordering small, expensive parts with orders of bulky, cheap stuff enabling you to proudly open your 4 liter bottle of muc-off while depositing the expensive bit in the bin with the packaging to be retrieved later.

Stealth fitting of parts while pretending to mow the lawn.

Pretending that bits were given to you by a friend who has just upgraded …… Use carefully – just come unstuck with a GoPro which apparently looks far too new to be a cast off.

‘One bike? Pull yourself together man!’……love it!

im contemplating selling my DH bike cos I’ve only rode it once this year. However, its crap resale value (used market awash with DH bikes) means Im better off just keeping it although the relationship currency brownie points are something to take into account

I feel your pain as I have to get new bike parts delivered to work and then discreetly fitted without her knowing. With new tyres Ive seriously thought about muddying them up before taking them home. we don’t have a joint account yet so this makes it possible.

Hope it all turns out well anyhow

Get rid of the kids

I broke my wrist a couple of months ago, and being a self employed furniture maker haven’t been able to work. I’ve sold a bike and a couple of frames in the last few weeks. The money is really handy but more than that it feels cleansing to have a purge every now and again.

I love the idea of getting down to one bike – I think it would be a 29er hardtail with a spare set of wheels for the road.

Weirdly, Mrs Wynne keeps encouraging me to buy bikes and gets upset when I later sell them… that said my many bikes are worth a pittance compared to her two custom made Serottas.

THIS

The retort is always I have less bikes than you do shoes.

sell the road and CX bike and get a CX bike – non disc with a set of road wheels as spare???

One less bike so enough?

TBH three is not that bad I have more than that in bits 😉

Sell everything apart from the mtb and cheap roadie, then use it against her for as long as you can get away with.

Ordering small, expensive parts with orders of bulky, cheap stuff enabling you to proudly open your 4 liter bottle of muc-off while depositing the expensive bit in the bin with the packaging to be retrieved later.

Excellent! Brilliant in fact. Do you actually do this?

MTB needs replacing really, getting a bit too retro. And I’ve really got into audax now, was hoping for a 300 next year.

Maybe I should just fix what needs fixing, wait till the work/commute thing gets resolved, and chop in the cx and mtb at that point for a new mtb.

*sighs heavily, picks up toys and puts them back in the pram*

Excellent! Brilliant in fact. Do you actually do this?

Im afraid so 😳

BigDummy: If you are to become a househusband, is it really the case that you are not allowed an evening off for a night-ride?

Quite.

As a bona fides slacker househusband so long as you get the chores done between the kids dropping off and picking up time, then you can presume to take some of the evenings off. Mrs Stoner recognises this. Ive just got in from taking Mini Stoners to swimming lessons. Tea is in the oven for them and Mrs Stoner when she gets in in half an hour and at 6:15 I shall be on my bike and out for 2hrs.

MTB needs replacing really, getting a bit too retro

At what point do retro MTBs /need/ replacing? 1995 & 1998 here!

but agree on the bike count / hours spent fettling vs out on the trails balance – it’s not linear..

A few things come to mind.

If you are a house husband then you are left unattended during the day, this is called ‘riding time’. A post up here will reveal a few local riders that have free time during the day. This means you should be able to get out a couple of times a week which is pretty good going.

Ask yourself ‘what kind of riding do I enjoy most?’ Once you have your answer then tailor your bike(s) accordingly.

For me I think the new Adventure/gravel type bikes look like a great option, fast enough for a roadie blat but comfortable enough for a huge day out. They take full mudguards, 28mm and above tyres and are capable off road.

The ATR thread has had me looking at this very seriously.

Either way I hope you find time to ride and get some enjoyment out of it.

To the op take your self outside a have word with yourself came home yesterday to a big pile of clothes freshly ordered from a well known high street retailer note taken and stored for next time I want some bits having said that missus very rarely moans only when things get a bit excessive 😕

Tallboy with tribars – I road rode it to Morzine in the summer, took off the tribars, rode it downhill all week and can mount it on the turbo for winter training. It will carry all your kit for expedition riding, you can get up to 9 litres of water on it, and its still fast enough to do South Downs Way in a day.

Not quite in the same position as you OP but I know what you mean. I’m almost at the point of thinking more bikes = less riding…

Got rid of the road bike a few months ago and not missed it at all. Built up a new (to me) hardtail frame and ridden that a lot. As a result it don’t seem to be riding the single speed 29″ Fortitude that much. Almost considering selling it and definitely not going for the fat bike I was looking at a couple of months ago…

Don’t think I need 3 core bikes really… I’ll still have FS, hardtail and retro Kona if I flog the SS.

When I say “part time househusband” I mean working at home for the 6 hours between school drop off and school pick up – hence evenings will still be busy with the chores that can’t be done in a “screen break” 8)

What’s the car running/maintenance budget? There should be a sum in the pot every month for your transport maintenance and running costs too.

This is how it’s done chez Sandwich. I had to fight my corner to get this though.

OP
I’ve kind of been in the same situation as you for a while .. always earn’t at the very most half of what my missus does (at the moment I’m about a 3rd of what she earns) .. and to top it off she’s a saver I’m a spender .. but my benefit is she understands a little more as I’ve worked mostly in the bike trade, still never had more than 2 bikes though!

That says I’m still a keen cyclist though more and more I’ve trained my needs through the need/want school of thought.

Get a fat bike! more smiles per mile and you can have a second 29er (700×28-29×2.4) wheelset for faster work, though admittedly I sold my set thru lack of use. Entry costs to reasonable weight have dropped a lot over the last 3-6 months. Or join the UKFatbikes forum and stalk the classifieds

It seems as most of us get indoctrinated into the world of cycling we have to have more and more specialized items/bikes for specific tasks .. why? Yes it potentially enhances enjoyment .. but that only depends on your outlook.

I run a Big Dummy (commuter/and rides with kiddo once she’s big enough/local 2nd car jobs) and a Pugsley which I can fit out with full rack and (home made) full guards if I need and still run some big apple slicks for faster work.

Ah, the inexorable creep of domestic servitude!

2 bikes for me. Just about enough time to ride em as long as the hours are unsociable, and not quite enough money. Ho hum.

Mostly she grumps at me not for riding, but for getting in past midnight and then showering. I am apparently, a ‘noisy showered’.