So today at work tried to assist a fellow in deciding if he need a Titus fireline, he wanted a 29er hardtail and had ridden my ritchey p 29 before I sold it. He has a lovely bike Santa cruz 27.5 so in the midst of sizing and debate I got to wondering is there a case for just riding what you got?

I and mine are tempted by fat bikes or 29 plus as N plu 1/2/13 but should we just be getting on and riding rather than the general fixationn of the next bike and that joy of deliberation?

Is it just part of the mountain bike world or pysche?

I ride what I’ve got.

What I have is 7 bikes.

The best bike for the job is the one you are sitting on.

Josh (n=10)

should we just be getting on and riding rather than the general fixationn of the next bike and that joy of deliberation?

Yeah probably.

*goes back to pricing up next build project*

(N=8 I think, not counting the trike and the unicycle cos I don’t/can’t ride those.)

Ride what you got.

N=2

The weakest part of any bike I sit on is the big squishy organic bit sat on top.

But, I’d like to swap at least one, if not both frames, and rebuild with the parts I have, it’s all compatable. Then buy a Klunker. And a single speed road bike. Or maybe a Jones…………..

One bike is all I can ride at once

Sold my hybrid , so A 26″ hardtail , a lefty 29er and a new 27.5″ full sus, didn’t realise how fast and agile my full sus would be, so the 29er hasn’t been ridden in a while although tubeless is still holding up , can’t see myself riding my 26″ hardtail so going to do a short term swap for a road bike with our kid

Always have a couple of bikes to guarantee rides out otherwise issues and maintenance can get in the way

in the midst of sizing and debate I got to wondering is there a case for just riding what you got?

You actually had to ask?

N=6 currently. I could just about justify one more. Sometimes it’s good to have a specific tool for the job in hand. Sometimes it’s fun making do with something less appropriate.

N=2 right here, although if I had space and the money I’d be at n=4. I find that I want a new mtb right up until the point where I’m riding my current one at which point I remember how much I love riding it.

Every time a new standard comes out I also think ‘boy I ought to get a new bike so I’m up to date and can buy future proof upgrades’ but that’s what they want me to think!

So to sum up, to buy non-boost Hope wheels or not to buy….?

BWD……I did ask……. And subsequently more reasons, some of which I could hear myself saying,

As one bike person and that is the first time in at least two decades I do find going I could do with a bike that would do this just a bit better..,..but it would be marginal in many respects or easier..so got to wondering can one bike satisy or sate our ‘ needs’

can one bike satisy or sate our ‘ needs’

Course it can. Because you don’t actually need any bikes – yeah some people use bikes as their main mode of transport, but if bikes hadn’t been invented they could still adapt quickly and survive well enough using cars or public transport. Bikes aren’t a necessity at all (bear with me here).

So: you don’t need any bikes, making the argument that you only need one bike meaningless, therefore you can have as many bikes as you like and anyone getting all “You can’t ride more than one at once” can piss off. 😉

*presses “Buy” on CRC basket*

I have four, getting another. All different, all get used (in fact not through any conscious decision my last four rides have been on the four different bikes). If you have space and it’s not costing you much then why not. But I don’t constantly change bikes, just added one last year. I think a few people chase very small almost unnoticeable differences. Up to them though.

As one bike person and that is the first time in at least two decades I do find going I could do with a bike that would do this just a bit better..,..but it would be marginal in many respects or easier..so got to wondering can one bike satisy or sate our ‘ needs’

I dislike the bit where ‘need’ gets subsumed into N+1ism and it all turns into a bike-centric manifestation of consumerism and people just buy things because they can and they’re new and the industry and the media want them to and… you get the drift.

I reckon I could happily survive with two bikes: a decent, lightweight, long-travel hardtail – maybe a 650b+ one – for mountain biking and racing and a cross bike with two sets of wheels, one set up cross one as a road set. And if I had to have just one, it’d be the crosser, but that would be a bit limiting off road.

I get having bikes that you ‘need’ and use, but the endless upgrading and the idea that somehow you should always – N+1 – want a new bike makes me a little uneasy. But I guess in a world where the ideal is to buy more stuff to fuel continued growth because without year-on-year expansion we are all doomed, it’s kind of inevitable. But that doesn’t make it desirable… Or something like that. 😐

Well someones got to keep the industry alive.

I’ve actually been thinking about only keeping one bike – I ride my rigid singlespeed 95% of the time anyway and, for the sort of riding I do, it’s pretty near perfect. I don’t race any more and I’m not overly bothered about speed for its own sake but I do like slowish techy stuff and I enjoy long climbs, strangely.
The idea of having several bikes just in case one “doesn’t work” is something that I’ve never really considered. How complex is a bike and how long does it actually take to maintain it? Isn’t that like having three cars in case two aren’t working, or four chainsaws in case……..oh, hang on.

It’s a tough choice when I go riding…I’ve only got one bike 🙁

One should never discount the pleasure of buying a new bike.

Its not quite as pleasurable as riding the one you’ve got, but you can do the buying whilst between rides.

I’ve got 3 mtbs, all 26ers. And this after deciding about 2010 that 29ers were the way to go (after an experiment running one bike as a 69er, unfortunately the front wheel got heavily damaged and forks were suspect after a strange crash I had).

They each fulfil slightly different purposes, and could probably be replaced by bikes that would do the job better with bigger wheels, but as it stands I’d get next to nothing selling them and they’re great fun to ride, plus parts are so dirt cheap for them these days (running 2 or 3 x 9 on all of them) I can’t see myself changing unless my financial situation significantly changes or something terminal happens to them.

I’m only allowed 3 bikes at a time – one MTB, one road bike, one commuter.

To be fair, this rule only applies until we win the lottery and then N can equal whatever the hell I like.

In the meantime, we have a house and two kids to maintain. The fact that bikes are cheaper and hold their value better is not, apparently, a clinching argument.

Different tools for different jobs.

I’ve got a few openings in my garage, a CX bike would be useful I think, as would a good 27.5″ full suspension bike. Maybe a hardtail and/or a fat bike too.

I used to ride warncliffe DH runs on a 80mm travel GT Avalanche cos it was all I had.

I’ve now got a 160mm FS, a 140mm HT and a sort of gnarmac bike, which seems to cover the type of riding I do pretty well.

can one bike satisy or sate our ‘ needs’

Yup, I had one bike for a long time, then I got a proper job with proper money and now have many.

Do I enjoy riding them more? Probably not, a £400 hardtail will ride anything you want to, won’t be as capable as a full on DH race bike, or as go-anywhere as a bikepacking fat bike, or as quick as a road bike, but anything else has been incremental over the £275 Carrera fury (RS Pilot and Shimano Deore circa 2002).

Whether I actually enjoy moutainbiking more is debatable, I suspect I probably don’t. But I would now enjoy it less with fewer bikes because I would want more bikes almost for the sake of it.

Currently:
El-Mariachi
O-O Fatty (and a trail frame to be built/swap bits onto)
Cannondale CAAD4 2004 (honestly, probably the one I won’t ever sell)
Claud Buttler Dalesman 198something (likewise)
SS road bike (been part built for years, might have another crack this weekend now I’ve more stuff in the spares bin)

Dialled Bikes Holeshot (bought as a really small XC frame for the GF, given up on getting her into riding so now it’s being built as a proper jump/4X bike).

I do tend to buy secondhand though so most bikes I only lose a few hundred pounds on at most, tending to buy bottom of the range bikes, then transfer the same XTR cranks, hope wheels etc between them.

The downside of this philosophy is I’m always well behind some of the more useful developments, I’d like a disk CX bike for the really rubbish (technically) local bridleways, but that’s not happening until they start to pop up 2nd hand or prices just generally fall.

All comes down to storage space, disposable income and an understanding partner (possible sneaky covert hiding of new purchases too). 😆

n= 2.5 (fraction is my Tricross that works enough to be on turbo trainer, but not road, think I need to work on reducing to 1 in the near future)

Different tools for different jobs.

true….i had 6 bikes at one point then i got rid of them one by one until i just had 2..then one got stolen so i was with just the for a while.
now i have just a 26″ f/s and a 700c hybrid…but i’ll be looking to add a new 650b f/s next year

a guy can never have enough bikes….right?

3 bikes here.

6 Year old Boardman hardtail which has been upgraded to death – and doesn’t get ridden as much as I’d like.
2 year old Giant Defy 1 (the last of the 10 speed 105’s) love it but don’t ride it in the rain or on really crap roads
3 month old Arkose 3 (105 Hydros) this is my winter road/summer towpath/etc bike.

I plan to buy a new bike every 2-3 years, the Giant will probably be the next to go – when I can afford a carbon Defy with Hydro-discs.

I’d love a new MTB but the Boardman did <200 miles last year so can’t justify a replacement.

The Arkose is nice – will keep for a while until I see something nicer (Bowman Pilgrims anyone?)

I like new stuff, I’ve got an alright job and Cycling is my only vice..

I’ve got a weakness for steel XC hardtails. I should probably sell everything and race an Sworks Epic but I get more fun out of weight weenieing my Niner MCR and it’s a lot cheaper.

I know I get more pleasure from riding my several MTBs than some get from polishing and applying the custom decals on their “one bike for everything” which barely gets ridden.

😀

Got a CX for local roads and tracks that is my main bike now, got a classic 90s hardtail that will stay until it breaks then I’ll make wall art out of it.

The full sus trail bike is brilliant but hardly used, looking more likely that I’ll get shut of it and replace with a up to date steel hardtail. Cotic Soul or the RC127 is looking like the best candidates.

I could keep the FS as I really like it but realistically it’s not getting the best use from me.

You should ride what you have but being realistic about what you ride is a good first step.

N for me = the number of bike hooks on the wall 🙂

I think 2 is a minimum, without a second bike (even if it is that in every sense of the word) what do you ride when the first one needs fettling?

N=2 here

– Super light, XC Carbon hardtail Lefty 26″
– Light, XC Carbon hardtail (c/w SID WC) 26″

… both impeccable, fast and fun. As said above, the week link is the lump of lard expected to provide the power!