[Closed] a loss of interest in actual bikes?

I have no interest in bikes other than the ones I own.

Or upgrades, kits, bits etc.

Cycling, I love

No, nothing wrong with that. Kind of in the same place myself.

Most of it is being a bit disillusioned with a bike I "fell in love" with. The bike's great, I just have no time at all to ride it. When I do get out to ride I always like seeing a great bike ridden by someone who knows what they're doing with it.

Or perhaps you know it's not about the bike 😉

now see my 2 steel bikes as tools to get out

This is really all you need.

I have lost a love of MTB'S. I have a very lovely 29er hardtails which I see as a tool. I haven't had an urge to look at any other mtbs. I guess it's like a perfect marriage.
I have had my eyes turned by road bikes of late. As such I feel cheap and dirty. Like 2 minutes with a cheap hooker 😀

I like both aspects. In fact, the actual bikes (and parts and stuff), often inspire me to ride when I wouldn't otherwise feel like it.

But I doubt there is anything wrong or odd about not caring so much about the tools themselves. I imagine it would be a bit like a builder who is just happy with his tools and likes to build without having the nerdy need to look at hammer catalogues or whatever.

I have had my eyes turned by road bikes of late. As such I feel cheap and dirty. Like 2 minutes with a cheap hooker

Embrace it, man. 8)

Similar boat here, the bike collection, all of which would come out for an airingregularly is now mostly dusty or even worse the stuck due to the tyres being rotten! Whilst I now ride mostly 'one' bike (a 9sp fully ridged 29ner) which is not a happy one but I now put up with the niggles. It was the ever changing specs, changing wheel/tyre and chain sizes that has put me off anything vaguely new - only thing that catches my eye now is a Jones. The two Jones owners I have spoken to have given up on all others and are going to see out their days on that one.
Still like riding them but a bit bored (at the mo) with the actual bikes and working on them.

Kind of know what you mean. Got a bike fund building for dream bike but can't get too excited about what to get now! Think that mtb just has too much going on to get excited about. Would probably explain why simple rigid bikes seem to be doing so well perhaps?

I'm totally with you Ton. The bikes are a means to an end for me, and I only buy new stuff when what I have is broken or worn out. I don't see any problem with that.

I have absolutely no interest in any new bikes and haven't for a long time in fact the bike I am using most is 25 years old fully rigid.

I used to be a serial swapper and have become jaded with the constant changes. I'm currently looking to sell my hardtail 29er to fund a rigid or dropbar adventure bike type thing. Just want something simple that I can ride more or less anywhere / use daily. Just a simple bike to get out and ride on.

Nah - I love them. Tweeks, improvement, changes - whatever you want to call them - bring a wee bit of added interest. As the CX thread points out, sometimes having the "wrong" bike can add a bit of spice to the ride too.

I mainly ride two bikes (a steel, rigid singlespeed and a 160mm trail bike) and now, at my age, have no desire to change them for anything else. They're not fashionable (one is 26" and the other a 69er) but for me they're as good as I'll ever own.
I still love riding, on a good day anyway, and I still enjoy working on my bikes to keep them running as well as I can.

It's the experiences that they bring me that matters now, not whether they're the latest must-have thing. As long as I have a supply of good 26" tyres and Marzocchi fork spares I'll be happy!

Got to where I want to be. Two road bikes, one set up for winter riding and one fancy summer one, and two MTBs, both 29er hardtails, one set up for foul weather and slop, and one for nicer days.

Along the way I've bought a road bike and sold it on after a year, and spent a fair bit on upgrading what's now the foul weather MTB but started out as a fairly entry level bike (new wheels, fork, brakes, drivetrain)

I feel they suit me and my riding, which is unadventurous and all from the door, and I don't see myself changing any of them until I break one.

Built a road bike, hated it & sold it.
Bought a FS, ridden probably a dozen times in 2 years.
Recently built a fatty, want to love it but not getting it.

The constant through all these though, has been the steel singlespeed. Nothing comes even close to the enjoyment I get from that. It's irreplaceable. If I win the pools I'd have it recreated in stainless.

i now see my 2 steel bikes as tools to get out rather than something to look at and admire and keep bling and clean.

But that's what bikes should be, tools.

I like the aesthetics of bikes, I even like the way mine look (mostly), but lately its more about riding the damn things. It where they get you that's important.

That said, the road bike is quietly gathering dust, I mean, **** [i]that[/i] shit 8)

Hi. It's a tool mate. A tool to do a job. Some people might keep them immaculate to look at, but like the saying goes look after your bike and your bike will look after you.thats why my bikes are very clean. Out on the trails is what's its all about. Me personally I don't care if I'm out with friends or on my own, makes no difference to me at all , as it's me against the trail.really most of us try to get our bikes to a point where it's at its most capable. To the point where bike and rider are like one, to where in our mind the bike don't exist, you don't think about braking, changing gear, going faster, slower, it just happens. You against the trail. Me I work hard all week ,an all what keeps me going is knowing at weekend be on the trails.to me your at the rawest end not interested in all the fat around the edge ,you just want the meat in the middle.

I've been this way for a while.

Well - I should qualify that. I'm interested in new concepts, like 'gravel' bikes, fatbikes etc. But I no longer hanker after the things like I used to do when I was younger. I don't know my YT Capra from my Commencal Meta from my Giant Trance.

I'm not a serial bike swapper. Only ever swapped two.

See, this is what I'm like with cars. They're simply a tool. I've never really been into different models, makes and fashions. I can still enjoy driving occasionally but the vehicle is pretty irrelevant.

ton - Member
...but, recently or over the last year or so, i find myself with no interest at all in actual bikes.
if i go in a bike shop, it is for spares or clothing items, i subscribe to the comics, but dont read the bike tests, if i look at a full suspension bike, all i see is maintenance issues...

I wouldn't say I have no interest in bikes, but I find much the same when I go into a bike shop.

I see nothing that interests me. Too much fast wearing consumable technology on display.

The one change in recent years that I like is the trend to fatter tyres.

But riding singlespeed does that to you - you realise all else is superfluous.

I still like fiddling around with bikes. Must be time to create another monstrosity. 🙂

It's less interesting now that bikes are good - used to be a bit of a dice roll buying a full sus. Guess that's one reason why folk (anti-) gravitate to the marginal niches, there's more of a battle-ground of ideas over what works.
Mainstream trail bikes are just stowed out - here's a grand son, go out and buy yourself a bad bike. Can't be done.

Ive got the opposite problem, Im always looking for the next bike or upgrade, when I hardly have time to ride them all. Apart from the roadbike that is just a commuting/pain&suffering tool

Just downsize to one bike. You'll have to love it then.

Echoes my feelings, riding a 10 year old hardtail after 25+ years mountain biking. I enjoy planning rides (just finished a lengthy Welsh project and now looking at the next idea), but the bike itself is incidental. I'm quite interested in a bigger wheeled/tyred bikepacker, but not until this one breaks.

For me, the really interesting innovation in recent years has been bikepacking luggage, making it easier and more fun to do the sort of rides I enjoy. It's rejuvenated my interest in mountain biking after a couple of years off.

I used to read all the reviews in magazines, and lust over new ones in shops, but for me it's definitely the money aspect that's made me lose interest. I just can't get excited about bikes costing nine grand and I think it's filtered down to all bikes in my mind? I love my bike but know I couldn't afford a more blingy one so I don't look any more.

It's called growing up. When you've grown up, there are more important things to spend your mind/time/love on.

Just do more 'feeling' of wind in your face, speed under your wheels, breathe in your lungs. That's what's important.

I do have 7 bikes tho' so maybe take all that with a pinch of salt.

I think landmark is right. I think also you realise it is fun to ride no matter what you ride. Perhaps you find your level?

Same, there just a tool, a means to an end I occasionally see one in a nice colour but otherwise I would rather collect money than bikes.

Nope. Not really worried about the latest and the greatest. If something breaks it gets replaced, either individual parts or recently a new bike thanks to cyclescheme, but even then I just went into my LBS and went with his recommendations (big thanks to Jon @ [url= http://www.bicyclesmithy.co.uk/ ]Bicycle Smithy[/url] who does a fab job of selling me bikes - four and definitely not counting so far)

Bikes and technology for its own sake I still find interesting but the desire to spend my own cash is something else.

I bought my first whole new bike for nearly a decade 18 months ago. I'm upgrading and tweeking as bits wear out with a view to better service life and reliability. A £100 part won't make me ride better or make me want to ride it more but it should make it more reliable and serviceable.

I got into MTBing as a teenager. I was interested in bikes then.
I might have even been more interested in tinkering with bikes than actual cycling.
I am 37 as you say I am now interested in cycling not bikes.
When its time for a new bike, I can rekindle my interest going long enough to buy a new bike.
What I'd really be interested in is a bike that requires zero maintenance.

I love all bicycles and enjoy looking at and embrace technological progress as well as low-tech simplicity. I look fondly at my bikes of old, but they are not as good as modern bikes. Sure I could get out and enjoy myself on my old Marin Bear Valley or Saracen Killi Flyer Ultra Elite Pro Mega Max Magura, but I would struggle to ride with the same enjoyment my current bicycles give me.

I appreciate road bikes and road riding, but other than getting places I do struggle with the concept of going for a road ride. Its just so ****ing dull.

However, they are only ever a tool, and like most things that do work, they wear out and need replacing. My bikes have some sparkly bits and some anodised bits, but they are always scratched, rubbed, scraped and well used. Like all good tools though they need to do the job intended, otherwise they are a pointlessly engineered waste.

If you see something you appreciate, as it will suit your riding or what type of riding gives you pleasure then surely there is some interest? I can understand how you can be fulfilled and not need to look at anything else, but like marriage you can still do a bit of window shopping...

I'm feeling the Zen too Ton 🙂

What doesn't bear thinking about is how many thousands it's taken to get to this point 🙂

common factor I think Nigel.......... 😆

I just look at new bikes now and think 'that's been designed to be obsolete in a couple of years'.

Puts you right off your stroke.

My interest in bikes and tech is inversely proportional to the amount of time I have to actually ride my bike.

I know this feeling exactly ton, though I have been lusting after a new bike lately, even that is/was to try and downsize the fleet to one do-it-all machine. I was after a light, efficient, full sus, but I've decided against it, for one because I can't get one to demo, but also, I just can't be arsed, there was a choice on this particular model between this years model and last years at £600 off, but one is 2x10, the other 1x11, one boost back end, the other 142mm etc etc etc - I just got bored of all the choice.

At the moment I have a Zesty full sus with a 1x drivetrain that doesn't really work great and a knackered brake caliper, a Solaris hardtail that needs a major fork service/overhaul at least, and a little DJ/4X bike for messing about on.

Realistically I could do everything I do on all of the above (including bikepacking) on a 26" Soul, and I could build it pretty nicely too. I like the full sus sometimes, but I really miss the directness of a hardtail when I'm on it, and as soon as it starts creaking I just put it in the shed as I can't be doing with the faff of changing bushes and bearings.

I can see the future being a 26"/650b 'hardcore hardtail' and a rigid 29" lightweight XC/bikepacking bike.

I'm at the stage where both my mountain bike and road bike are more than good enough for me, so don't get that excited about new bikes. This is particularly the case with my full susser which - even after 4 years - continues to surprise me in its abilities. It'd cost me a heck of a lot of money to get something better.

I still enjoy reading bike reviews and confess to thinking about a road bike upgrade from time to time, but I'd much rather spend the money on holidays and experiences.

I still love bikes and riding them. But as the years roll on and my free time gets more pressured I must admit I more like the aesthetics of them, rather than the technical details. This does seem to have been further impacted by the changing standards and wider variety of bikes available. I'm almost embarrassed to say I recently bought a bike with a clutch mech, and I don't actually know what the clutch does. I'm loving the riding of the bike, and it changes gear like every other bike I've had, so I can't say I'm to fussed to find out.

I'm another one who's lost interest. Me & Ton were chatting about this on Sunday, I still love riding but when I look at new bikes I just think 'meh'.

One thing which may have leaned me this way is you just know for a fact that loads of 'new innovations' are just well researched fashion changes which will change before you know it.
Marketeers are brilliant at what they do!

when I look at new bikes I just think 'meh'.

^This. Despite my bike being very well scratched and battered, I still love it more than any new bikes I see in the shops or online. I'm like a parent who thinks no kid is as good looking as theirs 😆

Why worry ton - you have reached MTB nirvana

You like riding but cant be ar$ed with the rubbish that is designed to make people buy stuff they dont need. It a natural progression.

I have been through that with golf (how do they still sell magazines on golf??), triathlon and to a lesser extent skiing. Used to love reading about new kit. Now just loving the experience itself.

I have only ever had two MTB - one HT lasted me about 8-9 years, my current FS is 2 years old and have no intention of changing it in the next few years. Riding it, yes....in fact.....is that the time?

I'm at the stage where both my mountain bike and road bike are more than good enough for me, so don't get that excited about new bikes. This is particularly the case with my full susser which - even after 4 years - continues to surprise me in its abilities. It'd cost me a heck of a lot of money to get something better.

I still enjoy reading bike reviews and confess to thinking about a road bike upgrade from time to time, but I'd much rather spend the money on holidays and experiences.

More or less where i'm at at the moment.
Will probably get a road/adventure bike over the next 12 months as they are more suited to long distances on poor road surfaces, but whilst I do still like bikes, it'd be daft money to upgrade significantly so sticking with what i've got.
My last 2 bikes have been <£500 singlespeeds to take winter abuse and act as training aids rather than the latest wonder bike.

I'm not so much interested in the materialistic side of it. Whilst I could afford more, all of my bikes are definitely on the budget end of the spectrum. The one I use most set me back £300 5 years ago... (it has had a few upgrades since then to be fair). Mountain bike was £400 almost a decade ago.

Magazines I'll flick through, and very occasionally I might force myself to read a bike review, but in all honesty I just have no interest in what carbon wheelset it has, or expensive handlebars that do the same job as every other handlebar ever made...

There are two sides to this, because I DO like my bikes, and I have a few... But they're most definitely tools. Shiny new bikes in the shop I generally just walk past. However, if there's a bike I want: a niche I feel I'm missing out on: something broken or missing from the toolbox. Then I'll get excited about that. Because I get excited about the prospect of using it and the places it will take me. I don't really get excited about the bike itself. Unless, I think, if I were to build it. In which case it partly becomes the creation process (the journey to get there) that I get excited about.