[Closed] Can man (or woman) survive on one bike alone?

i ride with only 1 bike. a dh bike BUT i am looking into getting a city bike as its impossible to ride mine other than down hill lol

so no i think if your a xc rider its definatly possible. even more when you have a ht.

I've got one MTB, but I've also got 2 road bikes and a CX singlespeed, used for Commuting. I easily cope with one MTB, I don't do enough to justify a second one

my gt avalanche does me for everything, trails, commuting etc, i'd like another 2 bikes mind, road bike and an some sort of light xc full sus effort, but beer kinda stops me buying them so...

I don't do enough to justify a second one

I can gurantee I "do" less than you.

I have 6.

Absolutely

I have one bike, a little Giant STP hardtail. I have a stupid long seatpost for when I'm XCing, drop the saddle for bmx tracks dirt jumps etc and spare wheels with road tyres on for riding to work.

Never been able to justify another bike as it does everything i need and is good at it, never feel compromised.

6?? what are they? why you have so many?

Just one MTB. Giant XTC custom build, XT/XTR world cups, hopes etc. Light enough to race but strong enough for trail and everyday use.
I am mindfull to have spares ready or to buy before bits go.

Without a doubt.

I have a Cove Handjob with Pace RC31's and full XT so I am xc biased. I have a spare set of wheels with 26 x 1.0 tyres on and I commute 120 miles per week for 30 weeks of the year on the same bike.

It does everything that I want and never lets me down.

Now that I ride less than I ever have, I have more fully functioning bikes than ever. They do all still get used, just not very much 🙁

(SS, geared bike, second old geared bike, road bike, cx bike)

it is, but not for long!

I've had spells of one bike - initially mechanical failure might mean a bit of downtime. I was racing XC and it would usually be in less than great shape for racing.

I've slowly progressed to now having 5 bikes.

* Single speed mtb for winter use and summer hacks
* geared hardtail mtb set up as a bit of a racer, for, well, racing
* singlespeed road bike/cx mainly for winter road training & a bit of fun in the summer
* nice road bike for sring/summer/autumn riding & racing
* commuter/pub - mainly made of worn rejects off the other bikes 🙂

I've found as the years go by I prefer specific tools for the job rather than a jack of all trades - e.g. i like the similicity and low maintenance/cheap to fix of the ss bikes in winter. I like the speed of the road bike. I like a geared mtb for going fast off road/competition.

possible additions might be a dh bike, but lack of time at the moment means it wouldn't get used much... though I would like to 🙂

I have one bike, I manage. A second would be nice but a luxury for me. Cannot afford luxuries right now. Commute on it (off-road mostly) five days a week, ride it at the weekend, did some touring on it last year.

FYI it's a Specialized Stumpjumper

On-One Scandal, slot drop out so I can run geared or SS, it's all the MTB I need.

no

Only one bike here! I use my Mount Vision for everything including commuting. I'd love a second bike, (a carbon hardtail) but without a garage, I dont really have the space and I aint leaving a bike in a shed in Manchester. That said, I really dont feel comprimised with my one bike, it does everything I want just fine.

I considering trying to get through this year with just one bike.
So far I am doing the following events...

The Welsh Ride Thing
LEJOG
Mayhem
Trans Provence
Coast to Coast

Might enter Trans Wales, Bonty and some others, but giving uplifts a miss.

Think a Ti hardtail should be ok for most but TP makes me think I'll need to keep/buy another.

Of course you can. Although those who turn their noses up at people riding Trail X "over biked", evidently have a choice of 6 for every riding occasion 😀

I'm (a little) ashamed to say at present I have 11 and 2 more are been built as we speak ... I wonder if I perhaps have a slight problem. I don't even own a full suspension bike FFS 😉

n+1 baby!

Would you expect a chief to cook with one saucepan?
Would you expect a carpenter to work with one chisel?
Would you expect a rock and roll star to to be addicted to just one drug?

No and neither should any cyclist be expected to live with just one bike.

@TheBrick

There are 2 x road bikes and a CX bike in the shed too so I would only be running one MTB.

>Would you expect a carpenter to work with one chisel?<

Ever seen two chisels being used at the same time? Thought not...

Collecting and mtb can be two entirely different things.

I don't know if n+1 works, due to the law of diminishing returns. I have three MTB (SS, HT and FS) but am ditching the SS to get a CX to commute on. I also have a thing for acronyms.

I currently have two mountain bikes (a rigid singlespeed for round town, quick blasts, red trail centre routes and muddy rides) and a full-sus for XC racing, remote rides, and anywhere I think a rigid singlespeed would struggle. I could get by with one, but I'd be chewing through drivetrains, and the forks would need serviced far more quickly on the FS. I can also wash the singlespeed in about a third of the time it takes to clean out the suspension bits and gears on the full-sus, and I'm slightly less worried about leaving the singlespeed chained up to railings. I'd say that on average, the singlespeed gets ridden 2-3 times a week at the moment, and the full-sus goes out once every 3 weeks (more in the summer).

However, if I had a CX bike, I could probably get away without the singlespeed. I'll get shot down in flames for this, but I do think that too many bikes can be a disadvantage, and just means that you have far more work to do to keep them running. If you head out on one bike on Monday night, and the other on Tuesday for example, and discover that the front brake rubs slightly on both, you now have two bikes to fettle with on Wednesday.

Back to the original question, if you have a middleground MTB (do it all hardtail or full sus) and just ride it at weekends, I reckon you could happily get away with one bike, provided you aren't using it for everything from XC racing to downhill.

I had a xc hardtail before as my only bike. The problem for me was that having one bike I wanted it to have nice bits, but than commuting and riding around town on a nice bike would mean I would probably have something stolen off it when it would be locked up.

Currently have:
1. XC full suspension that will be swapped for a XC hardtail soon.
2. Road bike
3. Winter commuter/hack/pub bike to save the road bike.

I'll be riding to work on my road bike when the weather improves but still use the hack to go to uni.

Perfect balance for me. Probably would do with a CX bike as well. However space does not allow to add no.4 to the collection.

My OH's brother has a road bike and a nice full suss race bike, he used to have a road bike, fixie, dirt jump bike and a good hardtail. Now down to 2 bikes but with much nicer mtb. He misses his fixie though.

I wish I could...

My Wotan forked Wolf Ridge is a bit of a beast so I've resurrected my 2004 Enduro, built up in a skinny XC guise for long distance rides. It's surprisingly capable as a commuter bike too.

Similar to CP

* Single speed / internal hub hardtail mtb for winter use and summer hacks
* geared full suss mtb set up as
* singlespeed cx mainly for winter commuting & a bit of fun in the summer
* nice road bike for spring/summer/autumn riding & sportives

I tried to live a 1 bike life but it wasn't a 1 size fit all and after 20 years of bikes I've settled on the ones I need [s]love[/s] the most.

[i]Can man (or woman) survive on one bike alone?[/i]

Once upon a time, that was the plan....honest

I could cope with 2 - an XC-ish hardtail and a DH/FRish full sus. The SS and the hardcore HT are both toys, depite being loads of fun.

That's on top of a commuter and a "proper" road bike though...

but since I now have a CX bike in my shed, having 2 mtbs seems like overkill

having 1 MTB and 1 CX bike does NOT count as having 1 bike.

even if you had a perfectly balanced MTB, the true jack of all trades and suprisingly not that shabby at any of them (mine would be a soul), would you then ride it into town and leave it locked up outside wetherspoons?

so 1 bike.... and a beater.
and if youve got 2, you might as well have 4!

Ideally it would be thus:

160mm skill compensator full susser
120mm all day XC full susser
Racey 100mm hardtail
Loony steel 140mm hardtail
Road bike
Pub bike

However my pockets aren't quite deep enough...

Err no, my 5th ordered and on its way and could probably build a 6th from all the bits lying around! 😀

Yes, most definately. I used to when i was a teenager and was just as happy with my riding as i am now with 10+ bikes. Maybe happier in some ways as it was less 'about the bike'. bike obsession is not what we ride for, it's a by-product of loving riding combined with the less appealing effect of consumerism.

now, i'm builing my one-bike for all and trying to get back to that more zen state of riding ) it seems to have become a very expensive process though. damn that consumerism, as well as thanks for giving me the choice..

"so 1 bike.... and a beater." - probably the most perfect solution.

Can man (or woman) survive on one bike alone?

Of course not, metal and rubber have zero nutritional value..........

Sorry, someone had to.

Seriously, no. I'm on 5 at the moment:
1) Rigid SS for winter
2) Summer hardtail, also SS because I got used to riding SS on the winter bike.
3) Bouncy bike, 140mm both ends and used a handful of times a year at trail centres, mainly in the dry so not likely to wear out expensive parts too soon.
4) Road bike for summer blasts down the beach and back.
5) Commuter and winter training bike - MTB on slicks, SS but higher ratio than the off-roaders.

I'll let you know if I don't get a job in the next few months, which might then be followed by - can man survive on no bikes only?

And as someone else pointed out - 1 bike of 1 type and 1 bike of another ISN'T surviving on 1 bike.

i should add that i could survive on one bike, but it would have 2 drivetrain options and 2 sets of wheels.. maybe 2 different bars, ie spares for the odd trip.

i'm gonna call it a 'trigger's broom' bike

I only ride one bike (a 100mm hardtail).

I get out on it two or three times a week usually, although snow, illness and xmas basically killed riding in December. Technically I do own more than one bike, but the other one is 14 years old and in bits in two cardboard boxes. I'd like to own more than one ridable bike, but I can't justify the cost at the moment. 🙁

Be eco and have just 1

I have a XC race bike and CX bike.

The CX gets used on the turbo trainer, for commuting, road training rides, and CX racing.

The XC gets used for all off road rides.

Ideally I'd like a 29 rigid Afline bike for general off road use so I could "save" the race bike for racing. However at the moment I just change wheels on the MTB to race or play depending on the ride.

I concur, 1 is not enough! Whilst my early cycling career (on shelf stacking and bar job wages) was limited to one bike...a 10 speed road bike for my 16th birthday, now that I have a little bit more disposable income (and a bike infatuation problem) I'm up to 4.

1) 140mm full suspension, ride everything MTB which I have used for everything from trail centre thrashes to C2C last Easter
2) SS 29er, built for winter but also used for commuting in snow and actually used in preference to the FS sometimes as it's just so much fun.
3) Steel framed, Campag clad retro road bike...that can hold it's head up with any of the carbon framed roadie boys round here!
4) Steel framed, fixed wheel road bike/pub bike/bit of fun...that used to be the 10 speed road bike of my youth.

I've got 1 bike...always have done, always will - really don't see the need for more than 1 bike - I can only ride 1 at a time so having the other(s) sitting in the garage collecting dust would seem an utter waste to me.

Saying that, I do still have my Pace but it never gets used and just sits there for nostalgia...I just bring myself to sell the frame...it never gets used...might sell the parts and put the frame on the wall...

I exist quite happily on one mountain bike but I don't do any DH-orientated riding really.

I do though have a road bike, a tourer, and 2 city bikes (one only cost €50 and the other was given to me to fix up).

Nick_Christy - Member
6?? what are they? why you have so many?

Ibis Mojo, trail bike
Specialized Demo 8, DH bike
Specialized P2, Hardtail DH bike
Pastey Howler ti, XC bike
Kona Firemountain, pub bike
GT RTS with vintage 95/96 XTR, Judy SLs, just cos I can. 🙂

Be eco and have just 1

I'll get shot down in flames for this, but I do think that too many bikes can be a disadvantage, and just means that you have far more work to do to keep them running.

This is very true. Only one of my six bikes doesn't require any real fettling: the track bike, and that's because it's never been ruidden outdoors.

Realistically, I reckon four would do me:

HT MTB
CX bike (doubling as winter trainer/commuter)
Road race bike
Track bike

But, if I could only have one, it would be a light CX bike.

I have 3 in use. Geared hardtail, ss hardtail, cx bike. Also have road bike which i replaced with the new cx, but not worth selling if i want to play in the club crit races, and 2 old MTB s from my past I don't want to part with, and are worth most to sell.

If I had to go to 1, would probably be my cx as it can do everything I need, would just need some proper 36 spoke wheels.

Cannondale six 105 Carbon Roady
Cotic simple SS
Ibis mojo SL ( with two set of forks 160mm and 140mm)
Kona dew Commuter (not that i commute these days)
( oh and theres a cracked titus frame in the bedroom i cant bear ot get rid off)

Just sold an SX Trail which really wasnt getting used.

If i had to just have one it would be the mojo, but my little cotic is very special, just not quite as versatile
Road bike is the poor mans form of cycling and would be the first to go if i was moving near decent mtbing again

Two bikes here, Ti hardtail for offroad stuff, and a roadbike. I'm thinking about getting a lighter 120mm full suspension something or other for marathons and XC rides, though.

Just one here, XC HT that's set up more trail stylee. When a proper hardcore HT replaces it the XC bike (or its constituent parts) will be going to a new home. Brompton doesn't count does it?

Well ... certainly not ....

6 bikes here but trying to sell one ....

1 FS Ellsworth Truth
1 Kona Explosif
1 Dekerf Generation
1 Rocky Mountain Vertex SC

1 Colnago Masterlight Road
1 Merlin Extrlight Road ...

Probably 3 hard tails is too much ..... one of the reasons I keep spares is to sus out the boyfriends by daughters bring home!

How hard do you lot with 4+ bikes find switching between them all?

I have one bike that I'm completely used to, when i get on someone else's bike, everything feels wrong! Do you have to spend a while on each ride getting used to the bike? Or does it come back straight away?

3? (4)
I'm running a 09 5 spot, enjoying it so much it may make my 05 Ellsworth Truth redundant?
Also have a 98 Truth; my first decent full sus; and can't bear to part with it.
It's always there if the gf decides that biking isn't as uncomfortable as she claims!
Checking out all the upgrade parts from the 5 spot frame swap I may be able to build my heckler back up again, tempting!

I;ve got one bike. I use it for MTB and Commuting at the moment. Not really ideal, but I'm skint.

I coped with one for over a decade of regular riding/commuting/trail centres/L2B/general pottering and it was fine. Just had multiple sets of tyres depending on what I was doing/time of year.

Now I have:

2001 Orange P7
2009 Zesty

Obviously need a spare in case Mrs wants to come riding (which she doesn't).

Yeah, I'd be fine with just one bike if I needed to. Did it for 20 years and many of my mates still do.

I was talking to an old mate last month and he was astounded when I said I had about five MTBs.

He's into computer games so I said "you don't just have one computer game, do you?"

Probably not the perfect analogy, maybe more like people who have three different consoles and a PC for games.

Two bikes 140mm FS and 100mm HT. Use the hardtail for shorter rides and the FS for longer rides or if I'm off on a biking trip. I survived for a few months quite happily with the hardtail when the FS frame cracked. I'd probably go for a 120mm ish single pivot FS if I only had one.

Confession time. It turns out that I have been lying to you all. I said that I had one bike and then that got me thinking about my dad's shed. Had a trip to Keswick yesterday and it turns out I have another two.

One 1989 MS Racing MTB which I upgraded to STX RC components in 1994 in favour of the old xt thumbies etc. It seemed like a good idea at the time. [img] [/img] I am thinking of making this up into my 'Keswick' bike as it is ready to go in a retro way. I need some new smoke & dart tyres to get the full flashback feeling. Just look at these burly hubs. [img] [/img]

I also found my lovely old 1984 MRD BMX which is currently causing a stir on ebay. [img] [/img] That would be a great project but I will let someone else take it on.

i know people who do imagine not having a pile of tyres for your multiple bikes ...shudders
5 for me
SS
FS
Hardatil Road bike
Pub Bike

One retired bike which is nearly complete
I could give up the Hardtail if I had to but not the rest as I use them

Five for me too, but I may well drop down to four if I see the geared HT.

Adjustable travel FS - being replaced with another one 😳
Geared HT - gets put away, then gets taken out and ridden and loved again 😆
SS HT - gets ridden in all weathers on local loops, quick evening blasts and 4 hour treks round and about possibly the best bike I've got 8)
Geared Road Bike - hasn't been ridden since September last year, did cover over 2k in 8 months of occasional use though, might come down to London with me for post work mid-week rides 🙄
SS Steel hipster wagon for commuting, lives in London - this gets ridden the most at the moment in pure mileage terms 😈

Just the one bike for me MMBop

if that is out of action I can fall back on the wifes MMbop
till mine is mended

I not only [i]exist[/i] on one bike... but I actually live a rich and fulfilling life..

On-One 456.. u-turn Revs.. SLX kit and strong wheels..

It will do abso-flippin-lutely anything I ask of it and all I ever have to do to encourage it to perform in any given situation is make minute adjustments to the amount that I am required to MTFU..

It's a win/win situation

simplicity.. with synchronicity

Yup I have one bike, 6 inch full susser that I built up to be bullet proof and OK weight wise over the last 10 years. Don't need to change it and truly hope it won't break. Does me for all the riding I do.

If you like or love your bikes keep hold of them.

Second hand values are not great and there is no guilt in being overbiked.

I have an old 1985 Raleigh USA (xt, shark bites, welded stem/bar, ridiculous slack head angle) it is soo dated and handles like an angry drunk, I ride it a few times year, it entertains me and reminds me of my mtb past. Point being even a near pointless bike is better than £150 in the bank (or £150 less overdraft)

i live around 2 bikes for myself
ss rigid ss
rigid w/gears with 1.2 slicks flat bars,bar ends
dont feel i need more than this

[img][url= http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5087/5332863170_5bdd2b5332.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5087/5332863170_5bdd2b5332.jp g"/> [/img][/url] [url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/18bikes/5332863170/ ]Yoke[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/18bikes/ ]18bikes[/url], on Flickr[/img]We'll find out when this one arrives.

3

SX Trail - DH,AM,XC(!),FR - mountain bike...
Commencal hardtail 4x bike - a luxury for the odd bit race track, trails, dicking about type stuff. Don't 'need' it, or use it that often
SS'd old road bike - commuting, shopping, pub etc.

Too many bikes means not getting the most out of them IMO.

I could get by with one mtb. I would have to have a change of wheels though so I can easily go between road and off road.

Only 1 for me. Lack of space you see.
I would love a Knolly delirium and an endorphin SL to go with my regular endorphin. Happy I would be.

i have 4 bikes cannondale prophet, ti 456, steel rigid inbred with both 26" and 700cc wheel and a kinesis cx. I reckon i could manage with just the 456. I'd keep the carbon fork and 700cc wheels for touring which you could do on the 456 as it got the rack mounts.
But if I was to start commuting again i'd want a second hack bike as it seems a shame to trash an expensive mtb drive train to commute in all the muck thats on our roads. I had a lovely 1991 kona hananaha for that duty until
it got nicked boo.

In a word. No.

As Mrs Fopster very kindly bought me my STW subscription for Christmas, she is clearly aware of the existence of this site and may even find herself looking at it in a quiet moment to confirm what her beloved is up to.

I am therefore happy to confirm that I am indeed existing on just the one bike at the moment. I am, however, looking after a couple of other bikes for dear friends who sadly don't have the space in their own garages. Purely on a temporary basis, you understand. I am sure I'm not the only one happy to help a fellow cyclist in this way - I know of several people with only one bike who happen to have more than that in their garage, "just for now"....
😯

I have a cargo bike, which is a bit of a lump for anything other than utility stuff and short commutes. But it's barely recreational so it doesn't count.

At present I seem to have 2 mountain bikes and 2 road bikes (summer and winter really in each case). But my winter road bike is singlespeed, so it won't really do a touring job. So I'm at grave risk of a light tourer/audax/journey bike. I may get rid of the singlespeed roadie, but it seems a shame... 🙂

As soon as you start racing anything or trying to carry significant amounts of gear the number of machines you can justify rises rapidly.

3 - it's the magic number..... no more no less....

a bike to commute on and knock about generally that you don't mind being locked up in a public place

I like going riding away from the roads, therefore a mountain bike (choose your flavour) is needed and I don't want to risk locking it up in public, so needs to be a different bike to the first

and I like riding longer rides on the roads, therefore I need something that is more comfy and efficient for doing this so you can't do it on the first and it'd be too nice to leave in a public place - and clearly a road bike is no use away from the roads (and vice versa) so there's my 3 and the justifications

I think that any more than 3 is a very tough sell to a non-cycling other half using the rationale above, you're into 'but they both go in the woods??' territory for buying a full sus on top of the hardtail you have... 😆

Tried to go to the "one" bike a year or so ago, and thought I'd cracked it with the Ti456. Awesome bike, does everything I want, but then thought I'd better try this 29er lark (Scandal).... brilliant bike too. Maybe a ti 29er could replace them both? Either way I now have two XC/Trail hardtails and it can get a bit annoying deciding which one to take out on which day...

All the spare bits were then built onto an ebay frame to make a commuter that (hopefully) won't get nicked (although all the "old" parts, like v-brakes are bloody good stuff, so it's ended up being my lightest bike at c.9kg with full gears!).

One bike can work, but you have to stop riding with other people (who keep upgrading)/reading magazines/browsing ebay/t'internet, so rampant consumerism is kept at bay. Then you can just enjoy the bike your on...

3

jumpy fun singlespeed

xc/commuter

fs for fun days.

to be honest i`m riding the xc almost exclusively atm other than on the pump track where only the small bike fits.

i need forks with a lockout/travel adjust to make the big bike more useable. actually i probably just need to be fitter...