For me, no.
My bikes are ace, but as a lover of everything from long days on my road bike via XC to messing around on DH tracks and jumps, I simply don't possess one bike that would even come close to being a suitable compromise for all that.
This old thing was the closest I've ever had to "one bike to rule them all"
[url= https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7334/14180484414_811dc43361_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7334/14180484414_811dc43361_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/nB5FYA ]My old Bianchi. Fond memories.[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/30104653@N07/ ]stilltortoise[/url], on Flickr
No... but I'd have a combination of both....
I've got a MetaAM29 and a charge Cooker
I'd probably have a Bfe or a Fireline if I could only have one as I could run more travel than on the Cooker, but with the speed of the HT.
well I have a Soul, a carbon road bike, a track bike and a cx bike. If i was forced to have only one it would probably be the cx as that covers more than any of the others. I'd rather not though 🙂
(I actually dont 'have' a cx bike as sold my Croix a few weeks ago and new one is on order 🙂 )
Ignoring any road riding then yes (if faced with only 1 bike I just wouldn't roadie). I ride my BFe for all of my riding, be it DH or long days out (hopefully bivvying with it next year too). It's (and I'm) not the fastest downhill or uphill but I likes it. I have a Blindside in the garage that I haven't ridden for a few months as I just prefer the BFe.
The answer must be yes for me as I only have one bike so it has to be the one I'd have if I could have only one.
Mind you I am getting n+1 syndrome.
There's not one bike that could do everything I want to do, well... But if I had to have just one (leaving aside commuting) then what I've got would do it as well as pretty much anything
Having said that I reckon a 29er Remedy would do it better
The one I'm currently building, obviously 😉
I find it interesting because that Bianchi up there - when I owned it - was the one I said I would keep if I could only have one bike. However it was always going to be the first one to go if I could have 2 bikes 🙂
If I gave up road riding it would be a lot easier, but that's not going to happen.
Of course not
I'd want what everyone else had
Nope. I'd want a 29er for a mountain bike, something with disc brakes as a road bike, and hydraulic discs on the commuter.
But what I have does what I need it to do in the meantime.
Almost? It would be my Stooge in Ti with a 44mm headtube.
Most likely my CX bike although I'd want to change it for one with discs.
I could get it down to two if I had to; my Giant TCR Composite road bike and my Dialled Alpine. Much as love my Alpine, not sure I'd want to long road rides on it!!!
You're cheating souldrummer 😆
I could easily get it down to two if I could have a road bike and an MTB, but limiting if to one is what makes this so interesting when I know so many of us on Singletrackroadworld enjoy road riding.
Yes, it's fine. It's a long travel hardtail. Am I allowed to bugger about going from singlespeed to gears if I fancy?
I could live without the heavy ass commuter and the XC full sus if I only had my Surly KM. Rigid, super comfy, quite light, and 29" so good for road and trails alike (especially with conti race kings - add 50psi and it's fairly rapid on the road and fire paths).
Well, I'd have to have a roadie and an MTB, so
Yes, my DayOne is the only road bike needed, and in fact was for many years.
Yes, I'd put suspension forks and a 3 speed Nexus on my SS High Latitude for a bit more capability on proper steep and rough stuff.
No but I reckon the 29er hardtail I'm thinking of buying would be a good jack of all trades.
My Superlight is pretty versatile a long as I don't spend much time on the road
No, but it soon will be.
If I had the same budgetary constraints then possibly. May go for a Scalpel or Jekyll instead of the Trigger but don't know.
If it had to be just one, then my cx bike. Fortunately it can be many more than one 🙂
I suppose for me it'd be my CX bike - can ride it on the road (change of tyres/wheels) and offroad so while it's never going to replace an mtb, I can still get enough of a fix if I really had to limit myself to one.
This is pretty easy for me, since I don't road ride or bike commute, and my mtb'ing is neither race fast xc or freeride DH or dirt jump, occupying the middle ground of 'trail hacking with fastish bits and techish bits'.
Much as I enjoy my Turner sultan, it's just much too competent to be enjoyable on my local trails unless I'm spanking the crap out of it everywhere, all the time. I feel it's slowly turning into my 'big days away bike'.
That leaves this, which I'm still adjusting to after a Solaris.
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It's a bit less XC than the Solaris and more capable at the lairy end of things. It's the bike I would be happy to keep if I only had space and budget for one.
If I could only keep one (shudders) of my current crop then it would be the Solaris as you can still cover ground on road OK on it.
As a one bike, my previous 29er, the Spesh Carve would have worked even better as its more xc focused.
That said, if we take road biking out of the mix, then I'd still opt for the Solaris or similar 29er ht as I like the way they ride and never seem to 'click' or 'gel' with the FS bikes I've tried, including the one I currently own!
My SB66. Can do everything my soul can, the fatbike, cx bike and road bike are just luxuries I could do without.
The more I like into the 'what other bike should I buy' conundrum, the more I realise that my Bronson is pretty much the perfect bike for what I do. Couldn't do (well wouldn't enjoy doing) whistler uplift weeks on a hardtail, but the Bronson can do that and it's still light enough to ride up anyhill and with a change of tires and the suspension in lockout mode, would get me around on the road if needs be.
I only have one bike already and I love it to bits. It's a 29er HT, nothing special really. But after the distance I've already covered on it in various environments and conditions I can honestly say, that is is THE BIKE. Fitting 700x35 slicks transforms it to fast and comfortable road machine, while 2.3" knobblies make it a great off-road machine. 100mm lockable forks.
A friend let me use his old road bike, which I sometimes use. But I found I'm still faster on my 29er! :/
Thinking about this, I realise how much my answer would have changed over time.
I remember when I had a P7 with RC30s and thought it was all the bike I could ever want. 2 of my mates had the same, and we used to race XC, DH, and DD on them. Happy days. If I could only have one bike, that would be it.
Then one of our uni mates got a full sus GT as a sponsored bike for DH and my world was shattered.
I scrimped and saved, sold everything I could get my hands on, and upgraded to an O2 with RC36s. 3 frikkin' inches of travel up front baby! If I could only have one bike, that would be it.
Ad infinitum...
yes.
😉
Only really have 1 MTB at the moment, a Ragley Blue pig with U-Turn Pikes, it's running 1x10 N/W at the moment but could change that to a double up front if I really wanted to.
It seems to do pretty much all i want it to from DH(ish) to pootles with the kids!
[url= https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7132/8167908332_1bbe5b1f2a.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7132/8167908332_1bbe5b1f2a.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/drLEzJ ]IMAG1721[/url]
by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/67338272@N05/ ]james*o[/url], on Flickr
Yes, this one. Can do everything well enough to be worth adapting a bit as well as doing the MTB stuff in a way that makes me grin every time I ride it. Done enough with it to have it marked as a keeper now, it looks like a bike version of some comfy old hiking boots these days.
For me, it would have to be a short travel carbon full sus bike, like an Anthem Advanced or a Scott Spark. Would perfectly suit 95 percent of my riding, with the option of lumpier days out oop north. Come to think of it, why haven't I got a bike like that now?
Presume we're just talking mountain bikes? Then yeah, my Shan pretty much covers it, the stuff it doesn't do too great is more than made up for by the stuff it's amazing at.
Probably be a high end CX bike here to be able to do road, off road and racing. Would feel compromised at everything other than CX racing, but if I had to have just one bike then that'd probably be it. Would not be a bike I currently own.
Presume we're just talking mountain bikes?
No, not really. I know a lot of us like doing different types of riding and hence have lots of bikes e.g. a road bike, a "hack" bike, a BMX, a mountain bike etc. If you could only have ONE, would it be one of the ones you already have?
The question of "...if I could only have one mountain bike..." is too easy and some might say done to death 😉
Two I could live with. A CX bike for CX plus road work (I'd have to give up road racing) and a 29er hardtail. Probably would keep my current hardtail (Parkwood) and CX (Kinesis Pro6).
To get down to one would be hard. I think I'd get a Surly straggler. Light wheels and tyres for road and cx and something a bit tougher and fatter for offroad.
I'd keep my 160mm bike. And never ride on the road.
Previously it would have been my Genesis Vapour, or the crosscheck with an 11-speed 'ub. But now it would be my new Longitude, with the knards and with a set of Fat Franks for road use. Lovely on the trail and useable for everything else.
Would be more than happy to have jones space frame or my ti blacksheep as my only bike.
Yep, Rocket is as near perfect as I'll need and I don't road ride or commute.
I ride my 26 inch wheel hard tail for on road with slicks and a 26 inch wheel FS off road
My current hard tail could do it all but not well
I would have thought an OK 29er hard tail would probably keep me happy for life. Provided I had a pile of tyres and it had rack mounts
But in reality I'm looking at n+1 as I do seem to enjoy the road at the mo and would like something a bit more specific
If you mean just one bike for the widest possible range of uses then it would have to be a Tripster.



