Gravel bike/ CX
would basically cover 85% of my riding, but that remaining 15% only an MTB can really address
having a seperate commuter makes things much easier IME. Can run guards and racks a dynamo and most importantly great big horrible punture proof tyres. My commute has a lot of glass and any tyre that i'd enjoy riding on a weekend club run is no good at all in the week.
Just bought a ti Fargo. (Present for large number birthday). Think that would be it.
Difficult! So, I have to commute to work, can't afford not to, and yet I couldn't just live with a gravel bike... a Slate is a good call, but no, I'd have to keep my Big Top. 29er hardtail. I could ride to work on that and its a fun bike.
Trail Centres do rentals don't they? 🙂
I think I may have just built the perfect bike for ton!
XL Grypon, Rohloff, Big Apples, BB7s, Midges.Carradice SQR on the seat post to take a SuperC bag.
very nice too stoner.....wanna sell?
I did JOGLE on my MTB (Cannondale hardtail with a Lefty) back in 2001, so one bike is quite do-able if you're happy to accept compromises. I commuted and toured a fair bit on that bike.
I've thought about going back to a single bike several times over the years (see some historic posts) and came to the conclusion that a 29er hardtail with 2 wheelsets and some good luggage would be the sweet spot.
One bike probably works best if you're have a main use and then occasionally something else (e.g. MTB mainly, with an occasional tour), but will inevitably be tested if you're doing a more diverse range (e.g. technical MTB and chain gang stuff) and / or bigger miles.
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YT Capra CF Pro with a spare set of wheels/tyres for the road.
It would have to be a hard tail of some description, all things considered.
Sonder Camino Ti
One bike, ONE BIKE, ahhh. I've rather a lot of bikes so can't really give a proper view on this but if you said all we're going but one... the first that comes to mind to keep is my Solaris, (but I'd have three sets of wheels/tyres, 29mtb, 27.5mtb+ and a road set of 29s. But if I could only keep one, it would probably be my 1986/7 Stumpjumper, currently set up as a tourer (has been for 20 years), it is also lots of fun and reasonably capable off road on decent tyres. It is a great alrounder, city cycling, loaded up tourer, on the trails, only place it lets its self down is steep (ish) downhill quickly but I'm getting a bit old for that...
One bike you say.......would have to be the Krampus.
Might have to keep hold of the Alfine and SS rear wheels so I had a choice of gears or not.
That's like saying you can only have one pint!
However, out of SC Superlight, ti 456 Mk1, Inbred singlespeed, Stanton Sherpa, Kinesis XC Pro 2 and Look KG361, I'd keep the 456 (cos it's ti!).but swap for a ti Sherpa if I could.
Ti29 plus...with 29er and road wheels, and spare Pikes (and a spare Turner Sultan frame 😉 )
160mm enduro bike
For off road riding, which is what I prefer - they cover everything well enough. Alps trip? Comfortable enough for a week shuttling downhill tracks.
Trail centre? Great on reds and blacks, some people argue that they make them too easy but I like the sensation of speed you can get from them by really laying off the brakes.
All day ride in the peaks? Totally doable, enduro bike builds are pretty light these days and with 3/4 way adjustable suspension and a tyre swap they can be 80-90 percent as manageable as a 130/140mm trailbike.
I want a bike that is good for UK riding but will also put a smile on my face and help me enjoy a week of shuttling alpine descents, I can't say how much I am looking forward to 2018 in Morzine already.
I think I'm a bit of an odd one out here - but I'd never be without a proper bouncy bike. I'd forgo all other types of bikes, my enduro bike would be clawed out of my cold dead hands though.
As I currently only have two, I'd forego the rigid SS commuter and keep the Aeris 145. The only road riding I do is either to the trails or a 4km commute so I think I'd cope. So chalk me up as another who'd stick with a FS as my only bike!
very nice too stoner.....wanna sell?
Thank you.
But Im afraid not for sale. At least not until Ive tested it 🙂
I think I'm a bit of an odd one out here
Nope, there's a few of us echoed your sentiments earlier in the thread.
I only ever have one bike at a time. Have lived in the same place for many years and the bike that works for me on and off road is a fixed gear track bike. I swap bars around as the mood takes (drops, risers, bullhorns) but the underlying bike remains the same, it is all I need.
Good on roads, good fun off road (most off road is gravel) and makes the lame single-track quite challenging.
Easy choice.
Carbon 29er HT.
Covers the widest range of possible uses I think.
Another vote for 29er hardtail, my solaris would do. Ideally after i've put the 120mm stiffer fork on i've been hoping to upgrade to. Currently 100mm reba which are a bit flexy under my impressive physique.
It's not that I'm not impressed by gravel bikes, they're extremely capable and adaptable and would basically cover 85% of my riding, but that remaining 15% only an MTB can really address...
As someone mentioned above, maybe rental could scratch that remaining 15% itch, especially if it's for occasional trail centres and holidays abroad. I used to ski every year and quickly came to the conclusion that renting made more sense for the one week of a year when I skied. If you only "need" a big full susser for the Summer Alps trips and weekend trail centre visits, it might be a cost effective way of having only one bike but still getting your n + 1 kicks.
EDIT - perhaps doesn't work so well if your doorstep riding needs a "big bike".
I do all my Mountain biking on my Bird Aeris 145. I've got a Boardman team Carbon racer which I mostly just commute on with an occasional road ride for fitness / leisure, then I've got a hardtail which is somewhere in between but which needs a fair bit of tlc.
I was thinking about this the other night and decided if I could only have one bike it would be the Aeris - but I'd get a spare set of narrow ish wheels to keep tyres on that I could commute on without being too draggy and could just lock the rear shock and turn the forks to their fullest compression setting.
So I'd keep the most fun bike basically.
It'd be my Surly Disc Trucker. I've done 200km+ road rides on it happily enough, it'll handle any off-road stuff round here and it'd do plenty more gnar at an appropriate speed, it tows the kids, does the shopping, carries luggage, does everything basically. I wouldn't mind a smidge more tyre/guard clearance if it was to do all the off-road duties as well (it's currently maxed out with 29x1.75s and guards), but hey.
Hardtail for me. Ideally 29er. Drop bars too compromised for off road, I would consider a lightweight FS but probably HT first.
Metal perhaps better for the rough and tumble of life? But something light and carbon would make it more fun with slicks on the road. So perhaps something like a pivot les?
How many sets of tyres are we allowed? Two sets of forks?
If it was a mountain bike and had to be used for commuting and other road use - I wonder how many of us would go back to 2 front chainrings... 11/32 would be a bit crap on the road.
I think I'm a bit of an odd one out here
You're not, well not the only odd one. Mountain biking is about fun for me so I'd definitely keep my Bird if I only had one bike. I use it for 90% of my riding anyway. I could use it where I use my hardtail, it just might be a bit overkill at times, but I'd rather that and have the bike to enjoy the fun stuff.
Easy, my Whyte T-130
As an XC bike it's great, DH is great... I guess it would lose a bit on Zwift, but i could live with that.
I'm thinking of doing this.
My two current bikes are both not-quite-right for me: a SS Inbred (can't run BB7 calpiers, only one bottle cage, 26er tyres getting harder to find) and a Cotic X (lose a bottle cage when running a frame bag, slightly smaller tyres than I'd like at times).
I'm thinking of getting a Singular Swift frame and forks. They would work for geared or SS, drop bars or risers, fat tyres or skinny, off-road or on-road.
Most of the parts from my current bikes would fit, so minimal shopping needed.
Careful kit choice should mean relatively easy swapping of parts - running road BB7 calipers and using canti brake levers for with riser bars, split cable outers, etc.
I wonder how many of us would go back to 2 front chainrings...
Go back to? Ah the joys of being a late adopter...
Without a doubt it would be my Stanton hardtail with 140mm forks and 26" wheels. Full sus is a "nice to have" rather than a necessity and doesn't play well on tight jumps or the BMX / pump track. Neither do bigger wheels.
If it was a mountain bike and had to be used for commuting and other road use - I wonder how many of us would go back to 2 front chainrings
Not me, I'd keep all three 🙂
[i]Go back to? Ah the joys of being a late adopter...[/i]
My chosen Big Top does have 2x10 🙂
If it was a mountain bike and had to be used for commuting and other road use - I wonder how many of us would go back to 2 front chainrings
A double chainring (32t and 42t) with an 11-32 cassette would do me for everything.
I'm in this exact position at the moment and have an NS Rag+ on it's way to me today. Should cover 90% of my riding until the kids are a bit older and then I'll get a full suss to compliment it. Local trails (Macc and Peak) will just be tackled at a slower pace
I wonder how many of us would go back to 2 front chainrings...
Not me. My 1x MTB already has a higher top gear than my commuter. Touring I would have to consider 2x or 3x but that would be a compromise for a small amount of total use. Besides, if it was one bike, I could probably justify 1x12.
For 'proper' road use a n/w chainring is a pretty cheap and cheerful swap to up the gears, and surely no worse than being allowed to change tyres?
Having given this some thought, even though I'm not likely to be in that situation, I think that I'd probably have to keep this Singular Hummingbird singlespeed.
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I hope Mark won't mind the blatant plug, but there's an article on exactly this subject in the next issue of Cycle (the magazine of Cycling UK, formerly CTC), which goes to press next week. Jon Bateman, who kicked off the earlier one-bike thread, bumped into me at an event during my one-bike experiment. Don't tell 'em what it is, John! 😉
I've currently only got one bike, a Soul, and though I always intended to get something else, have given it a try for everything for a while.
It's good at everything, well, alright, but compromised at either end of the spectrum, like on mixed XC rides with lots of road or in Hopton on the almost DH tracks. And that, for me, spoils the fun a bit.
So, I've got a cheap used Arkrose on the way for the rides from the door, and I'm swapping the Soul frame for an Aeris One20. Long term I'd like a fast 29er XC bike too, but that'll have to wait.
As someone mentioned above, maybe rental could scratch that remaining 15% itch, especially if it's for occasional trail centres and holidays abroad. I used to ski every year and quickly came to the conclusion that renting made more sense for the one week of a year when I skied. If you only "need" a big full susser for the Summer Alps trips and weekend trail centre visits, it might be a cost effective way of having only one bike but still getting your n + 1 kicks.EDIT - perhaps doesn't work
Rental for a half decent full susser is 70 quid a day, I ride about 2 weekends a month. Alpine rental is crazy expensive.... I reckon Id spend 1500 quid a year on rental.
Then there is the fact that rental bikes are usually poorly maintained and setup....
Where as Ive been riding for so long, to get what I want I need a shimstack tune...specific stem and bar lengths etc
Honestly, Id keep the mtb and get a 100 quid hack bike for everything rlse.
I've had to come back to this thread. I'd posted early doors.
I couldn't let the Pugs go. So that would be my keeper. I guess road rides would mean those Nates get me very fit!
My Parkwood 29er but with rack mounts wood cover all necessary bases.
But it's not going to happen willingly!
I'm currently being forced into this due to wife's health, nearest trail centre drive and cycle then return is around three and a half hours, at present quicker to cycle from home on CAADX with Panaracer Gravelking sk's and take on a bit of off-road. Sadly selling my Cannondale Habit but would ideally like to have a steel gravel bike that'll run 700c and 650b but it'll have to wait til finances allow. Any suggestions what to get would be grateful
Ok just to be different I am going the traditional STW way and saying what I already have (Fat bike obviously) but ...
This is my reality after careful consideration of what I really ride, a leap of faith that snow/sand/mud are similar behaviours under fat tyres and that I ride XC (ish), local (ish) and rarely bomb a Welsh mountain and avoid roads like plague.
I've done FS lots, hardtails lots and loved them all at the time but nothing puts a smile on my face like the lunatic Fat bike (OK and maybe a coffee at the end of a ride too).
James
Spesh AWOL.
With flat bars, it's an MTB.
With drops, it pretty much covers everything else.
The stock base model would be fine, I like the spec.
2 chain rings...... Pfft . 3 here. Last time i was called out it turned out the caller liked to ride 20-30k in a day.....i prefer 80-100 or more....
