[Closed] How do you know when you have too many bikes?

Yes, just you ........... 😀

too-many-bikes? Sorry I can't get my head around that phrase - doesn't scan for me.

Does it look like this outside your house ?
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I have 3 bikes they all get ridden. I don't have a favorite cos they all have different purposes.

Road bike for commuting, Hardtail for local stuff/riding with the kids, FS for shredding the gnar and generally getting rad

When you have 2...

All you need is 1... The rest is just about how quickly/slowly you do the boring stuff.

When bike maintenance starts to feel like a full-time job rather than a hobby. I'm at that point now, and it's sucking the joy out of it.

Two would be my minimum as I need a hack bike for commuting. Funny thing is I neglect that bike a lot, but use it 5 days a week. Don't have too many mechanical problems with that regime.

It's putting my decent bike away when it doesn't move for a few weeks that causes the most problems.

Fasthaggis the inside of the nearest bike shop to me (not my LBS though!) looks strangely like that. Where bikes go to die...

OP, yeah it's just you. Having multiple bikes means you dont have to compromise when you do get to use some of that limited time to ride.

You have too many bikes when you don't actually know how many you have 🙂 I counted once and over the next week several more came to mind that I'd entirely forgot about 😳 For the record I'm trying to get down to 14 (I still don't know how many I have)

Iknow what you mean with this.

I got to a point a while ago where they all needed some sort of maintanence of new parts and was moaning to the wife I can;t afford this hobby..

She pointed out quite sensibly that her bike was never an issue as we maintained it as it was her only choice... so if I only had one do it all bike then it would be better maintained and want for nothing and always have any parts changed that it needed.

Maintaining and running multiple bikes through a wet winter = expensive in my opinion and won't be repeated.

I'm currently building my 4th edition to my collection though so probably do as I say... not as I do might be apt here.

When you have to play tetris to fit them all in shed/garage/storeroom/kitchen, and/or need to discard one to be able to do an N=N+1

When you have more than the missus.

She has 2, I have 2.

This is now a problem because I'm building my third.

Sigh.

to properly address this question we need the OP to come clean about the full extent of his stable. So far we have the commuter, the FS, and the plastic HT. Not mentioned so far are the cx bike and the tandem. Any others you wish to have taken into consideration? 😉

for me the key is to have very different bikes so the bike I take is determined by where I'm going. Road bike, mtb, commuter (aka frankenbike).

I've been thinking I've got too many recently. Same as the OP really - multiple bikes with something vaguely wrong with them sitting for weeks on end waiting for some attention...

I had a bit of a slim down of bikes that are now redundant and got to four.

Sensible steel HT, 'naughty' HHT, bouncy bike and cross bike.

I'm trying to talk myself out of another cross bike at the mo...

I have two many road bikes (i.e. 3) and get fed up with the constant maintenance swapped out my HT for soemthing smaller my daughter can use but I doubt a week goes by where I haven't got something to footer with, cables, brakes, headsets. took my road bike off the hook yesterday to do new bar tape and it needs a new Headset bearing 🙁 am supposed to ride it in my first ever crit this weekend!

I am just putting a half built frame in the loft as I have run out of space in the garage, probably too many then..........

Too many bikes...?????

Think of it this way - the more bbikes you have the more oppotunities to swap round components when something gives out. My bikes are all a random selection of components now.

My wife tells me

In my garage I have:

BMX
FS MTB (Orange 5)
Road bike (Old frame - nothing special)
Commuter (Pompino)
P7 frame
Old Kona Blast frame which was my original commuter

My Wife has
Commuter (Giant Rapid on loan from a friend)
Previous commuter - heavyweight Giant step through
Town bike - another heavyweight Giant commuter but hub geared!

I'm still looking at another bike (although it would replace the commuter and possibly even the roadie for me) Surly Straggler, want, want, want!

How do you know? I dunno, I suppose first you'd need to ask yourself the question 🙂

[url= http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7417/12902032744_0745c272b9_b.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7417/12902032744_0745c272b9_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexleigh/12902032744/ ]ShedOfDreams[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/alexleigh/ ]Alex Leigh[/url], on Flickr

5 for me. All get ridden. Okay the road bike gets ridden once a year for the Wye Valley Warrior Sportiv thing. The rest tho - selected by where I'm riding/how I'm feeling. I could easily get by with less, but at no point do I think that'd be a good idea 🙂

Oh actually it's six. That thing about 'not knowing how many bikes you have?' up there? He might have a point!

The 2 that live in my bath don't get used much 🙂

If a bike goes for more than a year without being ridden then it gets swapped for something else.

I'm down to four now. Xc, road, fixie and cx. I pretty much have a bike for any type of riding I do and I'm not really hankering for anything else.

When they don't bring you happiness.

I did have 6 and then realised at least two or three do not get ridden. My strava tells me the boardman road bike beats all the others put together.

I sold my kona Cindercone, Alan top cross leaving only 3 single speed road bike, HT and carbon road bike. However will get a new steel road bike in 3 weeks time.

Three is the magic number. How you arrange those three is variable depending on you.

6" mountain bike FS for proper rides
Road/tourer/commuter/town/pub (utility road bike)
Single speed Mountain bike as a spare and to keep the others in good nick when its filthy.

+ a choice of flats, clips, or touring double sided jobbies.

No use if you want to race anything, or ride trials, or jumps or anything else.

only 3? I'm on 3 at the moment but still wanting a hub gear winter mtb to save the wear on the FS when the peak is a mudbath

I've been mulling this recently too. I always used to have just one or two bikes, but it's getting a bit out of hand for someone who lives in a rented shared house, and is about to move somewhere smaller.

Obviously, the mountain bike, pride of joy, love of life, etc etc.

The Apocalypse bike (AKA the cargo bike with a hunking great basket on the front that weighs more than the 6" FS mtb…

Now the roadie rocket ship.

Finally, the tall bike, my proudest bicycle and more awkward to store than any of your bikes, but more badass too. Ahem.

Now I'm building a new bike to go touring on… Not ideal in a flat. But hey, bikes is great.

+ 1 for when the wife pulls rank!! I have 6, they all get ridden. Commuter, XC HT, Full sus XC, 5" full sus for fun rides (trail centres), road bike & my 90's bike that I use for towing the boy about in the trailer. I'm after a new road machine but have been told that I'm not allowed to keep the old one!! :-/

I'm down to just 2 from 4 this time last year.

Commuter has gone as I no longer commute since I gave that job up
Road bike went and was replaced with an Alfined Croix de Fer ( tough road bike IMO)
Ti hardtail and Alps bike ( Enduro) went and were replaced with a carbon blur.

My mates though I was mad going from 2 mountain bikes to just one with phrases like "but what about the Alps holidays or uplift weekends" interestingly, most have followed suit now.

Sometimes, less is more, apparently.

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My hard tail is hanging in the garage and should really be stripped for parts but everything is too heavy on it, the fun goes when your HT is heavier than the 140/160mm FS next to it.
The road bike gets plenty of use.
The FS (Blur LTc) goes everywhere and does everything.

So Simple I really only need 2 bikes.

I'll just get the DH bike built up if next few months of work go well and then add in the 100mm XC FS race bike.

So yep I need 4 bikes

If have to ask then it's to many.

i've got 6 and there's too many to keep in my flat. Also, my girlfriend has two, so that leaves us with 8 altogether. Added to that, the winters are so long that i can't ride them for half of the year and for the other half, i tend to be injured. I'd be ok with 3 bikes.

1) Cotic BFe (keeper)
2) Marin Quake FS (could be sold)
3) GT Hans Ray trials (keeper)
4) Spesh Tricross (selling atm)
5) Vitus Vee 29 (keeper)
6) Cougar road frame (to be restored)

[img] [/img]

HansRey no bike is a keeper it's just a good one at the time, your dream bike is always your next one. (Unless you are actually Hans and have a big house to keep all of the free bikes in)

[img] [/img]
http://revanchebikeco.wordpress.com/2014/02/17/n1-lifestyle/

nah, they're keepers. Well, the Vitus will be kept until it is stolen as it's often left [s]locked up[/s] [i]on show[/i] about the city centre.

1. Dawes Galaxy (circa 1978) for commuting/round town
2. Spec Rockhopper HT (Replaced by the Ghost)
3. Ghost 2978 FS 29er (Rapid!)

Keep meaning to sell the rockhopper (unused since last October), and with an Alps trip this summer and numerous Wales Trails trips planned I'm tempted to replace it with a 160mm front n' back FS trail bike.

Although that would lead me into thinking of replacing the Ghost with a lighter 29er HT. *sigh*

I have 4 (ish) but still don't get the question!

@ JoeG - where is that t-shirt from? I have certain friends that I need to wear that in front of!!

For me the sacrificial bike is the one coated in last summer's dust & dirt that ends up behind the others in the shed.

If I haven't used it for a year I probably won't use it again

Am down to three now with a big question mark over one of them

Normal Man, I got mine from amazon. It's ace 🙂

Current in low double figures, excluding MrsG's two and MiniG's 2. Garage is still not quite full but even I am having justifying any more 🙂 I need the space for a fun car!

I just measure the dust, there's an awful lot on top of my xc bike just now so it's getting sold.

When you time delivery for the days the Mrs is not home then try and conceal them somewhere where they won't get clocked. 😉

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I have a wife to tell me when I have too many bikes. Apparently 3 is the maximum acceptable number. The occassional appearance of a fourth prompts discussion about divorce.

I like building and fiddling with bikes so don't think that you can have too many.

Although I only have 3.5... bike bouncy bike that gets used for most rides, hardtail play/fun bike for short rides (this is currently getting used a fair amount), road bike (this got used the most last year I reckon) and a half built singlespeed to use a retro Cannondale that I have.

I don't think I need anymore, but do often get tempted by old bikes that I could never afford when I first started riding even though I know that I'll most likely not like it or use it!

There is a simple way to work out the bikes you actually need as a minimum:

Bikes needed = n + 1 where n = number of bikes owned.

As said, it's a minimum. I've got five but can see two more coming before long.

Thanks tomhoward 🙂

When your wife leaves beacause of them. Then there are too many 😀

@ JoeG - where is that t-shirt from? I have certain friends that I need to wear that in front of!!

I dunno - I just got the pic from google images. Looks like its from ebay, though. Anyhow, easy to find for sale online.

this is a good thread! Its making me feel better about the 7 i have!

Tried so hard to keep to a 4 bike policy. it lasted for a bit too! But last year went a bit crazy and bought 2x new cx bikes, and a TT bike too (this has only done 20 miles since september last year - good investment!)

Currently got:
26" Hardtail
29" Hardtail
TT Bike
2x Cross bikes
Old Cross Bike - now winter road bike
Carbon road bike

I just love building and messing with them though, and still find myself looking at frames etc on ebay.. luckily my wife is very understanding and supportive of my addiction. although every time a package arrives at the house i do feel a but like i'm pushing my luck!

Still have a hankering after another Pace RC200 retro build....

I hadn't ridden at all for the last 3 month, due to the weather and DIY after moving house. Last week I decided it was time to get out on the bike.

1) Tuesday - all went well
2) Thursday - rear calliper seized on my FS after 5 miles ( I'll fix it over the weekend!)
3) Saturday - front puncture on my tubeless HT (the sealant had dried up - I'll fix it over the weekend!)
4) Sunday - walked to the pub and no maintenance carried out
5) Monday - snapped a spoke on my road bike

So I've decided that 3 isn't enough as all 3 were working last Monday but by this Monday they are all out of use. I'll be busy this weekend.

I sold my kona Cindercone, Alan

I have two issues here....

You don't call an old Kona Alan.

You don't sell an old Kona.

Retire it to pub duties, use it to practice wheelies....

Just

DON'T

SELL

THE

OLD

KONA

or call it Alan

I think 5 is about right.

A full on downhill bike (I started downhilling before I really took an interest in any other discipline and still love it)
A 6" travel trail bike
A lightweight XC hardtail, this also gets used for the odd cross race.
A hardcore singlespeed park/dirt jump hardtail
And a road bike.

If I was really pushing the boat out I could perhaps make room for a winter trainer roadie and a dedicated cross bike, but I'm not into either discipline enough. A lightweight hardtail 29er would fit in there too, but I know really it would replace the 26" bike which I want to keep out of sentimental value so I probably won't get one for a while.

As of right now, I only have one. A rigid, single speed, 29er.

On the radar:
Trail Bike (HT)
Trail Bike (FS)
Ti 1*10 Rigid 29er
CX Bike

A full on downhill bike

A 6" travel trail bike

A lightweight XC hardtail

A hardcore singlespeed park/dirt jump hardtail

And a road bike.

I have 4 bikes, which all get ridden equally (if they aren't in pieces, obviously)

DH (224) <- awaiting a rear wheel rebuild
XC (Dialled PA)
Road (Canondale CAAD-8)
BMX (Dialled MX20)

@JoeG - that T-shirt is ace. Now I have one in the post, thanks to eBay. Cheers!

n+1 is a good measure. You could use d-1 as the ideal number, where d is the number of bikes that leads to divorce. If you have d bikes, then you have too many... possibly!

I have 6, house rules state i am only supposed to have 4 at any one time, but LBS was sellling very cheap dodgy land rover thing which is ideal for commute/pub/leave anywhere and CX bike (planet X XXL) that has snuck in last week.
Singlespeed 29, ride loads.
Cotic Soul, doesn't get much use, 65 miles last year, so might have to go.
Kinises Gran Fondo, winter bike, turbo.
S works Tarmac, for all big road rides, alpine trips and sunny days.

I have 5 bikes on total, though one is for sale.

Cotic soul - probably most used.
Liteville 301 - new, loving it
Salsa vaya - touring bike, only ever did one big trip and never ended up using it. Soon to change though as I'm planning on using it as a baby transport machine.
Brompton - Used as a runabout around town and doubles as gf's bike.

Yeti 575 - for sale

Personally I think having 5 bikes is scandalous and provokes horrible feelings of guilt. Reading other contributions here makes me feel slightly better.

Personally I think having 5 bikes is scandalous and provokes horrible feelings of guilt. Reading other contributions here makes me feel slightly better.

So I feel better already about my 4 [i](the tandem doesn't count as technically I only own the front end of that, despite "owning" the cleaning and maintenance of both ends)[/i]

My wife reluctantly accepts the number I have now, but any more would not go down too well. So it is satisfying to know that I have passed one of the STW benchmarks on the ideal number, but clearly I need to use my favourite bike a lot more.

I don't have too many bikes (7), I just don't have enough sheds to keep them in.
The less I ride, the more bikes I have.

One thing I've learned is that there's more than one threshold. Like, 4 mountain bikes wasn't too many, til 2 of them were titanium, and at that point people started taking the piss. I reckon the same's going to happen when I end up with 2 versions of the same bike, that'll be officially worse than 2 different bikes. Fat bikes might be another. It's like drum solos.

Oh and one singlespeed is too many of course 😉

I got sick of reminiscing about old bikes and how I missed them once I'd sold them. so I decided never to sell them.
I don't care if they don't get used. Why do you HAVE to sell something just because it's not being used? Especially something as wonderful as a bicycle.

Oh and one singlespeed is too many of course

👿

3 = too many

You need one you love and one you'll happily drop in a beer garden / attach a child seat to etc

I have five.

Full suss Giant Trance X for proper biking fun.
Hub geared Gary Fisher Sawyer for winter/trekking/kids/do anything (either rigid or with rebas depending on mood swings)
Rigid On-One Lurcher Single speed
Ridley Boreas Road bike, means to an end for fixed length clean training rides.
A ebay supplied pink Raleigh Shopper bike that I did the SPAM winter challenge on, kept for the next event that I can slipstream lycra clad XC weanies on ;D (if only for the hilarious 30yds until I get dropped)

Tbh I have no need for the Lurcher beyond that it feels good to have and I built it, worth keeping for that alone. The pink shopper really should go!

Last week I needed a fat/no-fat bike. But now decided I don’t, or maybe I’ll see something at the Frome Bike Jumble that takes my fancy.

So all that blather probably indicates that I have no idea how to know when I have too many bikes.

Andy

I have a serious case of N + ?, so I have started on my N - 1 process on eBay.

If any of you lads need help with your N + 1, I can help. 🙂

There's a few highly collectable items heading out the door eg

[url= http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4096/4763388521_a96a7cfbd3_o.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4096/4763388521_a96a7cfbd3_o.jp g"/> [/img][/url]

[url= http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3707/13266351925_bd35f6d601.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3707/13266351925_bd35f6d601.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/49097109@N07/13266351925/ ]Untitled[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/49097109@N07/ ]Bruce Ritchie[/url], on Flickr

It's not tidy or owt but it's mine!