"You need 7 bikes" article

[Tom Palmer]

Hi all,

I recall an article by Grant about the number of bike a person needs with justification. I think it was 7.

 Any idea which reader it was in?

Thanks!

Tom Palmer

Twin Lake, MI

[Conway Bennett]

I think I had the number three in my head from a Rivelo post.  I feel like I only need two versatile bikes.

[Thomas McCause]

That works out great for me as I have 7 in the current rotation

1-Velo Orange Polyvalent V1.0 - SS with fenders

2-80something Miyata Touring Bike, albatross bars with a basket on a front rack

3-Soma Wolverine 1x11 Gravel Bike

4-Handsome XOXO 2x9 with Moustache bars and RTPs

5-Surly Big Dummy

6-Scott fillet brazed mountain bike converted to commuter with fenders, racks, and (right now) spiked tires

7-Gen 1 Coleman Green Rivendell Quickbeam with an OMM front rack and Riv fillet brazed bullmoose bars

[Edwin W]

Bikes in order of use

1. Joe Appa daily driver
   
2. Raleigh sprite vintage fixed for variety in commute
   
3. 90's GT avalanche for occasional MTB'ing
   
4. Dahon boardwalk guest bike I will occasionally use
5. Vintage Schwinn tandem for occasional fun ride. Kickback 2 speed

Apparently I have too (two) few bikes!

Edwin

On Wednesday, March 29, 2023 at 7:45:16 AM UTC-5 Tom Palmer wrote:

[Patrick Moore]

In NM the statutory number is 3: off road bike (Matthews build up like road bike but with 60 mm tires and fenders; gofast road bike (1999 Joe Starck custom), and commuter/errand road bike (clone of #2 but with AM hub and fenders lights racks etc). #3 should mimic #2 in geometry and tubing and as many build specs as possible.

But you earn bonus points if you have 4: 3" tire sand bike that is not a fatbike (Monocog 29er with 1 mm of lefthand cs clearance). And 5: folder (aspirational). And 6: I'd really like a BRT with Trykit 2-wheel drive system (fat chance). And for #7 I'd have a Raleigh DL-1 for nostalgia (Ditto). Oh, and that Libertas (? retro-proper resto or 38 mm tire single speed ditchbank bike?).

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Patrick Moore

Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

[Steven Seelig]

Bikes in order of use:

1. Brand new Platypus for City riding
2. Spectrum titanium road bike (frame fabricated by Seven) for clipped in rides and longer road tours
3. Rambouillet for more spirited city rides.
4. Sam outfitted as a gravel bike for country rides
5. Xtracycle cargo bike with a large aftermarket Bafang 1,000 watt motor for shopping.
6. Brompton for train and plane travel and occasional last mile rides if driving to a big car traffic event
7. 1986 Look Bernard Hinault Reynolds 753 steel bike.  Same frame as the ones he a Lemond rode in the tour when the badger would not let Greg usurp his team leadership and claim the Yellow Jersey.  

[Guy LeVan]

I have way too much overlap in my quiver:

2015 Soma San Marcos (Tiburon Blue) - 57cm

2018 Atlantis  (650B) - 56cm

2022 Crust Canti Romanceur (Pistachio) - 57cm

2022 Sam Hillborne (HiHo Silver) - 57cm

2004ish Rambouillet (Joe Bell Custom Brown) - 60cm

2022 Wolbis/Susie (Dark Gold) - 56cm

2021 Gus Boots (Mermaid) - 59cm

2022 Roadini (RBW Orange) - 57cm

2020 Platypus (Mermaid) - 60cm

2022 Rosco Bubbe - (Purple) - 60cm

I would really like to slim down the herd!  You interested in helping?

Guy

[Bill Lindsay]

My recollection of the article is that Grant arrived at 9 being the sensible number.  One of the nine on Grant's list was a "project bike", and there was at least one single speed.  The "project bike" slot struck me as the GP version of "N+1" because whenever you finish the project then the "project bike" slot is (by definition) empty, and sufficient grounds to start a new project.  I've got a dialed in stable of 18 with two more on order and a third likely to be ordered.  When I hit 21 I'm going to have to do something about my storage situation.  Even with four addresses, it's getting cozy.  

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[J Schwartz]

I've already gotten rid of a couple and still need to drop one...

I think 3 is the magic number

Currently:

2009 Hillborne, canti 56cm (Original Green , recently painted Harvest Gold) - 700x43

2017 Appaloosa 55cm (Silver) - 29x2.1

2019 Cheviot 60cm (metallic Blue) - 700x50

2004 Romulus, canti 59cm (Blue) - 700x35

[Eric Daume]

Agree that three is a good target (road, mountain, utility), so why am I at seven? I feel a sale coming up.

This topic always reminds me of the Peter Egan column asking how many motorcycles you need. He comes out to five, with much of the same rationale we use for bikes. I'm at zero there :(

https://magazine.cycleworld.com/article/1997/3/1/how-many-bikes-do-you-really-need

Eric

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[maxcr]

I agree that three feels right for me, but which three is the eternal question:

Currently:

• Proto-Gallop 61.5 - set up with Albatross as daily commuter 
• 2TT Bombadil 60 - set up with Bullmoose and slicks to cover my touring dreams
• Hunqapillar 58 - set up with Jones bar and 2.1 Thunderburts semi-knobby as my hillibike
• Rambouillet (orange) 60 - set up with drop bars and JB 33's as my road bike
• Wilbury 60 - only one with 650bx38 and with Albatross bars - a mixte to future proof any flexibility and mobility challenges in 20 years
• Atlantis 61 - set up with a Bullbar and 2.1 Thunderburts semi-knobby as a country bike abroad

*Not counting the one abroad, I need to reduce two to get the magic number 3. Which ones? Probably Wilbury and Gallop would be the first to go, but I still want to ride them a bit more now that the weather is better before making a decision.

Then again, 5 or 7 or 9 also feels right no?

Max

[Eric Marth]

Hi Tom — This appeared as a little blurb in Rivendell Reader No. 42 on page 6 (online in the Rivendell archive here). 

[Nick A.]

Thanks for finding that, Eric!

...could someone educate me on the term "bomber" in this context?

[WilletM]

Nice to finally have an authoritative value from Grant for "n", which I seem to have forever struggled with back in high school Calc class.  Of course, since I'm single, I'll need to factor that in and carry the one, which leaves me with "N x 2" or a total of 18.  Bingo!, which is exactly what I currently have.  Hoping to move to Ecuador in two years, where they permit a grand total of ONE bicycle to be brought into the country tax/duty free with other household belongings.  Going from 18 all the way to 1 isn't likely to happen until after I've expelled my last breath and my ashes have cooled down, so I guess I shouldn't worry about it.  But I do, with the nightmare scenario of my Bombadil being dropped off at a local Goodwill and sold for $50 ever present.  I guess this is what the rest of the world would call "white people problems", and they most certainly are right about that.  But still, it is a Bombadil........

Willet M.

[Eric Marth]

Yeah! It took more looking than I want to admit, I was going back and forth between my catalog scans and my shelf of the Complete Rivendell (all readers, all catalogs). Worked through the Readers in reverse-chronological order until I found it. 

I think by bomber he means a stout trail bike given that none of the others seem to describe a trail-worthy whip. 

[Nick A.]

I surely appreciate your dedication. Your definition makes sense, given the idea of "bombing down a hill" klunker-style.

[Ian A]

The problem is, there is always justification for another bicycle, like the relatively new bikepacking designs (Jones Bikes for example) which also do a very good job of displacing conventional touring bikes. Or a foldable Brompton, just because. Then there is sentimentality, like my beloved Marinoni which  has taken and continues to take me on so many  touring adventures, but which I would not be shopping for if looking today as I want ever more tire clearance from a frame. Then there is the poor, abused commuter which gets ridden so much and so often, it becomes an old friend and thus impossible to give up. Then there is the lightweight randonneur and the back up randonneur. The back rando doesn't seem to ever get ridden, but what if something happened to the primary rando?  N+1 is real. N-1 is pure fantasy.

Willet: Ecuador has some made taxes on imports of most products, but Pasto in Colombia is only 50 miles from the Ecuador border. You could very gradually bring your bikes in one at a time!  

IanA Alberta Canada

[DavidP]

Nice find, Eric. 

I like that the number shifts to 9 to give some wiggle room - because that is that number I have that I can (kind of) justify. Then there are the bikes I have but don't need (but still get ridden). Then there are the unicycles (which are just for fun).

-Dave (who should probably make a goal of getting down to 7 bikes)

[John Rinker]

At the risk of taking this discussion in an unintended direction and opening a can of worms that, in my mind, has been opened for quite some time now, I find this question of how many bikes one ‘needs’ to be an interesting one to consider from a variety of perspectives. (Full disclosure: there are currently 7 bicycles in my shop- 3 of mine, 2 belonging to my wife, and one is my daughter’s. There are also two very nice frames). 

Considering this question from the perspective of our current resource crisis - you know, the one in which there are too many humans desiring too many things that our planet has too few resources to sustain- helps me to greatly appreciate the bicycles I do ride, but also causes me question if my ownership of any more than one bike contributes to the imbalance of desires vs. resources. Anyone else bothered by this?

Another perspective through which I look at this question of ‘how many bikes does one need’ comes from my many years of living in developing countries in Africa and Asia where the ownership of a single bicycle can have significant ramifications for a family in terms of economics and education. In many of these places, that there would be one bicycle for a family of 7 (or more) would be considered a luxury. And so, to ask myself how many bicycles I need causes me to cringe slightly and immediately takes my mind down the road of resource distribution and equity.

Finally, as an educator, I’ve always made it a point to help my students understand the difference between needs and desires, and the implications of each on our habits of consumption. Of course, in the context of this group and this particular thread, I’m well aware that we all agree that we are speaking about our desires rather than our needs, but still, it’s another perspective from which to come at this question.

I’m sure there are other perspectives that might make this consideration interesting and, of course, remind us all how fortunate we are to own and ride so many lovely bicycles. 

I know, nobody expected the Spanish Inquisition! (Monty Python anybody?)

Cheers, John

[Joe Bernard]

I believe Grant's premise for the article was "how many bicycles do I need to cover all the stuff l can do on bicycles", it wasn't an arbitrary number of bikes I need. Obviously nobody needs more than one, it was a discussion geared towards people reading a bike magazine and having the cash to own 2 or 7 or 9. 

[John Johnson]

Seems like most of those categories could be covered by a Clem (or a Platypus) with racks if one stretches the definition of "mixte"' and "beater". 

Of course there is no right number and we all do this mental gymnastic to convince ourselves that we "need" the amount of bikes we have (or +1). 

These conversations help me to know there are others out there with similar compulsions as myself. (Full disclosure, a 93 XO-1, a 93 XO-2, an 89 MB-1 Clydesdale, a Clem L, a Jones SWB spaceframe, a Brompton, & considering adding a single speed since I have everything but the frame sitting in my parts bin)

And I agree with you, John (I've also spent the better part of the last 10 years working for an NGO in sub-Saharan Africa and get lots of guilty feelings about what luxuries I have - not just bikes, but good shoes & clothes, vacation time, expendable income, roads, healthcare, etc...). I agree that hoarding isn't necessarily something to glamorize. But there are worse things than bikes, and I think the majority of the guys in the group are into bikes not just for the kick you get out of riding them, but also the fact that it's a fairly healthy and idealistic do-gooder pastime (if not totally altruistic, it's at least better than racing monster trucks). Bikes won't save the world, but they are a step in the right direction. 

And now I will poke you with the soft cushions!

-john

[Garth]

My idea of multiple bicycles includes two or more like frame of varying colors and themes. A variety of setups : bars, wheels, tires, paint colors, etc. I love having two or more like items of varying colors. I do it with clothes and shoes all the time. Frankly that's what every bike/thing is anyways, infinite variations of the very conception called "bicycle". Just like say an apple, it's manifested/expressed in and as infinite ways. Infinity Infinitely supplying Infinity  is/as   I T / S E L F.    Hence, what's "missing", is just that, "missing". 

[Steven Sweedler]

John, a breath of fresh air. Steve

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Steven Sweedler
Plymouth, New Hampshire

[Nick Shoemaker]

Rivendell group, right? There are four correct responses to the 'right' number of  rings bikes:

1

3

7

9

So everyone was right. Well done!

On Wednesday, March 29, 2023 at 8:45:16 AM UTC-4 Tom Palmer wrote:

[Eric Daume]

Best answer yet!

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[lconley]

Of all the things in life that I feel guilty about or fret over, owning too many bikes is not among them. There is maybe 250 total lbs of steel among all of them, 750 lbs of of material total. If you own an average American pickup truck or SUV, you have consumed more resources than me and a Honda and all of my bicycles. The current total is 23 (10 Rivs), 25 (11 Rivs) if I include my wife's. I am down from 30+. My longest owned is a 1973 production Paramount P-15 that I purchased new in December of 1975. I haven't bought a bike/frame in almost 3 years. My current goal is to get down to 15 or less - at that point all of them can be hung on the walls of the garage (except for my wife's recumbent trike) so that I can get the rowing sailboat into the garage and out of the storage unit.

Thinning the herd is difficult. I find it easier to give away bicycles that to sell them for some reason, but I am running out of bikes that I will give away.

Laing

[Brian Turner]

In order to achieve a true “Fellowship” of Rivendells, the number would be 9. 🧙🏻‍♂️

On Mar 30, 2023, at 9:46 AM, lconley <lco...@brph.com> wrote:

Of all the things in life that I feel guilty about or fret over, owning too many bikes is not among them. There is maybe 250 total lbs of steel among all of them, 750 lbs of of material total. If you own an average American pickup truck or SUV, you have consumed more resources than me and a Honda and all of my bicycles. The current total is 23 (10 Rivs), 25 (11 Rivs) if I include my wife's. I am down from 30+. My longest owned is a 1973 production Paramount P-15 that I purchased new in December of 1975. I haven't bought a bike/frame in almost 3 years. My current goal is to get down to 15 or less - at that point all of them can be hung on the walls of the garage (except for my wife's recumbent trike) so that I can get the rowing sailboat into the garage and out of the storage unit.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/e18ee8c0-082f-4f78-bf73-9e986aa407c5n%40googlegroups.com.

[Steven Seelig]

Agree with lconley about the entire resource issue compared to owning a car.  I would also say that I have just about one bike for each decade of my life, with some of them old enough to have been purchased in said decade.  The reality is that these bikes are a small bop in my impact on the planet compared with the very real impact of my doing a lot of other things, like driving to Costco and buying stuff flown in or driven to the store, throwing out all of the packaging, charging my EV car.  I don't feel very guilty when I take my unused parts or old bicycles to Gearing Up bikes, who trains kids to be bike mechanics refurbishing the frames and parts I brung them. 

[Ted Durant]

Kudos to Eric for finding that blurb in RR42! Always fun to re-read those.

This discussion has another dimension in my case. Living in Wisconsin, with children and grandchildren in California and Maine, I have to ponder the right number of bikes in each location. :-)

Ted Durant

Milwaukee WI USA

[Tom Palmer]

Thanks Eric. That is it. I thought it was a longer article. i really appreciate the effort. 

I guess I need 14, since I have 6 mountain bikes on top of my 7 road and dirt road bikes. 

Not up to Mr. Lindsay, as far as curating them all to perfection, but it is a goal. 

There was also a thread a while back on listing and justifying your bikes, but I could not find that either, but it may have been on iBob. 

Thanks for all the interesting responses.

Tom

On Wednesday, March 29, 2023 at 8:16:47 PM UTC-4 eric...@gmail.com wrote:

[Piaw Na]

In my garage, I have:

1. Custom touring bike

2. Rivendell Roadini

3. Airborne Seeker MTB

4. Co-Motion Tandem/Triplet/Quad Periscope

5. Wife's Cheviot

6. Wife's Santa Cruz 5010 MTB

7. 11-year-old's MTB

8. 7-year-old's MTB

For many years I lived with just 1 road bike (the ti custom), but after I broke 2 of those frames, I've decided having a backup road bike (which is what the Roadini is) is not a bad idea at all --- I hated 3 months of riding the MTB around as my only single bike, though it did force me to find all the interesting off-pavement trails around here. Now the Roadini is shod with 40mm Terraspeed and gets used as a gravel bike, but if the Ti frame breaks again I can put nice wheels on it and it'll be a fast road bike/touring bike again. I will note that the Roadini probably can't be used long term as a touring bike as the long chainstays probably means packing it into a case will be a nightmare.

[Mike Godwin]

Does anyone have a scan of the You Need 7 Bikes article? Need for a friend. Not me, no spouse, and I'm almost there with two frame/forks hanging on the wall. 

Mike SLO CA

[Wesley]

We know from Bicycle Belle Leah that the mixte can be the lightish road bike, the do-all racked and fendered bike, or the beater - at least. So you really only need six (eight?).

-W

[Bicycle Belle Ding Ding!]

Wesley, ha! Yes, you are so right. The answer to the bike problem is….Platypuses. The more, the better. 

Racing Platypus.

Beast of Burden Platypus.

And toss in one Clem L so you can be a Nasty Mountain Biker.

BOOM. Done.

Photos in the next post.

[Leah Peterson]

The Three Bikes You Need:

Racing Platypus. Don’t be afraid of a little rack and bag action on your racing Platypus. Think “momentum.” Heavier is faster. It’s physics. Or something. Don’t bother with aerodynamics, either. If you can choose between big horned sheep handlebars or eagle’s wings handlebars, well…I know which ones I’m choosing.

A club rider once remarked, “You’re ready for anything. Even a job interview, with your little briefcase back there…” Always bring your racing Saddlesack and always volunteer to carry other racers’ clothing when they shuck it off during rides, that’s the rule. Extra grams do not bother your Racing Platypus. They only add momentum.

The Beast of Burden/Overkill Shopping Platypus:

Go ahead, load that sucker up. This Platypus is good for it. People believe mixtes are delicate flowers, but then they haven’t met a Rivendell mixte. A Rivendell mixte can do ANYTHING. See: Pam Murray.

And, a bonus Clem. For when you rally want to go wild on the trails or bash around town:

Clems can be trail bikes or beaters, if you like. They are inexpensive, and they just look like they should be knocked around a bit. They like it. I am not a mountain biker but Clems are useful and dreamy and I got mine for a screaming deal. I CAN GO ON THE TRAILS IF I WANT TO. 

But I don’t. I don’t want to.

Anyway, there you have it, the trifecta. Follow me for more tips and tricks.

Leah

On Mar 30, 2023, at 9:52 PM, Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! <jonasa...@gmail.com> wrote:

Wesley, ha! Yes, you are so right. The answer to the bike problem is….Platypuses. The more, the better. 

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[Eric Marth]

It's in the thread, scroll up and look harder. It's not an article, it's a small sidebar. 

[Jason Fuller]

I feel like I'm in good company in this thread!  Current fleet is at six, which I feel is excessive, but at the same time each bike stands apart from the others in terms of function. I would like to get it back to five by the end of the year, but this plan involves selling two bikes I love, so we'll see.  It would mean selling the Wombat, which I only got a couple months ago, and my Raleigh Twenty, which I've had for fifteen years. The bike I'd plan to add in is a Clem L, so the Bombadil can be relieved from "everyday bike" duties and shed its fenders and (some) racks, and focus on mixed terrain adventures. 

[brendonoid]

When you pull a bike off the wall/roof and pump up the tyres and the tubes fail because they are so old you have too many bikes.

Signed,

Brendon sold-a-car-to-buy-another-Rivendell McLoughney

[Philip Williamson]

Awesome! 

I’ve enjoyed reading through this thread.

Beater - Quickbeam

Bomber - Stooge Scrambler (on the way), and the Fitz 

Singlespeed - Quickbeam (fixed) and Fitz (at the moment), and Swobo Accomplice (kickback wheel)

Touring bike - Frances and Fitz I’ve bike camped on, Bruce Gordon could tour

Lightish road bike - Bontrager Privateer with drops and slicks, Frances, and (my son’s) Bontrager RoadLite

Do-all racked and bagged bike - Fitz, Frances, Quickbeam, all have baskets on racks, and the Fitz and Frances have removable low rider attachments. Bruce Gordon will get racks someday  

A mixte - my wife’s Trek Belleville

A loaner - Swobo? The last bike I actually loaned was the Gordon

A project bike - Fitz at the moment, Stooge soon, and I have a worrisome pair of spare wheelsets that might attract frames somehow

A careful reading indicates I’ve got seven bikes, or nine bikes. And a cruiser I didn’t mention, because I don’t mention it. I could move along the Swobo and the cruiser, but I’m not hurting anyone by keeping them. If I had to keep three, it would be the Privateer, the Quickbeam, and the Fitz. If an XL Wilderness Trail Phoenix came along, I’d grab it. 

Philip

Sonoma County, Calif

[lconley]

Let's see:

Beater - Flying Pigeon

Bomber - Gust Boots Willsen, Crust Scapegoat

Single speed - Protoveloosa/Mystery Bike, Frank Jones Sr., Trek District, Velo Orange Neutrino, Maxway Resurectio, another Flying Pigeon

Touring Bike - Bombadil

Lightish Road Bike - Rivendell Custom, Gitane Tour de France

Do-all racked and bagged bike - Crustendell Clementine Clydesdale Cargo Cycle Conversion

Mixte - Rivendell Keven's Custom, Betty Foy, Rosco Bubbe Medium Mountain Mixte, Rosco Bubbe Baby

Loaner - Bike Friday Metro

Project Bike - 1973 Schwinn Paramount P-15 restoration

Additional categories

Gravel  - Rosco Bubbe V1

English Racer - Pashley Guv'nor

Museum Piece - Gitane Tour de France (different one - original except for the sew-ups)

Others - another Schwinn Paramount P-15, Scott Sub 10, 

I guess I have too many single speeds...

Laing

[Bill Lindsay]

Laing

Maybe you have too many single speeds, but you definitely have too many mixtes.  In order to restore balance in the universe, I recommend you sell your medium mountain mixte* to me.  Please and thank you.  Every stable should have one bike with a lift-a-tube, and that's an empty slot in my stable.  Another MMM* build would fill the mixte slot AND the liftatube slot.  

*Joyless pedants cannot resist the urge to remind us that the Rivendell R05C0 8U883 known as the "medium mountain mixte" is not actually a mixte.  A mixte has dual skinny top tubes heading all the way to the rear wheel.  In part to sooth the JPs, I invented the term "Mountain Utility Step Through", and called my former MMM "Trusty MUSTy".  I should not have sold mine.  My build was sensational.  Fix these problems by selling me yours.  :)

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[lconley]

I have yet to complete the MMM or the Rosco Baby. I did ride a MMM several years ago when I made a pilgrimage to Walnut Creek while working in the Seattle area. Really like it. 
Every one of the "Mixtes" is some shade of blue.

The Keven's Custom is the only "true" mixte of the lot, so I really only have one mixte. Recent, but not current build below. Changed to VO Sabot pedals, removed the basket and fork stabilizer, switched from 48 spoke to 40 spoke wheels (48s are going to the Bombadil with change of rear hub to Phil Wood - still 7 speed freewheel). Next task is finishing the installation of the Shimano Nexave RD-600 rear derailleur, never tried a rapid rise before. Then the fenders. I really like this one - surprisingly rigid, especially with the Bullmoose bars. This is a full Grant designed, Nobilette built frame, but no Joe Bell paint, so no Rivendell Headbadge or decals. It has a Rosco Bubbe headbadge, but I probably should have asked for the Platypus headbadge instead.

Laing

Delray Beach FL

[Bill Lindsay]

Clearly you are in violation with multiple project bikes.  It is even more clear to me that you should send the MMM on to me, in order to get into compliance...

You're welcome!

Bill

[Slin]

Guy -

Those are some great bikes, I wish I could help slim down the herd, but my frame size is smaller. Is there a story for how you ended up with so many 2022 bikes?

S

On Wednesday, March 29, 2023 at 2:54:17 PM UTC-7 leva...@gmail.com wrote:

I have way too much overlap in my quiver:

2015 Soma San Marcos (Tiburon Blue) - 57cm

2018 Atlantis  (650B) - 56cm

2022 Crust Canti Romanceur (Pistachio) - 57cm

2022 Sam Hillborne (HiHo Silver) - 57cm

2004ish Rambouillet (Joe Bell Custom Brown) - 60cm

2022 Wolbis/Susie (Dark Gold) - 56cm

2021 Gus Boots (Mermaid) - 59cm

2022 Roadini (RBW Orange) - 57cm

2020 Platypus (Mermaid) - 60cm

2022 Rosco Bubbe - (Purple) - 60cm

I would really like to slim down the herd!  You interested in helping?

Guy

On Wednesday, March 29, 2023 at 3:03:48 PM UTC-6 Steven Seelig wrote:

Bikes in order of use:

1. Brand new Platypus for City riding
2. Spectrum titanium road bike (frame fabricated by Seven) for clipped in rides and longer road tours
3. Rambouillet for more spirited city rides.
4. Sam outfitted as a gravel bike for country rides
5. Xtracycle cargo bike with a large aftermarket Bafang 1,000 watt motor for shopping.
6. Brompton for train and plane travel and occasional last mile rides if driving to a big car traffic event
7. 1986 Look Bernard Hinault Reynolds 753 steel bike.  Same frame as the ones he a Lemond rode in the tour when the badger would not let Greg usurp his team leadership and claim the Yellow Jersey.  

On Wednesday, March 29, 2023 at 3:30:19 PM UTC-4 Edwin W wrote:

Bikes in order of use

1. Joe Appa daily driver
   
2. Raleigh sprite vintage fixed for variety in commute
   
3. 90's GT avalanche for occasional MTB'ing
   
4. Dahon boardwalk guest bike I will occasionally use
5. Vintage Schwinn tandem for occasional fun ride. Kickback 2 speed

Apparently I have too (two) few bikes!

Edwin

[DavidP]

In the March blahg, Grant revisits the idea of preservation vs use and writes:

"For daily tasks like shopping, commuting, errands, and all-purpose exercise, ride your favorite bicycle. A the risk of sounding self-serving, I'd say--get more than one special bike. You probably do that, or want to do that anyway."

I think this thread is a testament to the fact that many of us have more than one special Bicycle.

-Dave

[Piaw Na(藍俊彪)]

I lived for many years with one road bike, and I think it was great. Having fewer decisions as to which bike to ride was great, and I perversely enjoy wearing out tires and chains at a good clip --- makes me feel like I'm a real cyclist. I did break the frame twice, and each time it kinda sucked having to borrow bikes or ride the mountain bike everywhere. The thing the broke me was breaking a frame during the height of the bike shortage during the pandemic. Then I realized if I broke my frame a third time, I'd probably go shopping for another custom builder and I'd want something to tide me over until then. That led to me getting a Roadini, which now serves as my gravel bike. I still like wearing parts faster so I end up riding my dedicated road touring frame much more, but now I pull out the roadini for those in-between dirt + mtb rides and it's nice having that option.

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[John Rinker]

DavidP, Thanks for sharing that bit from Grant. Makes sense to me and seems a little more reasonable than 'seven is good'.

Piaw, A broken frame seems a great reason to own a second bike, and this is exactly what prompted me to add the Atlantis to my already special Hunq. My Hunq broke once (separated seat stay) and it took a while to get fixed. Borrowing my daughter's bike worked out OK, but still... I don't expect either bike to ever break again, but just in case I'll always have a special bike to ride. 

In regards to choosing a bike to ride, I have a hard enough time choosing which bike to ride between the two. Personally, I can't imagine the time I'd waste standing in front of a stable of seven and trying to choose. I'd rather be riding.

Cheers, John

[Patrick Moore]

I kept my 2003 Curt road custom hanging on the wall for several years while I commuted on beaters; nice beaters but not Rivendells. Commuting was the bulk of my riding. The absurdity of this led me to have Dave Porter modify the Curt for a fixed drivetrain and use as a daily commuter. The enjoyment meter immediately read a consistent 125% higher for the rest of the life of the Curt. (Curt still has a life but with some other owner.)

As far as commuting on your favorite bike and then buying another favorite bike, I agree with that too. Have at least 3 favorite bikes, as I described earlier: gofast, gofast built for loads and errands, and dirt surface bike, all favorites of their kind. Augment as you please. But if I had to choose just-one, it would be the 1999 Joe Starck gofast custom (with 3 wheelsets and removable Sackville Medium).

[Mike]

Hi All,

I noticed that in this little blurb, Grant never said "need"--just "how many"--And if you think about it, it matches up pretty well with the current Riv lineup:

a beater: Clem

a bomber: Gus/Susie

a single speed: Quickbeam / Frank Jones (not current but let's roll with it)

a touring bike: AHH (or Atlantis, or Appaloosa, or Sam, or...)

a lightish road bike: Roadini / Roadeo

a do-all racked and bagged bike: Atlantis / Appaloosa (or Clem or Sam or Platypus or...)
a mixte: Platypus (or Clem)

a loaner: Sam (I dunno, seems like a good loaner bike as its so versatile)

a work in progress: what is the current WIP Riv model? 

Not perfect matches, but works for me.  Anyway, that's how I interpreted the blurb.  

Mike (currently with only two in the rotation: a Sam and a beater)

On Wednesday, March 29, 2023 at 8:16:47 PM UTC-4 eric...@gmail.com wrote:

Hi Tom — This appeared as a little blurb in Rivendell Reader No. 42 on page 6 (online in the Rivendell archive here). 

[Eric Marth]

Isaac at Peace Sports made this into a sticker: https://www.peacesports.org/product/bumper-sticker-how-many-bikes