Last year I was really getting by with one, but I was also living in a place where I couldn't bike commute, and I bought a car. Now I'm back (hopefully for a while) living in a place where I bike commute, and I'm doing really well getting by with two.
The thing that iterates it for me is that I really love fixed gear/SS riding, especially for having a really reliable, bombproof bike. So my current two bikes are the FG/SS commuter/ city bike (Quickbeam) and the fun all-around geared road bike for fun rides in the hills (Salsa Casseroll), which can handle fenders for wetter weather or wider tires for off-pavement excursions. I used to be of the belief that "beaters" were also really important bikes, i.e. reliable bikes that you could thrash around on, leave locked up anywhere, and not really worry about. So in my mind things used to iterate out that I would have a fixed gear beater (for low maintenance), but since I really appreciate high-quality fixed gears I'd have one of those as well (kind of a go-fast), and then I'd have my geared ride, and that could quickly iterate out into a light geared roadie for fast, fun rides and a heavier weight gearie for touring and offroad. So for a while there I was heading for at least 4 bikes. But recently I've come to realize that financially and time wise, I can really only support about two bikes (any more and at least one falls into disrepair for months or years at a time), and I much more happy with to high-quality bikes than more numerous but middling quality ones. I also realize some of what makes a high-quality bike for me also makes them much more useful (the ability to fit racks, fenders, and lighting easily, wider tires, a well-built steel frame). So I've come around to using my Quickbeam--in some ways, the fanciest bike I've ever owned--as my everyday utility bike, for commuting, shopping, riding to the bar, etc. I'm lucky that I work in a place where I can keep my bike inside, always within eyesight, and for everything else I try to be smart about how I lock it up--I don't leave it in low-traffic places unattended for long periods of time, I don't consistently lock in the same places for hours, etc. I'll feel bad if it gets stolen or damaged but for me the advantages and pleasures of riding a high-quality bike everyday outweigh the risks. So "beater" is no longer necessarily part of my equation. The only serious other bike I would use is a touring bike, but that is much more of a once-in-a-while thing for me, but maybe that may change since my wife is becoming interested in touring and we're building up a touring bike for her. And I have a Trek 520 touring bike that I will probably never sell for sentimental reasons, but it definitely lies within the "disrepair" category current, and it never fit me really well, and the fork is too flexy for serious loads, etc--so I'm not really that enthused about dropping money/time into it. Perhaps if I can figure out a good touring solution for the Casseroll--perhaps a BOB trailer?--I'll use that for any upcoming tours. On Tuesday, January 22, 2013 6:48:04 PM UTC-8, murphyjrfk wrote: > > Suppose the title says it all. But I've been a thinking about going down > to 1---not a big step down cause I normally only have two three tops o' > working bikes anyways. And the overlap is out of control. How many 26" > touring bikes does one fellow need deal. But I love what I love I guess. > > One bike? Could ya do it and what would it be? > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
