Want vs need

[Marcus Aurelius]

Life’s too short to procrastinate. If you want a new bike, buy one.

[gbnz]

Life’s too short to procrastinate.

True. One of the reasons I'll drop the 3kg winter weight in the next two weeks. Though obviously obese Boris is still preventing the use of the gym & pool, whilst declaring it's covid safe to eat Big Macs and takeaways

[Marcus Aurelius]

Try this simple experiment: Put (say) 5 kg in your rear panniers and then ride up a reasonably steep hill. Now put the same 5 kg in a ruck sack and ride up the same hill under the same parameters (i.e same gear, same weather, same atmospheric pressure etc).

Which scenario is easier? Ask your prime mover - legs - and I think they will say unequivocally, the second scenario.

eh? Goodness no. Would far rather have the weight on the bike than me!

There are pros and cons to both. If you load the bike, with bags / panniers, you can’t shift the weight about dynamically, it makes the bike handle like a dog, you also can’t take all your kit with you, if you stop and leave the bike, quite so easily ( it’s a particular issue if you’ve got a load of expensive stuff loaded, and you have to use a train or other public transport). If you put the weight on you ( back packs etc ) you push yourself into the saddle more, and it can be really uncomfortable on a longer effort. I prefer loading myself up and not worrying too much about a bit of added discomfort. I often load up a good few Kg’s ( often over 20 Kg’s ) and ride 80 miles to a hotel, stay overnight / a couple of nights, then do the reverse trip. I have buns of steel now.

[peetee]

You don’t say how old you are. I am now in my 50’s and perceive far less benefit from performance kit than I did in my 20’s. Back then I was attacking every hill and hyper-critical of frame response and wheel weight. Now it makes next to no difference to my riding pleasure. I seem to be able to go at the same speed on my 14kg tourer, 9kg road bike or my 1980 Colnago. I am about 25% heavier too so that is the deciding factor, in my understanding. I’m usually having a good workout on a ride but I’m not pushing me or any of my bikes to their limits when I ride them so the speed advantage isn’t there.
Also, have you considered that comfort is a factor in the distance and pleasure you gain? Your £1500 purchase may be more comfortable than your current bike but how are you going to feel if it isn’t?

[leftpoole]

Never mind most of these on here who ride 30 year old steel bikes, some of them with straight handlebars, others with mirrors! You buy whatever you want, I've got a Brian Rourke steel framed bike, a Ribble aluminium and a Dolan carbon fibre. The Ribble is the most comfortable one to ride and weight wise it is in the middle.

My own Steel bikes are all fairly new!
I do not and will never own a Carbon fragile thing.....

[Stradageek]

My simple guidelines are these:

Can I afford it and is there room in the garage? - if yes, buy it
After a few months - am I using it? - if yes keep it, if no, sell it, or more likely give it away
If using it means that I am I no longer using any other bikes - sell of give away the excess bike(s)

[Ride-sleep-repeat]

My simple guidelines are these:
Can I afford it and is there room in the garage? - if yes, buy it
After a few months - am I using it? - if yes keep it, if no, sell it, or more likely give it away
If using it means that I am I no longer using any other bikes - sell of give away the excess bike(s)

Similar but:-
Can I afford if yes buy.
After a few months-am I using it?Doesn't matter keep it anyway.
If using means I'm no longer using other bikes....keep them anyway

Since 2016 I've sold on a HT MTB,a FS MTB,2 Winter(cheap) road bikes,a cheapo bike for my Turbo and 2 Carbon 'best' road bikes.
I now wish I'd kept both MTBs and one of the Carbon road bikes as I'm now down to 2 bikes for the first time in years

[Brucey]

I now wish I'd kept both MTBs and one of the Carbon road bikes as I'm now down to 2 bikes for the first time in years

ah, but now you have a reason to go bike shopping... how bad is that, exactly...?

cheers

[pwa]

If you need a better bike to achieve some contentment, then arguably you do need it. But for that contentment to last, you should make sure you get a bike that will deliver pleasure for years to come. It does help if the bike is not too heavy, but don't make the mistake of thinking the lightest bike you can afford is the best bike you can afford. Make sure the new bike fits well, allowing you to sit in a position that feels natural and efficient. If you ride for pleasure, don't go for a bike that makes you reach too low or too far forward for the bars. That may make you faster over the first couple of miles but it will slow you down after that and it will not be pleasurable. Also, what surfaces do you want to ride on? If you went for a gravel bike you could have wider tyres that will allow you to use tracks that would be a challenge on a road bike.

[iandusud]

If you ride all year round then I would suggest getting another lighter bike and use it in better weather and put a set of full mudguards on existing bike to make it better suited to winter riding. This is what I did a few years ago. So I now have two "club bikes" which get used throughout the year on club rides (remember those?). This is not only a nice situation to be but it makes economic sense. The effect of riding in winter, particularly when the roads are gritted, take their toll on a bike so it makes sense to have one bike set up for such conditions whilst protecting your "pride and joy" from such abuse.

[Scottish.cyclist.lad]

if you can afford it, buy it.

better to have and not need than need but not have

[Scottish.cyclist.lad]

wanting an upgrade a bike weight of ideally 9kg, shimano 105 groupset (or similar) and disc brakes. That's about the most I can afford (£1500-£2000).

have you identified any potential bikes that fit the bill?

[VinceLedge]

You need to satisfy your want for bike bits.

[mig]

i always think that the main issue with any bike is "does it fit you?"

buy whatever bike you want but it won't feel much better to ride if it does not fit you.

[ClappedOut]

Hi I'm having an internal battle of want vs need, n+1 and all that. I have an entry level road bike which I have ridden for about 3 years now with shimano claris weighs about 12kg.

I'm WANTING an upgrade but dont know if I NEED an upgrade. I myself weigh about 96kg and wanting an upgrade a bike weight of ideally 9kg, shimano 105 groupset (or similar) and disc brakes. That's about the most I can afford (£1500-£2000).

I do enjoy my current bike. But has anyone been in a similar situation? Or ride a similar spec bike and found significant increase in enjoyment? That's mainly what I'm in cycling for anyways

I'm not that far off 96kg, so if you will forgive me and allow me to assume you would like to lose a few kg, one strategy is to set yourself a target weight loss - say 6kg - and then reward yourself with a bike that is 3kg lighter. That way, a win-win.

Thank you, people I talk to all seem to be in the Chiselled Adonis bracket generally