one bicycle

[mig]

A bike that does everything, I guess it depends on what "everything" is. If everything includes long distance camping and time trialling, then the answer is no.
For me "everything" is commuting, shopping, club day rides and camping holidays. So yes 1 bike would do all of those, however...
I bike I would be happy to go camping on I would not want to leave in the city centre, and vica verca, so I guess I am back to "no".

In 1958 I rode on a camping trip from Kent to the west country with friend.
When I returned I rode a 30 mile time trial with the same bike.

busy day that! hats off

[VinceLedge]

I reckon a gravel bike with 2 sets of wheels will do most things that I want to do. Just bought one , so see how it goes

[tatanab]

Individual needs, aspirations and capabilities change over the decades.

Back in the early 1970's I could identify a minimum of 3 machines. One for CTC club runs and YHA saddlebag touring, another for time trials and road races, and a third for track racing (could also be used for time trials/club rides/light touring). Ideally there would also be a junky old hack bike for town and commuting use, possibly also club runs.

These days (50 years on), talking just 2 wheelers, I could easily use my lightweight tourer/CTC club ride machine for all I need, but I also keep a small wheeled "shopper" for a hack. Some years ago it became clear to me that what I used to do is no longer feasible - e.g aged about 30 I put in a tour including central Wales, I rode 65" fixed wheel and walked nothing. 30 years later, back on the same roads but on gears I thought "how on earth---?".

[ratherbeintobago]

I reckon a gravel bike with 2 sets of wheels will do most things that I want to do. Just bought one , so see how it goes

If I had to go down to one bike, this is what I'd do too.

[Carlton green]

Individual needs, aspirations and capabilities change over the decades.

These days (50 years on), talking just 2 wheelers, I could easily use my lightweight tourer/CTC club ride machine for all I need, but I also keep a small wheeled "shopper" for a hack.

imho that’s a very practical compromise.

Some have mentioned a spare set of wheels and - if you can manage the cost and storage - imho that’s a good idea. At one time, when using tyres with a narrower and shallower section and narrower rims, I too frequently had to true and otherwise repair wheels. A spare set of wheels allows you to do maintenance work at your leisure, and something a little narrower than 700-35C (which is now what I use) might roll slightly easier too - if trading that gain for the loss of some comfort over rough surfaces.

[Bowak]

My Cannondale Topstone comes pretty close and is the bike I use by far the most. It's one of the early aluminium ones and the only thing it really lacks is mounts on the front fork. It's great on the road, can handle the current potholeageddon better than my roadbike and can do light touring and carry some shopping.

I saw a snarky criticism of the model once which actually perfectly summed up why I find it so useful, they said something like "it's a bike for people who want to go off-road but never jump it or go on any actually technical sections and on-road but would get dropped on a club ride".

I genuinely think that bikes like the Topstone would be called hybrid bikes if the term hybrid wasn't already in use. I refer to it as my day-ride bike. I love the damn thing.

[Nearholmer]

That’s pretty much the thing about a “one bike”, it needs to be 80% good at everything you use of for, which in turn means that it isn’t optimised 100% for any one of them (unless. I suppose you only do one thing!). Unless your “envelope” includes stuff which actually needs an MTB or a fat bike, what you then end up with is a fairly neutral geometry, a wide-ish range of gears, and tyres c35 to 40mm, which means that it falls into the defined pigeon-holes of “gravel bike” if it has drop bars, or “hybrid” if it has flats.

Despite now having a small fleet, mine all end-up in that realm with minor variations after a bit, because it’s just so blooming practical!

[pjclinch]

My most-used bike is my Moulton SST, and I really like it particularly because it's a jack-of-most trades.

I'd take the Shand Tam over it as a one-for-everything because it carries more and is better off-road, which is a lot of my go-to fun riding these days. So it'll do more, but my main use (urban transport) wouldn't be as much fun.

Pete.

[slowcyclist]

Has anyone on here found the one bicycle that does everything?

Does everything under the sun or everything you want? To the latter yes. The one I added bits to and tweaked until I had it how I wanted and have done little more to it except adding things like a bag or drinks bottles or the like but the base bike stays the same except for replacing worn out parts.

[simonhill]

The more the bike industry comes up with new styles of bikes, the less chance of having one that does everything.

Ten years ago we had never heard of gravel bikes. Now there's a whole new genre to make only one bike even less likely.

,......assuming if course you follow the trends.

[RickH]

In 2017 I bought a Kona Sutra Ltd. I put 38mm slick tyres on it & found it wasn't noticeably slower than my road bike (2008 Kinesis Tk) & was a lot more comfortable to ride on the local cratered roads. Plus it made off road stuff pleasurable rather than just doable. I could ride anything I could do on my 1986 (they will never catch on) mountain bike & it didn't feel like a slug on the intervening road bits.

The Tk didn't see the light of day again until last year when the Kona was out of action as one of the brakes had a leak the (new & expensive upgrade) brake lever hydraulics. That was a warranty replacement that took a couple of weeks.

Like others I bought a 2nd set of wheels for more knobbly tyres, or studded when wintry weather is around.

The only thing the Kona can't do for me is be a tandem. The tandem (Circe Helios) on the other hand can be ridden solo, plus I have the long rack to make it into a long tail cargo. But it doesn't see much use at the moment & is waiting for me to do some essential maintenance.

[Tinkerbell]

For 30+ years I had just one bike - a Puch Black Phantom,with 27 x 1 -1/4 inch wheels & tyres, and 12 gears - nominally a touring bike. It was also for much of that time my only form of transport (I was late learning to drive and after that we often only had 1 car, so…)

It may be my imagination, but the roads seemed better maintained then, so the (by today’s standards) narrow tyres were perfectly comfortable on even very minor country roads and even on dry bridleways.

Now I have several, including a gravel bike - which is probably the modern equivalent and at a push could be my only bike.

[Bmblbzzz]

My Cannondale Topstone comes pretty close and is the bike I use by far the most. It's one of the early aluminium ones and the only thing it really lacks is mounts on the front fork. It's great on the road, can handle the current potholeageddon better than my roadbike and can do light touring and carry some shopping.

I saw a snarky criticism of the model once which actually perfectly summed up why I find it so useful, they said something like "it's a bike for people who want to go off-road but never jump it or go on any actually technical sections and on-road but would get dropped on a club ride".

I genuinely think that bikes like the Topstone would be called hybrid bikes if the term hybrid wasn't already in use. I refer to it as my day-ride bike. I love the damn thing.

I don't know the Topstone but going off road without jumping sounds perfectly fine and normal to me. Cycling is ground-based for me! So sounds like a good do-it-all bike, or rather do almost-all-the-things-I want bike. As for the term hybrid, I guess this is why the term "all roads" was invented.

That’s pretty much the thing about a “one bike”, it needs to be 80% good at everything you use of for, which in turn means that it isn’t optimised 100% for any one of them (unless. I suppose you only do one thing!). Unless your “envelope” includes stuff which actually needs an MTB or a fat bike,

Or track racing. In fact, any sort of racing if you're doing it competitively.

what you then end up with is a fairly neutral geometry, a wide-ish range of gears, and tyres c35 to 40mm, which means that it falls into the defined pigeon-holes of “gravel bike” if it has drop bars, or “hybrid” if it has flats.

Despite now having a small fleet, mine all end-up in that realm with minor variations after a bit, because it’s just so blooming practical!

Agreed. This is one of the reasons I find it odd that some people object to "gravel bikes", either as a term or a genus.

The more the bike industry comes up with new styles of bikes, the less chance of having one that does everything.

Ten years ago we had never heard of gravel bikes. Now there's a whole new genre to make only one bike even less likely.

,......assuming if course you follow the trends.

See above. It's a whole new term and design features but is it a new mode of riding? Gravel bikes are what the Roughstuff would have ridden 60 years ago if they'd had them. Another way of looking at it is that gravel bikes have been with us since Starley, they've just got a bit better at it and gained a name.

[Nearholmer]

Agreed. This is one of the reasons I find it odd that some people object to "gravel bikes", either as a term or a genus.

I’ve come to the conclusion that people object for two reasons:

1) the term was invented after they reached 18yo, so is way too newfangled; and,

2) worse still, it originated in America, rather than Hebden Bridge.

[cycle tramp]

My Cannondale Topstone comes pretty close and is the bike I use by far the most....
I saw a snarky criticism of the model once which actually perfectly summed up why I find it so useful, they said something like "it's a bike for people who want to go off-road but never jump it or go on any actually technical sections and on-road but would get dropped on a club ride".

I think a more optimum phrase would be "its a bike for people who aren't driven by their own egos or acts of narcissism"

Which is what any ideal bike should be.. we should be going to the manufacturers saying 'these are my requirements, Do you have a product which will fulfill them?' Instead we have a bunch of designers some of whom don't even ride bikes, teaming up with groups of psychopathic mind controllers (who work under a much more palatable name 'marketing') and they say stuff like 'the xl9 Eagle blade sword bike makes you look like you have a big manhood to attractive girls.