Cycling UK Forum

I'm not sure what she promised and I don't want to make this a she made me do it thing as I realise it is unreasonable to have 7 or more bikes when there is not enough room for more than 1. But we did make a deal that we (I) would get down to one.

Although hard it has been relatively easy to get to this point. I also don't fear the loss of the next two/three. That would be a late 90's Dawes Galaxy (on eBay as we speak), a very old Dawes Countryman and a Dahon Speed D7.

The final two shall be harder. I know it is subjective, not only in personal preference but also in riding style and discipline. But that is kind of the point, if you could only have one. Just one.

Rather than mention the bikes them selves would it help if I instead said that my major interest is touring, with full camping gear in four panniers. Less interested in miles more smiles and the view. I tend to tour long term.

One is a late 90’s fully rigid steel mountain bike 26”

The other an early 2000 well known 700cc 531st tourer.

Equally equipped for the most part, i.e. for all else equal.

Photos to follow, any ideas welcomed. Some one else must have been in this position.
The other will be for sale. (Though don’t mean this as an advert, it will take me ages to let it go.

Thanks Ed

she says it's unreasonable to have 7 or more bikes. i suppose that there's many people (although less here) would agree.

can't you put your foot down and say that having less than two bikes (ie. just one) is unreasonable?

if you break one and you've only got one, you're stuck until you can get the spare part and the time to fit it.

Rigid MTBs are more versatile. But I feel your pain. I made this choice a year ago, the 531 job had to go. My stable is a flat barred tough tourer with 26" wheels and a full suss MTB. Between them they do it all. At a pinch the MTB could go.

Al

It's an odd thing, but a reflection of the contrariness of humanity, that once we had sacrificed our towns and countryside for the sake of acres of smooth tarmac, there was an explosion in the sale of off-road 4x4s. So too with bikes: just when the Victorian dream of cyclable roads was finally realised, everyone went MTB. Even the frenzied road building of the poorer countries to replace their cart tracks was met with a desire to explore off-road in exotic places. The fact is that your MTB, loaded or not, will take you places that your touring bike won't - though it will do almost everything else. If you really must choose between the two bikes (and I take it your good wife is doing the same in the shoe department) and still want to go off road then you will have to take the MTB. If, on the other hand, you can replace both bikes with one other then a 26" tourer (e.g. Thorn Sherpa) would be my recommendation. If however you know that you will be touring on roads then I would say keep the 700c - it will be good enough with the right tyres to cover most tracks, canal paths etc. We are now wanting to extend our cycling and that means more bikes. If faced with the choice of only one bike then the all round tourer is probably still the best provided you don't want to go massively off road. In your position however, once you have decided on the sort of touring you want to do, if you are still undecided, I would simply base it on the best bike, your favourite bike, the one you feel happiest on. A spare set of tyres for either bike (fatter than existing for the tourer, thinner than existing for the MTB plus a set of mudguards) would probably seal the deal.

FWIW I have an old Orange steel framed rigid mountain bike and several other (too many if i'm honest) shinier bikes of various descriptions. That's the one I use most - well, all the time really unless I'm doing something specific like a MTB trail or an audax. When I started cycling again about 5 years ago I thought I'd get just one bike capable of doing everything and I got a Trek 7 series. It was great and probably would have done everything except that my son kept borrowing it and eventually bought it from me. It's his only bike, he cycles a lot and he doesn't seem to feel the need for anything else at the moment. My Orange (bought secondhand for a song just after I 'lost' the use of the Trek 7) has geometry pretty much like the said Trek and it's the one I would keep if I could only have one bike.

I would certainly keep the tourer, essential on long distance touring you have the bike you are comfy with, know how it packs/handles etc.

But you have to have a spare bike, this is assuming you ride most days. You have to have a bike for second best and for when one is not on the road as has already been said.

The other alternative, get rid of the wife and keep all the bikes?

You definitely need at least 2. a ride and a spare and maybe if you can squeeze a third in

I have 2 bikes that are very similar spec , in fact the only major difference is the brand of shifters etc but i always state that as a commuter with a route and timetable that goes nowhere near a bike shop ,even if they were open at 6 am i need a spare in case i have a problem that is fixable but needs time to be done that i do not really have till the weekend.

One is also the all weather bike and the nicer bike being reserved for better weather as i do not want to rust my 6 month old bike with road salt just yet

I would keep the MTB and the tourer if at all possible. I think it would be harsh of her to make you go down to just one.

Could you find a friend to store one of the bikes? When I lived at my last flat I stored most my bikes up in the attic until I moved, and one over in my dad's shed, have a garage now so storage not a problem.

Keep all of the bikes, get rid of her indoors and to celebrate, buy yourself a new bike.

I'd suggest two as a reasonable minimum for anyone who uses a cycle as a major component of their transport strategy - although my lbs did provide me with a courtesy bike once

I'd keep the trike - no doubt...

Me or the bike? She goes!

Oh god... I've just realised I've got five. You could designate a couple of MTBs as 'your bike darling.' Anyone can fit on those frames.

I'm with Starfire an PW on this! Tell her that she takes up the space of 3 bikes and that 10 is a nice round number!

Cutting down from 7 to 2 seems like quite enough of a sacrifice!