Originally Posted by
davidmcowan
I remember when I got started riding a lot more I had one bike and she was well loved.
Help.
I used to own seven bikes. I decided to live a more simple lifestyle 3 years ago with the goal of owning one bike. The problem is:
Racing road bikes requires a road bike. (light, short top tube, drop bars)
Mountain biking requires an mtb. (long toptube, wide flat bars, big tires)
Touring and commuting requires comfort. (durable, heavy, room for racks and fenders)
Cyclocross and gravel rides can both be done on an mtb.
It is very easy to get your stable down to two bikes. A cx bike can be used for road racing, gravel grinding, and cx. Combine that with a mtb and you can race mountain bikes, ride rough gravel, go exploring, commute through the winter, and have a durable frame for touring.
Whenever I finally got my stable down to one bike (either road oriented, or mountain oriented) I found myself needing the opposite bike. So my recommendation is to own two bikes if you ride the type of variety that I do. Plus, if you have two bikes you still have a bike to ride when you are working on your other bike.
BUT WITH THAT SAID
I finally got my stable down to one bike and have been quite satisfied with its ability to fill all of my cycling needs (EXCEPT ROAD RACING - which I no longer do)
It is a surly karate monkey which has very "agile" handling due to the short wheel base / steep head tube / low offset fork. This means it crushes single track! It has tons of room for 2.5"+ tires for commuting on snow or giving cushion on super rocky terrain. I added salsa cowbell drop bars that put me in a road position which means I can toss on some skinny road tires and join my local road group rides. Traditional mtb drop bar bikes are setup with the drop bars very high using a high rise stem (in order to descend while riding in the drops) but I set up my bars low because I need to be able to keep up with my old race team on the road. And to top it all of the frame is steel and has lots of mounts for heavy and durable touring.
I have never loved a bike like I love my karate monkey. Owning just one bike and no car means I can keep my bike in flawless condition because I never have to worry about fixing my other bikes.
Good luck!