RubeRad

You sure have a lot of bikes.

Which is the topic of discussion; one vs multiple.

gsk3

I've alternated between one and two. Road bike for good weather (used to be a Jamis actual road bike, now a Torker U3 three-speed with fenders and a full chainguard). Mountain bike for bad weather (just got a winter beater when I realized even the Nokian A10's probably wouldn't fit inside the fenders on my Torker). Two is the right number for me.

mcours2006

Pfff! That's not golf.

RubeRad

I play golf with zero clubs

CrankyOne

At our primary residence I've a couple of track bikes, one now a road fixie, a mtn, three or so road (one new cf and some older), and a city bike.

I could be quite happy with just my Workcycles Opafiets city bike. That's the bike that gets the most use since it's my daily transportation and to to @tjspiel comment, it's the one that brings me the most joy. Allowed two bikes my Scott Addict CF road would be second.

noglider 

My wife and I also keep a bike for each of us at her mother's place in Florida for the once a year we visit. Mine is an old English 3-speed. My wife's is some boring upright hybrid which is fine for that area.

Andy_K 

Yeah, but how many discs?

alan s 

So glad I chose cycling over golf. Chasing a little white ball is the opposite of fun. At least the mini golf looks interesting.

caloso

Golf is pleasant enough. I play a couple of rounds a year, usually with my mom. I plan to take it up more regularly when I get to old to do anything strenuous.

Andy_K 

The key to enjoying golf is not caring that you're bad at it. Once you want to do well it becomes a bitter, bitter game. I've never cared that I'm bad at it, so I enjoy playing once in a while.

RubeRad

Golf clubs have a much wider range of capabilities than golf discs. There was a time when I would show up at the disc golf course at dawn on my way to work (so there would be nobody in my way), and played "speed golf", running the course and having a final score of total time plus 10sec/stroke. For that I would carry one or two discs. The One would be a Roc. If I brought a second it would be a floppy, rubbery putter.

RubeRad

Golf is also the opposite of cheap...

Mark Twain correctly called [ball] golf "a good walk spoiled". (Although I always thought it was PG Wodehouse. Now I know...)

Darth Lefty 

That actually looks like a really good mini golf course.

I recall when I used to shoot pool, people had a nice cue for tournaments, a bar league cue, a cue for breaking, a cue for masse... the disease afflicts many

Andy_K 

I've got a friend who is really into disc golf. I don't know how many disc he actually takes with him on a given day, but I know he owns a dozen or so different ones.

no motor?

There's a disc golf course next to one of the bike paths I ride on and some of the players have bags that look like gym bags for all their discs.

RubeRad

Well yeah, I have a bag too, and probably a dozen discs, all I'm saying is it's just as doable to live with one (or two) golf discs as it can be to live with one (or two) bikes.

Cars are $1-100K each, and take a lot of space to store. Most american families get by with one or two.

Bikes are $0-10K each, and take much less storage space, so it's not uncommon for cyclists to accumulate a bunch, but it's quite possible to get by with one or two. For cyclists with many bikes, usually one bike gets most of the riding.

Golf discs are only about $8-20 each, and have miniscule storage requirements. Most disc golfers own 10-20, but it's quite possible to get by with one or two. For disc golfers with many discs, 10% get 90% of the use, and vice versa.

SorrySayAgain

I've got one bike, that's used as my main form of transport.

I'm very happy with it, but with that being said, I'm currently saving up for an ebike for long rides. I've got physical limitations so it's a more practical investment for me long-term.

mikescooling

I have a nice touring bike, that's all tricked out. And I have a city bike that is a beater but works great. I couldn't take my nice bike to the city and expect it to be there when I got back. But yes, I know how easy it is to horde possessions especially when you live in a small space. I'd like to be down to one bike at some point.

2cam16

Sadly, due to this forum, I've gone from one bike for my whole life to 5 for personal use at present(and a few more to build and sell). Too addicting.

Chuck Naill

I've enjoyed reading all the posts. Right now I have one bike. I live in the sticks and have a variety of road conditions including a pretty long gravel drive way. This is what peaked my interest in the Sutra, a kind of do anything go anywhere product. However, the little folding bikes are interesting and I would not rule one out going forward.

number1bike

I use my bike(s) for enjoyment and commuting year round. I find that four or more is optimum. Two bikes are for winter riding where one bike is the primary and the second is used as a backup for me or two high-school age young adults. I have two bikes for spring/summer/fall riding. Again one primary and the second as a backup.

After winter, the primary usually needs $50 - $100 in parts to make it ready for another winter. When I was using the nicer summer bikes in winter I was sinking in $250 in parts after winter. So I justify the extra bikes as a cost savings.

My problem is not so much N+1 but instead the 'gas' problem where the number of bikes expands to the available space.

Vitix2

As a sportive rider, what gets factored into the consideration for me is the number of years that I've been riding. I started riding in the era of seven speeds, and the seven and 8 speed stuff is all gone. But, at some point I just simply stopped selling or getting rid of bikes that I have ridden in the past. So, I've got a collection. It got to a point that my connection to bikes that I had toiled on and over became more of a factor than the few hundred dollars that I was going to get from selling them.

My old 9 speed roadie is what I ride on the trainer/rollers. My 10 speed roadie is what I use on rainy and post snow days (admittedly, it has been quite a while since I set out for a ride in the rain or on snow covered streets). It is basically my winter bike.

One of my 11 speed roadies has a truckload of miles on it that I accumulated over 5 seasons. The other 11 speed is just an upgraded newer bike. Then there is the track bike that is a hold over from my racing days; a mountain bike from my days racing those (now, since I don't get out on singletrack, it is basically a fun bike that I use a few times a year for rides on converted railroads or jaunts around the neighborhood)

I have sold bikes that I've owned that did not work for me for one reason or another (too big, to flexible, etc.). And, yes, I probably could use my 10 speed for indoor training and also a winter beater; or, ditch the mountain bike and fix, but why? I already own them and use them to varying degrees. Moreover, I could not fetch much for them if I wanted to sell em. Plus, we've got a history together.

Additionally, at some point in my cycling life I started working on my own bikes and rather than looking at them as bikes, they became frames, wheels, and components. That made a huge difference because it ushered in an era of some parts being kept and others vanquished, and a frame with an extra set of wheels turned into a component purchase rather than a frame sale.

So one bike for me is out of the question. That said, I can see the benefits of one or fewer bikes and would not be able to logically argue that I need all of the bikes that I've accumulated. However, until it gets to the point that I'm out of storage space or am in need of a few extra hundred dollars, I'm good! I would also add, that when I was in my 20s and 30's I really could not afford a new bike until I sold my old bike and I was riding bikes until they were absolutely trashed. Now I'm in my early fifties and life is different.

Rollfast

N is good until (N) = -Working. N+1 is not always a remedy if you use all of your bikes.


However N(1) + N(others) = N(OHYES)

Rollfast

New math has it's good points.

IdahoTrollGuy

Like many I have several bikes. However, for your goal it is possible to have one bike with a couple different wheel sets. Say, one wheelset with knobbies, and one with smooth roadies. Quickly convert one bike into two, with a quick change of wheels.