Artkansas 

This afternoon I took my recumbent out for my usual loop down River Mountain Dr. and through Two Rivers Park. When I got to the bottom of the big hill on River Mountain, I noticed that my ride was rather bumpy. Inspecting the rear tire revealed the steel belt peeking through the rubber and a lateral displacement of the tire. I rode home slowly and carefully. When I got home, I swapped out bikes and rode my Hard Rock to the grocery store. Again, I noticed some lumpiness. I checked the wheel and found nothing. But when I got home, I sat on the floor and gave it a thorough inspection. That's when I noticed that the sidewall had torn in a couple of places and the cord was visible. How common is it for both bikes to be out of commission with the same problem at the same time?

Should I ride the Kabuki Syd or the American Eagle? Looks like it's time for a trip to the LBS.

gerv 

I had a similar experience this Spring. Had a slow leak in one of my commuters, then switched to the other and next day had a complete flat on that one. Repairs two flats that day.

So having 2 commuter bikes is no guarantee you'll still have a bike to ride. I do 2 things to improve the odds:
1. I now do all of my bike wrenching. If I'm stuck for a part, I go to the local co-op, which is my LBS.
2. I keep a stock of parts on hand. For example I just bought a Schwalbe Marathon 'cause I know the rear tire on my Volpe is getting thin. I can also use it on my Fuji if I get stuck.

If everything falls apart, there's always the bus.

Artkansas 

And happily, there are 2 LBSs within walking distance.

Mobile 155

I am down to two bikes from five. But I am looking for a N+1. But till then I have three sets of wheels and tires mounted for each of the two bikes. And I keep two spare new tires for a back up. If I have to use one of the spares I order another tire to replace it.

bragi

I only have one bike. Indeed, I've never owned more than one bike at a time. I do regular light maintenance on the drive train, brakes and wheels, and it hardly ever breaks. Even flat tires are extremely rare, maybe once every two years. On the rare occasion when the bike does break, I'm usually able to fix it in short order. A spare bike seems unnecessary to me, unless you live in an area with snowy winters. Not that I wouldn't mind having a light, nimble road bike for weekend fun rides, but that would be an indulgence, not a necessity.

gerv 

There's another side to this N+1 phenomenon. I have 5 bikes right now... but I also have a one car garage (and no car, of course...) so I have lots of room. If you live in an apartment or have no outside facilities, one bike might be all that fits.

If I lived in NYC, I'd probably have one bike.

wahoonc

I have the luxury of having plenty of room for plenty of bikes. If I didn't have the room I would probably have two bikes just for the backup. I do all of my own maintenance, but even then something odd may break and I won't have the parts to fix it right away. So having the second bike would be a plus. I don't recall the last time I had to switch to a backup bike due to a flat tire.

Aaron

wolfchild

I have 3 bikes which are in perfect working condition and I have a lot of spare parts, tools and few wheelsets. I inspect my tires regularly for signs of damage. Never had a catastrophic failure or been stranded yet.

Artkansas 

I have. Once, I accepted the LBS's advice that I could put a smaller tube size in than the one it was replacing because they were out of stock and only had a smaller diameter.

It worked okay until I got a flat. The flat was unrepairable because the tube had to expand too much to fill the tire. I spent an hour and all my patches trying to get one to work, and then walked a block and caught the bus to work. I was very glad that I had made being able to carry that bike on the bus, one of the criteria when I bought it.

With an apartment, I have to keep the spares to a minimum.

wolfchild

That's what prevents me from having more then 3 bikes and a bicycle trailer, because I live in a 1 bedroom highrise building. I would love to have a bike trailer but there just isn't enough room to store it. I already keep my personal possessions and furniture to a minimum to make room for my bikes. I also use my apt to workout/excercise so every inch of space is important.

bikemig 

I like having two commuters (both vintage bikes). I seldom need to use the 2d one but it's great having that option from time to time. They ride differently so it's fun to change them around from time to time. I also like having different tire sizes on the 2 bikes and use the bike with the fatter tires as the weather progressively sets worse.

dynodonn 

I have two nearly identical commuter bikes, and I cannot remember both of them being down for repairs at the same time. Once one is in need of repairs, it's posthaste to the LBS for parts, if my shop supplies are inadequate, making sure the bike's downtime is as short as possible.

plustax

I have two bikes. One is in working condition that I use purely for pleasure, the other is a trek 3700 mountain bike that im fumbling with and trying to convert into a single speed. I'm learning a lot in the process.

Artkansas 

Well, the tire for the recumbent is due tomorrow. This evening, while I was sitting here, the tube died with a loud pop. It wasn't overinflation, I haven't pumped it up since I last rode it and those tires lose air fairly fast. I think that a wire of the casing just managed to finally poke through the tube. I'll patch the tube when I change the tire.

Ekdog

Having a bike sharing system in my city is nice. If I have mechanical problems I can always fall back on that.

gerv 

Well that's why you have 2 bikes. You can fumble with one and still get to work. Just don't let it sit idle for too long or pretty soon you won't have a ride.

plustax

The Bianchi is for pleasure/training rides only. I walk to the bus stop, take the bus, and then walk some more to get to work. I like walking, it feels like my body gets worked in ways that help my cycling.

I may get another trek soon. Sports authority has an unpriced 1200 with rsx components, I'll see if I can haggle it for a c-note.

tim24k

I have a number bikes mainly different kinds of bikes. Cargo, hybrid, road, folding, recumbent, cruiser, single speed, tandem, and mini velo. And yes their is the beater or sacrificial cow I lock up in front of Walmart when I shop there. All for deferent kinds of ridding and uses. I love them all, well maybe not the cow. You can never just have one bike, that's if you have the space to keep them and keep them in tip top shape.

So yes, everyone needs a beater better bike.

PlanoFuji

It appears that the 'consensus' from this thread is that the bicycle isn't a particularly reliable means of transportation, hence the need for multiple bicycles...

After all, most folks only have a single car (multiple car households usually have multiple drivers) per person, so that must mean cars are inherently more reliable?

Or could it simply mean that those who espouse the N+1 approach are simply expressing their innate need to consume resources and bikes are a particularly affordable resource for the general public?

Artkansas 

Neither. Having a spare bike is eminently affordable. So its a fast method of ensuring continuing transportation. Having a single car only implies that cars are so expensive that having a spare car is unaffordable. In general, I've found that motorists miss more time from work needing to get their car serviced than I miss commuting by bike.

PlanoFuji

Yep, you are reinforcing my point that you are simply describing an 'affordable' way that most people can express their unbridled consumerism. No one NEEDS more than one bike. And unless it is your only means of transportation (which it may well be on this particular forum) no one actually NEEDS a bike at all. These are WANTS. Expressions of consumerism. Something those on here decry in others since it is often expressed in ways for which THEY don't approve.

And no one 'misses' time from work for car maintenace (any more than they would for bike maintenance). They are simply using excuses. Perhaps because they want time off or perhaps (as in your op cited case) they just didn't perform the routine maintenance required of any machine.

bikemig 

So I own a ridiculous number of bikes. Guilty of consumerism but this post is over the top. Owning two commuter bikes is a sensible low cost way to live. I'm a pretty good bike mechanic (used to make my living full time as one) and sometimes (not often) a bike goes down. Maybe I have time to fix it that day (and I keep all the consumables I need on hand); maybe I don't. I have a family and sometimes I'd rather do something other than fix a bike.

KBentley57

So a bike is a mode of transportation that people only WANT vs a car which everyone NEEDS? A few quick bits of simple math would show that the TCO of a bicycle is << than that of a car. Am I reading your statement wrong, or are you trying to troll the internet?

PlanoFuji

I would suggest re-reading my post; it said nothing of the kind.

I'll bullet point them to make it a little easier for you.

- No one NEEDS more than one bike.
- Unless it is your only means of transportation (which it may well be on this particular forum) no one actually NEEDS a bike at all.
- These are WANTS.


And to be clear, everyone NEEDS a single mode of transportation--that can be public transit, cars, walking, or even bikes. Fear of maintenance problems, which are extremely rare in any reasonably well maintained machine do not justify a NEED for a second or third or forth duplicate of that mode of transport... The additions are wants or more likely a collection... In other words excessive consumption of resources...

wolfchild

Once again you're making assumptions and you're 100% wrong. None of my bikes ever had a catastrophic failure which stranded me, not even once.. Bikes are definetly more reliable then cars... The reason why I have 3 bikes is because I want to, and I can afford to.