Andy_K 

You know, I hadn't thought about work as a place to keep a bike. Maybe I won't need to get rid of my beaters when I run out of garage space after all.

Sullalto

I advocate a minimum of two bikes. Just to avoid maintenance related downtime. I have a gravel bike now and am very satisfied with it. If my bike handling doesn't improve, I'll likely get a dedicated MTB as well.

Yeah I've got a bike that needs a new chainring, bottom bracket, cassette, chain and new wheels(worn brake track). Probably new hubs, too. Wheels need truing anyway. Uncomfortable saddle.

I can't in good conscience sell it, given the mechanical condition-even if it's slightly too small for me. So it's just hanging on a fencepost hook(yes, it's covered. I'm not a monster). For the cost to get it running well, I'm pretty close to the cost of a new, comparable bike. I was wondering what to do, but then Raleigh's corporate deal came out and I just bought a new gravel bike instead. N+1 it is.

Next up: new wheelset for the gravel bike.

I think that for some people, they have two hobbies: Riding bikes, and maintaining them. I'm very happy for those people. I'm not one of them.

I don't think those people have bikes as utility, either. When I lived downtown in a major city with no car? I might ride to 3 places a day. I'm, uh, not cleaning my bike that much. No way in hell.

I'm also in the PNW these days and it gets 120+ inches of rain a year where I'm at. Half of my rides have gravel or dirt sections. Washing my bike is a bit of an ordeal-and I'm not playing with soap and water when it's 30 degrees outside. If I had a workstand, I would wash the bike more often. But it's just too much of a damn pain otherwise. I'll clean the chain and wipe the downtube and rear triangle down once a week if I'm being conscientious. When shifting quality falls otherwise.

Your workplace allows that?! I'm jealous. Granted, I literally live across the street from work these days. Convenient, but I miss the commuting miles.

caloso

We have a very underutilized bike cage.

tjspiel

If I lived in a warmer climate, I'm pretty sure I could get a good gravel bike and that would suffice. If it would take 40mm tires + fenders than it could work as a winter bike too except that I want an IGH for winter riding and really don't want one the rest of the year. Not that I'm unhappy about the way an IGH works, just that they're pretty hefty and the range/spacing isn't what I'd prefer.

And it's really not a weight weenie thing. I pick up my bikes often enough that I appreciate the lighter one. It truly does "Spark Joy" when I pick it up after a few months of dealing with the heavy one.

I'm a bit skeptical of those advocating 3+ bikes. I can understand why some may want that many but I think the reasons don't warrant making it a standard recommendation. Recommending two I can relate to of course but I think most commuters can be perfectly happy with one. When you start considering non-commuting activities, well, then having just one bike becomes more limiting.

RubeRad

My crosscheck and hardtail fit inside the range between your CF and fatbike. I don't have extreme sand or snow to deal with, so I don't need fat. If I was strong enough to go on paceline club rides, I would be happy to do it on the crosscheck with 700x50 marathon supremes, if for no other reason than to aggravate weight weenie bike snobs. As it is, I'm not strong enough, so I don't.

JOrange

It definitely depends on your situation (transportation, racing, etc). That being said, there was a time when I only had one bicycle, and it was tough not to want to get another! I don't believe in having a bike for every situation, but maybe 2 at the least if you have the money (?) - one for really fast riding and the other for commuting!

rumrunn6

this fall I rode 2 hybrids (off road) then about a month ago I got in a ride on my road bike (on a road) w sheer joyous exhilaration

towndock

You do realize this a a bicycle polygamy site?

noglider 

I know people get a chuckle when someone swaps one bike for another only because they have a flat or something minor, but it's really nice to have that ability.

Andy_K 

I am one of them, and I still don't want to have to clean my bike up after every ride. I really enjoy working on my bikes, but I prefer to do it when I want to. Plus, leaving road grit on the drivetrain makes the maintenance more, um, interesting.

Andy_K 

I wouldn't advocate 3+ bikes. Let's just say I'm here as an co-enabler for those who want 3+ bikes. There's really no practical reason for more than two unless you engage in bike-related recreational activities like mountain biking or racing.

rumrunn6

... asking a bunch of addicts if you should have more ... ;-)

johnnyace 

I used to think I only wanted one bike. Then I got over it. Right now I have three at work and one at home.

1) 1992 Bridgestone XO-2 - the all-arounder, beater, winter commuter
2) 1979 Mercian - fair weather roadie, fully overhauled recently, awaiting new bar tape and pedals
3) 1972 Gitane TdF - fair weather roadie, awaiting full overhaul, new RD, new bar tape
4) 1983 Team Fuji - all-around roadie, awaiting new bar/stem/tape

bmthom.gis

I have that! I've had as many as 3 bikes at a time in the office (office bike, commuter that I only did for a one way commute, and mountain bike bc I planned on knocking out of work early to hit the trails). We have a storage closet we can use for our bikes. At one point we had 5-6 people who would commute, and soon we will be down to just me as the last of them is about to take a new job in a different city
The upside of which means more bike storage space!

essiemyra

I only have one bike and I ride it for whenever I need to ride. I do some short-tours with it and also commute in all kinds of weather. I run errands with it but I do not pick up big items with it. No storage space coupled with no need at this time will keep me to one bike till I retire.

MRT2

True. I think some folks just get attached to things. My wife currently owns 3, but really only needs one. Though she rides more than 80% of the time on her modern Jamis road bike, she has her 1978 Peugeot U08 that she has vowed never to part with, that she rides maybe 18% of the time on. Finally, she has a 2000s era Trek hybrid. She really has no reason to keep it. It only gets ridden maybe once or twice a year, and mostly by out of town guests. Both of her other bikes have racks for running errands, so it really makes no sense to keep it as a utility bike. But, I bought it for her for Mother's Day about 10 years ago so she could ride around the neighborhood at slow speeds with my son, who was just learning to ride then.

MRT2

A strong argument for keeping two bikes, or at least two wheelsets ready to go. Not such a strong argument for more than two bikes.

At a certain point, it becomes a burden to maintain more bikes. Maybe not two, but perhaps 3 or more. Because, if you are talking about 3 or more bikes built for the same purpose, I guarantee at least one, and perhaps two of those bikes never gets ridden.

mlau

Once you get a folder, you'll never want to be without one.

The xootr swifts are being discontinued, but they'll be honoring their lifetime warranty on frames (which are pretty bombproof). They ride great, but don't fold small. Bromptons fold small, and ride okay. Bike fridays don't fold as small, but ride much better. Then, there's Oribikes, Birdy, Tern, Dahon, etc.

I'm planning to keep my Xootr Swift indefinitely because:
1. It was my only bike for about 12 years!
2. It's super versatile. I've set it up as a hybrid, quasi-cross bike, and now it's a dutch bike
3. It rides super nice...like marshmallow on speed.
4. Visiting friends! Since I have a Corolla, it's much easier to pop the thing in my trunk than to have a rack.
5. Thieves. the main reason that I bought it was because I lived in SF at UCSF. Bikes left overnight would usually be stolen.

Anyways, I'm looking forward to getting my Miyata 1000LT in the mail. It's supposed to be one of the best touring bikes ever made.

MRT2

Not really consistent with minimalism. One of two things will happen with the acquisition of the new bike. If you come to prefer the gravel/adventure bike, it is likely you will seldom ride the FX, and so it will become purely a guest bike. (and nothing wrong with that, if you have guests and if they ride bikes, and if you have the space.) That has been my experience. Once I am dialed in on a particular bike, I don't like to switch things up as the second bike seldom feels right.

A new or newish FX isn't really well suited as a beater to leave in front of stores as it is just as likely to be a target for bike thieves as is a touring/adventure bike, maybe more so.

katsup

The FX was purchased used for $160, 7 years old, was barely ridden, but sat by the beach so it has some rust on the bolts.

My father, who stays with me during the week, is also going to selling his electric bike to ride it so it will still get used.

towndock

I'd like to see a photo of a xootr swift as a dutch bike (having a hard time imagining this - but I like it).

alan s 

There are a few bikes I don't ever see fitting into my life:

folder
bent
BSO
full sus MTB
beater
vintage
single speed
IGH
bamboo

currently have:

road bike (Madone CF 2x10)
swiss army knife of bikes (Troll steel 1x11)
monstercross/commuter (Lynskey titanium 2x11)
travel bike (World Troller steel with couplers 3x9)
fat bike (bikesdirect special from CL aluminum 2x10)

The current line up can take me almost anywhere in most conditions, assuming I select the right bike.

Andy_K 

I'm not convinced about the extra maintenance argument. In general, maintenance is a function of mileage. Assuming your total mileage remains the same, the total maintenance should also be about the same. A bike that never gets ridden needs very little maintenance (although I admit it does need some). I think there is even a case to be made that you have less maintenance to do with multiple bikes.

There's a theory that if you have two pairs of identical shoes and wear them on alternating days they will last significantly longer than if you wore one pair every day until they were worn out and then wore the other pair every day until they wore out. The theory is that the "rest day" allows the materials to relax or decompress in some way. Apparently this theory has been tested with shoes and shown to have some correspondence to reality. I have a hunch (though I've never attempted to test it) that something similar might happen with bike tires and perhaps other components as well.

At the very least, if you have one bike that gets ridden in the rain and another that doesn't, the components together will see less total wear than if you had just one bike that you rode rain or shine. My reasoning is that if you have just one bike, the drivetrain will accumulate extra grit on the rainy days and unless you do an excessive amount of cleaning some of that grit will still be there when you ride it on dry days, so the dry days put more wear on the components than they would on a bike that was only used in fair weather. Also, those who live in places where it doesn't rain every day nine months of the year (obviously I'm just theorizing here, as I can't apply personal experience) are likely to ride the rain bike fewer times before cleaning the drivetrain thoroughly after rainy rides than they would if it were their everyday bike.

On the other hand, maybe I'm just an addict trying to justify his habit.

Panza

I have a pure road/race bike. A CX race bike. A vintage fixie I pieced myself, and a Grocery getter. I want a folder to take with me when I travel. They take less space than a typical bike and I don't have to worry about locking it up.

I used to have 1 bike and only 1 bike. My Grocery Getter/ Commuter. I would put the basket on and off when I would want to ride aggressively or race. Eventually I realized I was the silliest looking person at Triathlons, so I opted for my carbon fiber race bike. Once I started riding it, I was never the same and my N+1 began.

Andy_K 

This thread needs more pictures, so here I offer one from my stable which is a vintage beater single speed (1973 Nishiki Olympic):