Satyr

My main bicycle is called Álfröðull. This means 'glory of the elves' and was the name for Sol's chariot. She rode her chariot through the sky, pursued by the wolf Fenrir. Her two steeds, Arvak and Alsvid, brightened the sky, for their mains radiated light. Sol herself provided heat for the world.

cerewa

ditto
heheh, not me.

My folding bike is called "the folding bike" and my non-folding bike is called "the big bike," since it's bigger than the folding bike.

cooker

A name is an abstract symbol for a physical object and its most basic purpose is to be a proxy for the object in a utilitarian way...so you can refer to the object in speech, and differentiate it from other objects. At a higher level, names and nicknames carry deep symbolic meaning and, as you said, can represent projections of the user onto the object. I think terms like "cruddy old Sears three-speed" , "the aforementioned POS", and the intriguing "Project 33 bike" all fulfil the role of names, at least to a degree.
RGC

grolby

Do you study linguistics? Or perhaps philosophy of language?

I'm pretty sure that the OP was asking about proper names, though, and that's what I was referring to, obviously. Still, I think that your quibble is a bit pedantic - the logical direction of your argument that a name is an abstract symbol for any object is toward the conclusion that any word referring to an object in the real world is a name. I think that there is a case for making a very specific lexical distinction between named, specific objects (my bicycle "The Dominator") and general, categorical objects (bicycles are fun!). Further, it should be possible to specify a particular object without giving it a symbolic name (my bicycle, my Miyata, John's three-speed). And obviously, there are subcategories, like "Miyata" and "three-speed." I don't think that those are names, either. You got a problem with that?

I would be in quite a jam if I couldn't somehow distinguish my bicycles from other objects or other bikes, clearly, but that doesn't mean that they're named. They aren't. They're just particular bicycles that I happen to own and ride and appreciate. That's all.

By the way, I don't study philosophy of language, and only a little bit of linguistics, so I'm just making all of this up! Cheers!

cooker

I have studied philosoph(ies) a bit, but remotely and superficially, including University courses and reading some Chomsky on my own, so I'm winging it too, and I was really just making a good-natured attempt at debate. My point was that if you habitually (as you seemed to say) referred to one of your bikes as "my POS", then you've given it a name of sorts.
Regards,
RGC

sbhikes

My bikes:
my mountain bike
my recumbent, my Thunderbolt, my 2-wheeled recumbent
my trike, my Pocket

No proper names. I've never named a conveyance.

Toasted

I've got Baby, which is the one I usually ride because that's what I call her when we're trying to ride in cold weather "Come on Baby, you can do it!"

I've got CB, aptly named because it was Crap Bike my dad found in a junk yard but I finished fixing up and like to much to call him crap.

Then I'v got M, short for methadone, because I work on it to help with my addiction to buying bikes and Stumpy since, sadly, she's been redused to a mere frame and crankset with a lack of funds to return her to her former glory. So I have two girls, a boy and a hermaphrodite for my beautiful two wheeled children. Choppy should be along shortly, though we aren't sure what it is yet

Urbanmonk

All my bikes, cars, golf clubs, kayak, skis, backpack, friends, students, strangers, etc., are all named Isabella. Don't know why; that is just the way it is. Even my dog is named Isabella.

It's just easy to remember one name. Isn't it?

Brad M

Hobo ten-speed

WaRainRider

My commuter, a '04 Marin Sausalito, was named by my the bus driver, who regularily has to secure it inside the bus.

Because I'm 6'3", my Sausalito is of the "large frame" size. Add the rack, saddlebags, lights, blinkies, etc, and the weight has (substantially) increased.

Anyway, one day while the driver was strapping the bike down, a passenger heard the driver mutter "what a beast".

The name stuck. So, now, everybody on the bus refers to my bike as "The Beast".

I haven't the heart to tell the driver that I'm putting together a new light system, using a 3.6# 12volt SLA and a 20watt outdoor flood light--it will add another 5# to the weight. Hope he doesn't get a hernia.

.:Jimbo:.

my old commuter a fuji odessa is called Daewoo, named after a crap car cause its a crap bike.
My sisters gt flame is called "Color of Money" cause its green and worthless.
my new commuter, a giant cypress is called "Da Giant" since the frame is sized at 23 inches so it really is quite a giant.
My roadbike, a raleigh world sport is "The Godfather" since its the oldest bike in the stable.
the other bikes aren't worthy of recieving unique names.

tokolosh

hmmm. 'cruddy old sears three-speed' breaks down to c.o.s.t.s.

hmmmm.

hotwheels

Gwaihir the Windlord and Shadowfax

marqueemoon

My X0-2 is called "Grimace" because it's purple, ugly, and that's what I do when I ride it. It's the commuter.
"Sour Mash" is a nice anagram of "Soma Rush", so I guess I have 2 bikes with names now.

"Davidson Impulse" can be re-arranged to "Damn Livid Spouse", but we're not married and it wasn't new (and therefore cheap) when I bought it.

mechBgon

I'm afraid I couldn't even remember what model my bike was, the other day... GT something. Palomar? Noooo.... Avalanche? Hmmm, I think it was something else though... **********?

Finally I remembered it's a Bravado LE, without having to actually go look at the decals

So no, it doesn't have a name. If it did, it would probably be "workhorse."

Satyr

When I was young my step-father would often take me sea fishing. I will always be stricken by how much the ship meant to him, and how much pride he had in it. Most other seafarers share this sentiment to a degree. It is interesting how many people on this thread speak of the bicycle in purely a utilitarian way.

As suggested before, naming something in a proper way or not is an indication of a person's link to that thing. I have always felt that, in some small way, naming my inanimate objects is just a cognizant recognition of the joy they bring me. So the name is not so much for the bicycle, but for the emotions it evokes in me.

Being a car free individual, my bicycles not only bring me joy but I rely upon them. I could not have held certain jobs without my bicycle or lived in certain areas. So, like the seafarer's ship, the bicycle becomes an intimite and integral part of my life.

Ellie

I've never named my bikes, until recently having to discuss them with my girlfriend. She can't remember which is which... The best two are just Trek and Kona, then there's the 14 speed Raleigh, used for shopping and local stuff, now known as Rusty, and my new folder. That is branded as a Tiger, but I couldn't call it that with a straight face. So it's become the cub. Much more appropriate.

More and more of my possesions are being named the longer this relationship continues! This is not necessarily a bad thing.

wearyourtruth

my four regular bikes all have names, jennifer, christine, ashley, and carli... all are names of girls who have screwed me over... unforunately i have more names than bikes right now.

these are really just names for me though, around town they are refered to (by me and others) as the fuji, the rocky mountain, the raleigh, and the (rock) lobster.

MMACH 5

When I got home from work last night, the kiddos gave me the low-down on their bikes' names and I have to say they came up with far better names than I thought they would.

Chance is 12. He is really into Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon and just about anything anime so he named his bike Laramie after a ranch in one of the Pokemon stories.

Madison is 9. As far as she's concerned, we can't make too many trips past the Dallas skyline to see the flying horse, (see avatar). Her bike is Pegasus.

Abigail is 8. She got her first American Girl doll last year and has been obsessed with them ever since. If you've read any of the AG books or saw the made-for-tv movie, you'll be familiar with Felicity's horse. She named her bike Penny.

eofelis 

I used to own horses, until one day it dawned on me that they were very expensive and required a lot of responsibility. I don't ride horses much anymore, but I still love them.

My bikes replace horses now. My bikes are named after horses.

My black Surly Pacer road bike is named after a famous racing filly: Ruffian
My Gunnar Rockhound mtn bike, (well, it's not named after a horse) is Skitters, because it skitters all over the trail.
My new Surly LHT had a name before I got it. I knew a horse named Camion, it means "truck" in French...
My Novara Randonee is a versatile bike, Morgan horses are a versatile breed of horse, so this bike is named Morgan.


My BF names his bikes too. He likes the science approach.

Redox is his red Trek 970 towner
Ferric is his '03 Gunnar Roadie (Fe3+)
Rutile is his Ti Litespeed Classic (rutile is TiO2, titanium dioxide)
Kelvin is his blue Klein mtn bike (eh, calvin klein blue....eh...get it...)
Matrix is his Surly Cross Check (from algebra)

grolby

What I was actually trying to get across is that naming bicycles is not an indication of my link to them. My bikes are, like yours, intimate and integral parts of my life. I do have a great deal of pride in them, and deeply appreciate them. I rely upon them. They bring me happiness. At the same time, I am also constantly aware of the fact that my bicycle is indeed a utilitarian object. It is a tool I use, and nothing about how I feel about it will change that. It is functional. It is a financial investment. If lost or destroyed, it is replaceable. If I must replace it, I will shed no tears (aside from the financial set-back, which would be quite a burden were anything to happen to my bicycle now!).

As I've tried to explain, naming bikes is fine with me - I actually enjoy reading the different names that folks have come up with for their rides. But I just can't do it - names don't "stick" to my bikes, and it all comes back to the fact that, ultimately, they are tools to me.

I'm not sure why I'm posting so much about this... I guess I resent the implication that, because I'm not one to name my machines, I don't appreciate them as much. That's not true at all, despite my pragmatic attitude with regards to their use and replacement.

cooker

I don't think anyone meant to imply that...I certainly didn't. I think this is a pretty lighthearted discussion.
Regards

cog_nate 

"Minty Fresh" (Bianchi Grizzly)
"The Frog" (Hirondelle)
"Hipster Envy" (Free Spirit 3-speed)
"The Big Catalpa" (Peugeot UO-8)

sbhikes

I just realized I also tend to call my trike the HPV, because it's my human-powered vehicle. I had thought it would be fun to put a license plate on the back that says "MINI" because it IS a Mini-Cooper --isn't it?

LittleBigMan

I thought about naming my bikes over the years, but since I've dismembered a few, and still have what's left of them in my garage, I don't want to start thinking of myself as Hannibal Lechter...or that kid in Toy Story named Sid that took apart toys and put them back together in wierd ways.

Wait, that's it! "Frankenbike," a generic name for the bike I'm riding at any particular time...