Some of the folks that frequent this site have so many bikes. (You know who you are) I'm trying to rationalize how many bikes I need vs.how many I want.
I'm wondering what other folks have and consider as a need vs. want.

I have 4 bikes thus far and believe I need all of them.

Need / Have
Commuter / Touring bike - 1970's Falcon Olympic
Race Bike - 2003 Allez Pro
MTN Trail bike - 2004 Enduro

Need / Don't Have
Winter Beater
CX Bike - I kinda have it already. I have an old bike I was considering building into a CX bike. It could double as the winter beater depending how nice the build turns out.

Want / Have
None

Want / Don't Have
TT bike
Mtn X/C race bike
SS Hardtail

How 'bout you?

i NEED a lot less than i HAVE, and recently i WANT even less. so i'll HAVE quite a few less once i get the pics posted on ebay.

i don't race anymore and don't ride all the time anymore and i think the kool aid has worn off.

i'm going to slim down to a steel road bike, my fixie, and one mtb.

the rest can be found at auction.

OK, it if this isn't the ultimate topic for TerryB to answer on, I don't know what it. He has more bikes than most local bike shop have on their floors. Lets here it Terry! What else could you possibly want?

OK, it if this isn't the ultimate topic for TerryB to answer on, I don't know what it. He has more bikes than most local bike shop have on their floors. Lets here it Terry! What else could you possibly want?

!!LOL!! I was thinking about what TerryB's and Akirasho's answers would be like when I was putting this post together! It almost made me shoot coffee outta my nose.

TJ

Well, for starters, I don't NEED any bikes, although life would be pretty hum drum, ne DEPRESSING, without them. Assuming one needs at least one bike, then I need two, a road bike and a mountain bike. What I HAVE is another story (8 1/2, 2 road, 1 MB, 1 commuter, 1 SS, 1 fixie/SS, 1 tandem, 1 travel w/S&S and one road frame). What I WANT includes a Ti road and a hardtail MB. What I will be getting rid of is one of the road bikes (anyone want to buy a large Softride Solo?).

Some of the folks that frequent this site have so many bikes. (You know who you are) I'm trying to rationalize how many bikes I need vs.how many I want.
I'm wondering what other folks have and consider as a need vs. want.

I have 4 bikes thus far and believe I need all of them.

How 'bout you?

I sometimes ponder the same question/s... especially when I try to walk through my garage which is dominated by my bike fleet... 13 total and I'm leaving for Ft Lauderdale tomorrow to visit family and while I'm there I'm picking up two vintage Motobecanes in perfect shape... All of them work except for my SS which will as soon as I get a 20t BMX cog so I can ride in the mountains. I ride all of them regulary and the only thing that keeps me from adding even more is the space issue...

The way I see it, I can never have too many... I never know what bike mood I'll be in so I want to make sure I have all the bases covered. Of course my SO may disagree but she doesn't complain. Well, at least not often.

That's my story... :D

Like J, I'm downsizing my fleet. I have 6 built bikes and 5 framesets.

I need 3.

1. My good bike- LOOK KG451
2. Rain/winter bike- Vitus 979
3. Fixed gear/SS- LOOK KG86

I also have my restored Hinault LOOK 753 that is hanging on a wall in my home. I don't need it but I'll never sell it.

I'm selling my LOOK KG381 on eBay this week. I'll probably sell off some framesets as well..

I have 5 older high end steel bikes--3 road bikes, a cross bike and a hardtail mtb. At some point I WANT to get into the 21st century (a more modern steel road bike, a good FS mtb), but I don't really NEED to.

Some of the folks that frequent this site have so many bikes. (You know who you are) I'm trying to rationalize how many bikes I need vs.how many I want.
I'm wondering what other folks have and consider as a need vs. want.

I have 4 bikes thus far and believe I need all of them.

Need / Have
Commuter / Touring bike - 1970's Falcon Olympic
Race Bike - 2003 Allez Pro
MTN Trail bike - 2004 Enduro

Need / Don't Have
Winter Beater
CX Bike - I kinda have it already. I have an old bike I was considering building into a CX bike. It could double as the winter beater depending how nice the build turns out.

Want / Have
None

Want / Don't Have
TT bike
Mtn X/C race bike
SS Hardtail

How 'bout you?

Need / Have
-Best $$ ever spent on a bike.
Tsunami 700c road set up for Tri.

-Most fun bike ever owned
Litespeed Hawasii Mtn set up for Cross with stiff fork and road bars

-Rescued from curbside trash day
Giant mountain set up as SS Cross, similar to LS above. Nice horizontal dropouts...

-Thift Special
Sekai hybrid beast, on the Need list until my daughter GG gets too old to ride on the kid seat behind me. She is 4yo and calls it the Stratoliner... no idea where that came from...

-My Soul...
-Mid 80's tt Shogun bike. For some reason I consider this bike to be the reason I love cycling so much...
-Early 90's Gitane TT DH (dave hickey model), something about it fetches me to its saddle.


Need / Don't Have
Motorolla Merckx...



Want / Don't Have
Masi TT, but that's a whole different story...http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=26309


Have / Don't Need
Geared Access mountain bike. When was the last time I rode it?

SS Fetish mtn bike. Boarderline here, If I ever do ride a mtn bike, it will only be a SS. I do like this one alot.

Early 90's Bianchi Tiwan Steel
Love the idea of having celeste, but just no time to ride it.


Trek Y-Foil. I like it, but I'd rather ride the cheap Tsunami...

Need: One nice bike, one I'm willing to ride under terrible conditions.

Have: One Kogswell Model D, 3x9, stainless fenders, one c 1980 Austro-Daimer singlespeed, plastic fenders. They switch front wheels, so either one can have the Dynohub, as needed. Actually, they're both nice bikes, and both capable of dealing with bad conditions. The SS has a little advantage in having fewer places to accumulate road junk.

Want: One from column A, one from Column B, etc., etc. Something light, something touring, you know how it goes.

Have/Need: Road Bike, Mtb (Short travel XC FS), Tandem.

Have/Don't Need but Like : Commuter (Milano)

Want: Fixie, Longer Travel FS Mtb.

Need / Have
I need all of them, each one fits a specific niche. Like - I need a white bike, I need a green bike, I need an aluminum bike, I need a bike that was offered to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the builder that just happened to fall in the same year I turned 50. "I need this bike because it's so cheap on eBay and I'd be a fool to pass it up" is a good one too.

Need / Don't Have
I don't have a HT MTB and I need one because I don't have one and that represents a gap in my technology spectrum, and frankly we simply cannot have that.

Want / Have
What does this mean? I want the ones I have because if I didn't, I wouldn't have them. So if I don't sell any of them that I have does that mean I want them?

Want / Don't Have
I want a bike in Colnago TM38 or NL38 because I don't have one, but I probably don't need it even if it does represent a big gap in my paint job collection. But I want one nonetheless.

So let me get this striaght.

All of the bikes you HAVE, you NEED.
All of the bikes you WANT, you NEED. (Unless it is a dulpicate in you collection or technology spectrum. The again, I suppose one can argue that a backup is a NEED)

I see.... this explains the WANT / HAVE conundrum because you can't HAVE a bike that your don't WANT because all bikes are a NEED? So, does this mean that all of the bikes you don't WANT, you NEED also?

Confused.
TJ

BTW: I'm envyous of your collection of NEEDS.

So let me get this striaght.

All of the bikes you HAVE, you NEED.
All of the bikes you WANT, you NEED. (Unless it is a dulpicate in you collection or technology spectrum. The again, I suppose one can argue that a backup is a NEED)

I see.... this explains the WANT / HAVE conundrum because you can't HAVE a bike that your don't WANT because all bikes are a NEED? So, does this mean that all of the bikes you don't WANT, you NEED also?

Confused.
TJ




BTW: I'm envyous of your collection of NEEDS.

Yes - I found that perfectly reasonable.

I need a bike. My family of four has one car. My wife and kids get it. That means I have to get to work somehow. Public transport could get me to work but it would take about an hour door to door to cover the 6 miles. I could walk it but an hour and a half seems a bit long. So I bike.

I have 2 bikes. I have a b*stard Redline Conquest Pro (cross bike) that serves as my commuter (slicks and fenders) and pit bike. I also own a Merckx Alu-cross which is my cyclocross race bike. I don't really need it since I don't have to race bikes.

I want a bunch more bikes. I really want a bunch of Se7ens but then I'd have to win the lottery or something. I certainly don't need them.

I want a track bike enough that I'll probably actually get one this year. I certainly don't need it since the velodrome is 40 minutes away and it will be a one use only race bike.

All that said, I have put something on the order of 15,000 miles on that Redline over the past three years, raced it, done centuries on it, commuted on it. It's the only bike i really need. However, I've been thinking about swapping the frame out for an 853 Poprad.

In some ways, this is a simple diffusion problem.

At point ZERO we start with many AVAILABLE bikes that I don't HAVE but neither do I WANT. My universe is empty and unformed at this point.

At point N (ZERO+1), I decide I NEED certain bikes to fill certain VACANCIES in my universe. Those NEEDS become WANTS. As those NEEDS are fulfilled, the WANTS change priority from WANT TO ACQUIRE to WANT TO KEEP. Eventually all the NEEDS are filled and the universe achieves harmony from a NEED standpoint.

Barring ill behavior, all the formerly NEEDED bikes remain WANTED bikes. None have crossed me yet.

But, there remains the wildcard - things I don't really NEED but do WANT. These are more insidious and eat away at my resolve while I am trying to fall asleep at night. These do not represent a significant niche in my universe, but rather an interstitial place between former NEEDS. These are typically pretty paint jobs that would otherwise represent a duplication of technology.

The ones I don't want are simple - they're UGLY.

Need / Have
Race Bike - 2003 Giant TCR Aero Frame - mix of mostly newer parts
Training / Rain bike - Old Steel Trek 400 with a mix of old and new parts
Beater / Winter - Sort of old Giant Hybrid


Need / Don't Have
None

Want / Have
None

Want / Don't Have
None

I've got about all that I want / need at the moment and even have all the parts on the bikes I want and need for the moment.

I might be in the market for new shoes in the next couple of months. The carbon fiber soles are starting to pull away from the uppers. I will try some epoxy, It that doesn't work I will have to be looking for deals on good super stiff shoes.

In some ways, this is a simple diffusion problem.

At point ZERO we start with many AVAILABLE bikes that I don't HAVE but neither do I WANT. My universe is empty and unformed at this point.

At point N (ZERO+1), I decide I NEED certain bikes to fill certain VACANCIES in my universe. Those NEEDS become WANTS. As those NEEDS are fulfilled, the WANTS change priority from WANT TO ACQUIRE to WANT TO KEEP. Eventually all the NEEDS are filled and the universe achieves harmony from a NEED standpoint.

Barring ill behavior, all the formerly NEEDED bikes remain WANTED bikes. None have crossed me yet.

But, there remains the wildcard - things I don't really NEED but do WANT. These are more insidious and eat away at my resolve while I am trying to fall asleep at night. These do not represent a significant niche in my universe, but rather an interstitial place between former NEEDS. These are typically pretty paint jobs that would otherwise represent a duplication of technology.

The ones I don't want are simple - they're UGLY.

Terry,
I was wondering when you would get in on this thread. Your post just cracks me up...
So, its a law of averages where the speed divided by the volume multiplied by pi equals the ratio of bicyles needed over the bicycles wanted. That plus the fact that everything else is ugly is simple math, right?
Cheers, Wayne :D

I need one bike.

I have 9 bikes, all of which are my children and could not possibly be picked one or the other.

I want more bikes.

I figure I have enough parts to build two more complete bikes, but - alas - I need frames for them.

I NEED at least one - maybe two - good steel frames. Downtube shifter bosses and 1 inch headsets.


Anyone??

5 Bikes

Two carbon road bikes, one home, one away bike(keep at work)
One commuter bike (Zurich with panniers)
Fixed Gear
MTB Hardtail

I will replace the fixed gear sometime in the future.

Think of the entrance to my driveway as the source/drain of a field effect transistor. With the right amount of postive voltage applied to the gate, I am capable of riding a bicycle off my property and out into the world (voltage = my desire to go ride.) Similar for the opposite direction. With the right amount of negative voltage bicycles are capable of flowing into my driveway from the opposite direction. Voltage in this case = my desire for some bike, headroom on my credit card and a thorough job of convincing my wife why I need to satisfy that desire. However, in order for the bicycles to flow into my property, there must be enough vacancies in the lattice for bicycles to fit into. This is where storage comes into play and at the moment, the lattice is full. No bicycles can flow in unless I create more room in the lattice by removing some or building more lattice. It's all a simple matter of solid state electronics.

However, in order for the bicycles to flow into my property, there must be enough vacancies in the lattice for bicycles to fit into. This is where storage comes into play and at the moment, the lattice is full. No bicycles can flow in unless I create more room in the lattice by removing some or building more lattice. It's all a simple matter of solid state electronics. sounds a little more like a contorted version of the 2nd law of thermodynamics to me....I'll be more than happy to help you attain some lattice space :)

Some of the folks that frequent this site have so many bikes. (You know who you are) I'm trying to rationalize how many bikes I need vs.how many I want.
I'm wondering what other folks have and consider as a need vs. want.

I have 4 bikes thus far and believe I need all of them.

Need / Have
Commuter / Touring bike - 1970's Falcon Olympic
Race Bike - 2003 Allez Pro
MTN Trail bike - 2004 Enduro

Need / Don't Have
Winter Beater
CX Bike - I kinda have it already. I have an old bike I was considering building into a CX bike. It could double as the winter beater depending how nice the build turns out.

Want / Have
None

Want / Don't Have
TT bike
Mtn X/C race bike
SS Hardtail

How 'bout you?

want:
nice titanium main road bike
cyclocross racing bike
crit bike
commuter bike
lugged steel road bike
cyclocross 'have fun on' bike
time trial bike and/or triathlon bike
long ride/century bike (see lugged steel)
stage race bike

actually have: first 4 (Seven Alaris, Redline Conquest Pro, Giant TCR, a commuter bike built from my old CX bike).
actually need: one road or cyclocross bike.

Well, I have a carbon road bike and a freeride hardtail. For me my wants and needs are pretty much the same. The first on my list is a fixed gear (also do to some commuting on). Second is a cyclocross bike cause it looks like alot of fun. Third is a crosscountry full suspension bike. What is worse I guess is that I already know what I want exactly but ofcourse dont have the money. Anyone want to donate to the Pat's bike porn habit. There is a longer list but there is no point in me goin into it because that list is already $5000+ for three bike mentioned.

sounds a little more like a contorted version of the 2nd law of thermodynamics to me....I'll be more than happy to help you attain some lattice space :)

....or ramblings of an excessive compulsive justifying more bikes.

Don't take this the wrong way but racerx, toomanybikes and Terryb, you guys may want to consider therapy. You guys have more bikes than most mormans have wives....(not that there is anything wrong with that btw) To have a different ride every day of the week and 2 on Saturday & 2 on Sunday is well...... envious! I'm talking bikes by the way.... (Well this may apply to the "other" type of ride too but thats not want i'm talking about here.)

I don't suppose you guys have anything to contribute to the "Ack! I've been put on a :bike allowance" thread.... hmmmm?

TJ

There is some truth in all that jest.

In the warmer months I ride about 5 times a week on average. That means I plant myself on any given bike 1 time in about 3 weeks. With an annual goal of 6500 miles, most of them will see about 400 miles a year, assuming some of that 6500 is not consumed by riding an MTB.

So yea, it is a bit of wretched excess.

However, at 400 miles a year, they will probably last a long, long time. And when I'm an old geezer, I can spend some time selling immaculate vintage bikes from the early 21st century on whatever eBay has morphed into.

I did contribute to the "bike budget" thread BTW, I told him to find a new spouse. Like mine.

No bicycles can flow in unless I create more room in the lattice by removing some or building more lattice. It's all a simple matter of solid state electronics.

Terry, did you forget about interstitials? You have plenty of room! Your only concern would be to make sure the bicycles are not so large (or heavy) that they would excessively distort the lattice, otherwise you might wind up with an amorphous solid which I know you wouldn't want.

I'm wondering if Terry's universe exploded and was filled in a process similar to the Big Bang theory. Was n+1 a very short time? Also, is this an expanding universe or will it collapse back upon itself? A short history of time, perhaps?

Terry, did you forget about interstitials? You have plenty of room! Your only concern would be to make sure the bicycles are not so large (or heavy) that they would excessively distort the lattice, otherwise you might wind up with an amorphous solid which I know you wouldn't want.

I'm already using some of that, hanging them from the ceiling. :D

I'm wondering if Terry's universe exploded and was filled in a process similar to the Big Bang theory. Was n+1 a very short time? Also, is this an expanding universe or will it collapse back upon itself? A short history of time, perhaps?


Hmmm. n+1 was about 7 years so the growth rate was relatively rapid but also non-linear.

Have; 1 good road bike (Look kg461)
1 "back-up/commuter/rain" bike
1 fixed gear/ss
1 commuter/'cross bike
1 hard-tail mtb
1 old Gitane frame-was to be a fixed gear but may never be built-up.
Need? None of them, really, but I wouldn't be a happy or healthy boy. It's nice to have all of them but I've been toying with getting rid of the mtb-it hasn't been ridden in 2+ yrs. Probably will get rid of the Gitane, too. It was a nastalgic purchase (similar to my 1st real road bike).
Want to have? Nothing really, although in a yr or 2 I'd like to get a newer Look, a kg555 or 585, but I'd get rid of the 461 then.

Need / Have
relatively lightweight steel road and mountain bike


Need / Don't Have
don't know if i 'need' any specific bike, other then a general 'need' for bikes. tho i think i could survive, albeit not well, without one.

Want / Have
custom fillet brazed curtlo - modern road bike
custom fillet brazed curtlo single speed hardtail mountain bike
Gios Torino Super Record Strada, Aerodynamic and Professional
Waterford lugged x-11 cross frame and fork
too small '74 motobecane GJ fixie/fendered beater.

Want / Don't Have
40's or 50's Hetchins with curly stays
Early bates with cantiflex tubing and diadrant forks
Track bike
Tandem
Full cajones custom Baylis, Moon, Bohemian, Erickson, etc - one of them kinds of bikes :D
more room to put all these bikes

i like having a variety of bikes to ride. i ride all of them. some are better suited for some kinds of rides then others. i'll ride for awhile, then change it up for a relatively new experience. this also maintains my motivation for riding. it's like discovering a new toy all over again.

I need every bike that I've got

1 old touring bike - my do everything beater
2 modern road bikes - full carbon and lugged steel
(just so I can participate in all the flamefests on "steel is real" and "my carbon is better than your carbon"
1 road tandem (good intentions but way under-utilized)
1 HT MTB
_______________

need more bikes for my kids

daughter needs 52 cm road bike
son needs full susp MTB

Yes, I have too many bikes, too many wheels and - to be honest - not enough to ride them all.

It does not stop ,e wanting to add "just one more"

I love 'em and the way I look at it, and thankfully, so does my wife - there are a lot worse habits a middle aged guy could have.

If my mid-life crisis ends up being a Look or Colnago, that ain't so bad!!

Need to survive: 0.
Need to ensure the survival of my children: 0.

Want ...

Well, I have four. The difference in the amount of pleasure I get out of one bike over zero is pretty huge. The second bike is different from the first, and I like it, and I call it a commuter/trailer puller/trail-a-bike puller, but it's basically a second road bike and a pretty darn nice one at that. Going from one road bike to two didn't change my life a ton, but I like having the second bike nonetheless. Lessee ... then I just got a fixie, because I always wanted a fixie. I also have a basic old mountain bike (hardtail and hard fork too). So that's it. No real hankering for anything else at this point, and I'm not ambitious to be a collector (whatever exactly that is). It's at least conceivable that I'll cull the herd by one. We'll see.

Interesting.... it seems that most of the folks here HAVE, NEED or WANT an Mountain Bike. The folks here are not the "hard core roadies" as I first thought. Even TerryB, hard core extrordinaire, had made mention of a NEED for a HT Mtb even if it was just to "fill a gap in his technology spectrum" Hmm...

Also interesting is the fact that that no one made mention of a NEED or WANT for a 9" travel Go Big Hucker / Gravity Sled. I use to want one of those until I realized that age and strong bones are two things that you can only one of. I crack ribs twice last year and had a 50% compression fracture of T5 2 years ago.

I don't mind getting older... it just means that there are more younger women for me to oogle!

TJ

BTW: Not so interesting was that there was no mention of a NEED or WANT of a Unicycle. C'mon guys, isn't there anyone here aspiring to work for Ringling Bros and Barnam & Bailey?

have

Mondonico EL-OS
Specialized Sirrus

the Mondonico is my main bike, the Sirrus will function as a rain/winter/crappy conditions bike

Specialized Stumpjumper Comp
Specialized M2 Stumpjumper Comp
Rocky Mountain Blizzard

the Blizzard is now my main MTB. the steel Stump Comp will be an errand/dicking around town bike, maybe throw some slicks on it. don't really want to, but will probably sell the M2 Stump Comp

want/don't need

Tommasini, preferably an EL-OS with chromed lugs
Rivendell
Cinelli Super Corsa

and if i'm filthy rich, and can never have enough toys.

Merckx, preferably in 7/11 colors
maybe a Waterford

don't need

another mountain bike

Interesting.... it seems that most of the folks here HAVE, NEED or WANT an Mountain Bike. The folks here are not the "hard core roadies" as I first thought. Even TerryB, hard core extrordinaire, had made mention of a NEED for a HT Mtb even if it was just to "fill a gap in his technology spectrum" Hmm...

Also interesting is the fact that that no one made mention of a NEED or WANT for a 9" travel Go Big Hucker / Gravity Sled. I use to want one of those until I realized that age and strong bones are two things that you can only one of. I crack ribs twice last year and had a 50% compression fracture of T5 2 years ago.

I don't mind getting older... it just means that there are more younger women for me to oogle!

TJ

BTW: Not so interesting was that there was no mention of a NEED or WANT of a Unicycle. C'mon guys, isn't there anyone here aspiring to work for Ringling Bros and Barnam & Bailey?

Don't want or need a unicycle but I was ogling a Bob Jackson tandem the other day - certainly don't NEED it ( I guess ) - But I WAAAAANNTT it!!

do to budget issues with the growing family:
bianchi boron xl--keeping
coppi genius carbon
pinarello opera
waterford 1200
moser tk1 (54)
moser tk1 (56)--still new/unbuilt
c40
calfee tetra pro
colnago master--may keep
serotta coors light--keeping

so i had all i wanted--i've had more in the past, but sold those to get these, etc.
guess about all i might want one day is a moots.
I already miss the opera, and am sure to miss the c40 and calfee.

but really, one is good--i put in 4 hrs on the bianchi yesterday--beautiful day here in maryland, the 1st great day of hte spring.

jim

I have three bikes with specific purposes:

(1) Road bike: Giant TCR2. I kind of need it or I'm out of the road bike bit and I love the bike.

(2) Mtn Bike: Specialized Epic Comp. Dual boinger MTB. I also love this one.

(3) Mongoose Surge: Unsuspended hardtail converted to commuter duty.

Do I "need" these? Probably not. But I wouldn't be as happy without them. Do I want
nicer, newer gear? Yes. But I don't really "need" it. Yet. I plan on wearing things out
periodically.

coppi genius carbon and moser tk1?

coppi genius carbon and moser tk1?

Oh my, that Moser is lovely!!

hi

I have four built up bikes and two frame sets that I will slowly build up time and budget allows. I dont really need need more than three. I ride the Dean 3 times a week, the Sugar once a week and the rigid Fisher is my beach and town cruiser. The others are total luxury items that I don't need but I like. I have been guilty of buying several bikes and parting them out on ebay so I feel that what I have hasn't really cost me too much and there are alot more expensive hobbies than collecting old bikes.

John

Need / Have
Nice Road - Dean Ti Chorus 10
Nice Mtn - Fisher Sugar3 - XT 9
around town - old Fisher Rigid - LX 8

Need / Don't Have
I have more than I will ever need.

Want / Have
Look KG 96 NOS frame (90% complete Mavic group, looking for Mavic 25mm seatpost)
Alan vintage cross frame (currently 3/4 complete)

Want / Don't Have
Touring commuter type (a retro Bruce Gordon would be great)
Bontrager Hardtail (rigid vintage with horizontal dropouts for singlespeeding)

Have/ Don't Want
Kona hardtail (cheap inexpensive aluminum hardtail to tryout singlespeeding)

I'm one of those "horses for courses" kinda guys:

S-Works E-5 Road bike
Kona Jake the Snake cross bike
Dean 853 mtn bike
Custom Russ Denny Track bike

I really don't "need" any more bikes. If I were to buy another, it'd probably be a DS mtn bike 'just 'cause.' I could use another road bike just to have a backup. This is why I have another 6-8 pairs of wheels in the garage too!

It seems I'm getting the same way with motorcycles too... I just bought a KTM 640 ADV to go with my BMW R1150RT. Dual Sport/dirt and touring/road. All that's left is a Ducati or a 600-class sportbike to round out the stable.

M

...but probably can't get anyone else to agree. I'm now past the point where I don't even know for sure how many I have (it's well into the dozens), counting the built bikes, the frames waiting to be built and the frames that were left after I stripped bikes down for the parts. If I wanted to be rational, I could justify having one road bike, one touring bike, one 'cross bike, one MTB and possibly some kind of beater. Reaching the point where, for example, I have six of one make/model (Bianchi Axis) means I have crossed some sort of threshold that separates moderate enthusiasm from full-blown fetishism. Am I getting therapy? :D Hell, no! It's warped, but at least I'm not spending the money on crack or hookers.

Need / Have
Fixie....Gunnar Street Dog w steel fork/Fenders/Ride in anything
Speed Bike......Serotta Ottrott ST

Have/Don't need
Serotta Legend Ti........Getting ready to sell.
Lemond Buenos Aires......Getting ready to sell.

Want / Don't Have
Sachs Custom Steel.....On order, too long a wait (early 2007)

Custom Steel Fixie........This one is on the wish list, set up for either V brakes or Discs, Wide tires, fenders, track Dropouts and road Geometry with longer Chainstays for comfort.....steel fork of course. If I got this one, I'd sell the Gunnar and move the parts.

Merckx MX Leader, Molitani Orange. I had one of these many years ago and loved the ride and made the mistake of selling it (Life, stopped riding, I know I'm an idiot)........Now that they are not going to be made anymore, I want one. As soon as GVH reopens, order is going in.

LBS is trying to get me to go Mountain Biking..........Not sure I have the time, but ya never know.

Len

PS.....Need is a bad word related to bikes.

Hey Len,

I have a question - how does a bike like a Serotta Legend get moved into the "don't need" category?

I'm asking because I often review my inventory and try to decide if I should move some of them along. (I always end up with "no" because of the depreciation, but that's beside the point.) I never look at a custom and put it on my hypothetical short list, only the rack bikes. I'm not sure I could get my brain wrapped around the idea of selling something I had made with me in mind. And add to that the fact that a Legend is, well, legendary. How does a bike like that become superfluous?

and one i go back and forth on.

Truth is that I bought the Legend after my accident (broke back, ribs & collarbone). I love the bike, fits me great etc.....but, about a year ago I bought a perfectly sized, could have been customized for me, Ottrott ST off the Serotta site auction for quite a bit less than the Legend cost me (I threw a bid based on what I thought I could sell the used Legend Frame & Fork for figuring that worst case I'd learn how an Ottrott really rode and If I liked it, I could sell the Legend and get an upgrade to an Ottrott for nothing). Anyway, I won the auction and after riding the bike for a year, I never ride the Legend (I'm ashamed to say that it's on the trainer now)......the difference is incredible (and this from someone who loved the Legend).

So now I have two wonderful bikes with one just gathering dust. I travel for work and am only able to ride on the weekends so it is even harder to justify keeping the Legend. In addition, I am Jonesing to have something different as a backup bike.........and I really loved the MX leader, and it does have a different ride feel.....so I'm leaning to selling the Legend and buying the 2004 Leader. (Yea Yea I know, I have a steel bike coming with the Sachs.)

I'm not totally convinced, but I can't mentally justify the kind of collection you have so this is how I'm leaning. (My wife is convinced that I'll buy the Merckx and forget to sell the Legend....she may be right....I think it's called building a collection by default),

I don't know what to do.

Terry, aren't there some customs that you have that you just never ride (Or ride much less)? How do you justify keeping them?

Help a bike nut out.

Len

"Need" is a pretty high threshold... I'd classify my bike needs/wants as follows:

Need / Have
Road: Colnago C40 B-Stay/Record CF
MTB: Klein Pulse Pro
Track: Bianchi Pista Concept/Record Pista

Need / Don't Have
Vintage California Masi by Eisentraut

Want / Have
C50 HM/Record CF
Dogma/Record CF
Prince/Record CF
Bianchi Pista
Ciocc Designer 84/Super Record
Custom Marinoni Special/Super Record

Want / Don't Have
None

Terry, aren't there some customs that you have that you just never ride (Or ride much less)? How do you justify keeping them?

Help a bike nut out.

Len


Len - I ride them all, the same amount, each year.

I know this might sound a wee bit OCD, but at the start of the year I set a mileage goal. I divide that up by how many bikes I'm fielding at the moment and that's what each one will get. When I ride, I keep track in a spreadsheet, and the individual bike goals are decremented by the amount of each ride. Whichever one has the least mileage at any point is the one that gets ridden (I have some semi-fancy special formatting in Excel that highlights which one needs to be ridden.) Some bikes don't get a full share - my SS for example gets about 50% and my MTBs don't factor in. Whatever I do on the dirt is taken right off the top of the total mileage goal and thus the road bike shares are reduced equally.

Now there are a few exceptions. I might pick something fancier for a big organized ride, so some might get a few more miles than others, but they all stay pretty close.

So really, I don't have any problem justifying any of them. The only problem I have now is that I don't have much space left, and honestly, it feels pretty weird to start the year riding 2-3 times a week and thus wait more than a month to get on some of them. All that plus I really like building bikes and I know I simply cannot go on doing a couple of year without building a barn to house them.

Next year, I may start buying a frame or two and taking some of them apart. Assuming I can figure out which ones to do that to. And that is why I don't sell any of them.

I'm a "favorite" kind of guy. I look forward, each week to my two riding days, and want the rides to be great.......I could never "spread the Love" equally.

I'll figure it out..

BTW, this is a nice problem to have.

Len

While I have 10 bikes in my "shed", in all fairness only *8* belong to me...

Need / Have
1998 Carrera Hercules (Asics) my commuter, sometimes travel and rainy-day training bike
2003 Colnago Asso (Belongs to the team - used for racing/training)
2004 Bremelli Cyclocross (Belongs to the team - used for racing/training)

I don't drive and need the Carrera to get around.
I also have great difficulty imagining a life w/out training and racing -- so I *need* the race bikes.

Need / don't Have
I do not *need* any more bikes!

Want / Have
1995 Concorde S&S-coupled Columbus Brain steel travel bike
1996 Cavallo Marino Columbus SL fixed gear
2000 Classic (Litespeed) set up as *mountain* bike -e.g. tricked out w/ lightweight components for the mountains.
2001 Gitane Cyclocross

The Concorde (still in progress) was the result of a ridiculously good deal on the frame, a fortuitous drop in the euro-dollar exchange rate and my fatigue at having to lug the Carrera around the world to keep training whilst travelling.
The Classic was a splurge for a professional milestone and I look forward to riding it everytime I'm off to the Pyrenees, the Alpes or to Provence.
The Gitane I ride for training purposes and, recently, to accompany my mountain-bikeing daughter wherever she goes!


Want / Don't Have
Possibly a Time or Look full Carbon to see what the buzz is about

Have / unreasonably hold onto....

1988 Wicked Fat Chance (7 speed thumb shifters and touring braze-ons)
1992 Bike Friday Drop-bar New World Tourist and Suitcase Travel system.
1999 Peugeot Columbus Brain TT project.

The Fat Chance I hardly use anymore since I tend to do most of my "mountain biking" on a cyclocross rig -- but I've ridden this baby all over the San Juan range of Colorado, the forests of central TN and toured several times with it... too many good memories!
The Bike friday is just too cool and, although the gearing is to easy, I like the idea of walking out of the airport/station, unpacking the bike, sticking the wheels on the suitcase and heading off down the road w/ the entire world to be discovered. Last time I did this was in 1999 and wandered all over the southern coast of Finland! I keep it for its potential.
The Peugeot is still in the middle of being converted into a TT bike -- but I get to use one of the team's when I race so this project is on hold.

A+

Philippe

I just noticed that the name of half of those bikes all start with the same letter as my last name... hmmm, what does that mean?....