when do you reach "too many bikes"

[RickTheUncivil]

I agree with 3 of the above...
1) when you run out of space / money its time to stop
2) I partly agree with the 'if it isn't being ridden' approach, but with the caveat of 'unless its a garage queen / museum peice or sentimental', they are special and dont count
3) if you have many the same - why?

That said, I have a lobo that doesn't get ridden, 3 projects on the go (zaskar, backwoods, hantrax, plus the RC200 when Dan has finished breathing new life into it) that I dont know what I'm going to do with when I'm done. I have the hei hei, evo, B17 and explosif for actually riding already in the shed ready to go, and they don't get much use as it is! Logic there is the hei hei is the nice retro one, the orange is the modern reliable one and the B17 is the bouncy one. Seems sensible to me!

My reality check is the space. I have a 5 rack stand and 2 on the wall, thats my store and it shall not be exceeded, so there will be culling and changing over time. The decision on which to keep is led by the 'if it isnt being ridden' and 'if its the same' logic.

I would also say that 7 is too many given the amount of use they get. I started out with one (obviously), and then a spare became a spare and a project, then an 'ooh thats nice' and a 'ooh, thats a bargain'...

bottom line - when the love is gone, so is the bike

 

[MarinMartin]

Re:

At my peak I had 16 bikes (13 riding). I became the adoption centre for unwanted bikes

Last year I sold a lot of the cheaper ones to concentrate on the more expensive, more usable ones so went down to 7.

This week I'm selling some of my most prized ones not because I need the money but because I want to learn to break emotional attachments and now I'm down to 3 bikes.

I'm hoping that maybe, just maybe one day I'll have only 1 bike again. (plan for next year)

 

[boswell]

Re:

I suppose it's down to the individual, money and space.

Personally I have 3 rigid '95 Pace for road rides, '01 Marin Mount Vision for off road and '97 Marin Mount Vision for camper van holidays.

 

[t wild]

I have two along with my wife's and the kids in the shed one at my brothers and two in pieces in my storage box with various wheels. No more room. But I'm still picking up another complete and a frame this weekend. Nowhere to put them but I can't help it. I'm going to build and sell one hopefully from my parts bin and strip the complete bike because it's mostly tat with a couple of parts I want. The upcoming bike frames in the shed Tetris championship should be a walkover.

 

[shamobius]

3-4 weekly riders, 3-4 rare and gentle occasional riders, all ready to roll. Not there yet but that's the goal!

 

[dirttorpedo]

Re:

Wow, nice collection. For me its when my wife starts telling me I have too many bikes. Any I have nowhere near as many as you - I think I'm on 6 functional and two vintage projects. I'm trying to sell one as we speak. My collection is a mix of practical and modern bikes and a few vintage/retro.

 

[dirttorpedo]

I try to use the spark joy approach to bikes. If I don't ride it or if it doesn't spark joy when I do ride it, I should get rid of it or replace it.

 

[Lhatch4]

I've been watching this thread for a while and I still don't understand. What is this "Too many bikes" thing you speak of? I can understand not having enough storage space but that is a storage space problem isn't it?

 

[shamobius]

Yes. And I pity the poor buggers that have to make do with an apartment storage locker. My wife can't stand clutter, and that's all she sees when looking in to my bike laboratory...

 

[Lhatch4]

I like "bike laboratory." It sounds so much nicer than shed. A shed is for junk you don't want in your house. A bike laboratory is for science obviously. I propose we all change our nomenclature.