Talk me out of acquiring a new bike

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vexed87
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Talk me out of acquiring a new bike

Post by vexed87 »

I find myself wanting to add an new bike to my collection. This is definitely a want, I've tried putting it on the 30 day cool off wish list, but find myself spending my lunch break today researching Surly Straggler frames, I think I need some advice from my favourite financial planners :lol:.

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I currently commute 17-18 miles a day (round trip). I don't do enough shopping on bikes because I don't currently have a bike that takes panniers, so I'm limited to my backpack space which can be a pain.

My main bike is a road racer, I do 90% of my riding on this, however it has tight clearances (only takes 700 x 25c wheels) which makes running mudguards problematic (constant rubbing of rear wheel in particular, I have tried 3 different types of mudguard now with no success, all too tight under the brake calliper, even the cut out ones). Also, it doesn't have braze-on's for a pannier rack. I've tried seatpost mounted racks and P-clip and QR mounted racks, both were problematic for various reasons, so this bike will never be any more than a summer sprinter - I think need something for the winter and more utilitarian, but I love this bike and don't want to give it up.

I also have a singlespeed which was sort of an impulse purchase, but I rationalised it because I was having the fiddly derailleur issues with my road racer and needed a simple run around until I managed to sort out the issues. This doesn't take rack or fender and has an aggressive geometry which makes it unsuitable for winter riding.

Now I want to add a third bike... obviously space isn't an issue. Am I being foolish to add another bike to my collection, admittedly one that will only be ridden in the worst of weather and when I need to go to the shops? How many bikes do you have? When is enough really enough? :roll: :twisted:

FBeyer
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Re: Talk me out of acquiring a new bike

Post by FBeyer »

I'll quote Sheldon Brown:
You need at most N bicycles, where N-1 is the number of bicycles you currently own...
I have 3:
A Marin single speed that is so quiet that the only sound it makes is wheels against tarmac. It's the most zen night-ride you can imagine. Think of riding at 3 at night and the only sound you hear is the whisper of wheels.

Hand-built Pashley Guv'nor. Winter ride... I know, not fair against such a beautiful bike. It's complete shit mechanically and very expensive. Bought before ERE set in. JUST before I bought the book actually :oops:

A heavy-ass cruiser if everything else is totally broken. Was free. Free is good!

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C40
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Re: Talk me out of acquiring a new bike

Post by C40 »

Why not sell both your current bikes and buy one that can do what you need? You use your bike a lot, so it's worth having one that can carry things.

Also, bikes are something you totally don't need to purchase new (unless, maybe, you live in a very sparsely populated area). For bike buying, checking Craigslist daily (and whatever other means you use) and being patient pays off.

vexed87
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Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2015 8:02 am
Location: Yorkshire, UK

Re: Talk me out of acquiring a new bike

Post by vexed87 »

C40 wrote:...and being patient pays off.
Yeah you're right, if I narrow this down to a particular make, frame and colour it's going to cost me. I'll set up some ebay searches and hang around the classifieds until something comes up in the right size*.

I wouldn't be so attached to my current bike if I could build/acquire one even better :)

*This is my main problem when it comes to second hand, hard to get my size as I'm taller than most, though my size tends to be in the sales often enough, L or XL sized frames.

enigmaT120
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Re: Talk me out of acquiring a new bike

Post by enigmaT120 »

I commute on my Fargo and expect to use it for bike camping eventually. I have a '93 Rocky Mountain Fusion a guy gave me that I use for now, for day trip exploring of the logging roads and stuff. I just picked up a folding bike pretty cheap, an knock off of a Dahon that easily fits in the back of my car so that I can take a bike when I have to travel for work.

SavingWithBabies
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Re: Talk me out of acquiring a new bike

Post by SavingWithBabies »

Have you thought about going for something a little more classic? There are a lot of touring bikes out there. The older Cannondale ST400+ can be really nice. If you find one with low usage, the original equipment can be in great shape. It will have mounts for your rear/front racks, room for mud guards, etc. They are overbuilt aluminum frames with usually a steel fork. I personally find the ride to be comfortable and fun. I use a rear rack on mine with an pannier on one side.

I would keep the fast bike, get rid of the single speed and add a touring bicycle. I guess I'm not helping but... Oh, and they also come in 25" which is about 62-63cm however due to the geometry, it's supposedly comfortable to be slightly too big.

I just realized you're in the UK. I don't know if the older Cannondale bicycles made it there (and if so, in enough quantity to be available readily on the used market).

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Ego
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Re: Talk me out of acquiring a new bike

Post by Ego »

One way to look at it is to ask yourself what you are buying when you make the purchase. If you were to assign a value to the things this bike would allow you to do that you cannot do now with your current bike, how much would that be worth? Of course, that is only part of the equation, but for many that is the most important factor.

If the ((purchase price) - (PV of expected resale value) - (PV of expected maintenance/storage expenses)) < ((utility) + (increased status*)) then buy.

Shop smart (buy winter, sell summer) and your purchase price could be less than your expected resale plus expenses. When that happens, free!

*All the semi-cool kids have Surlys and the really cool kids have Salsas :D . In the UK the really cool kids have Thorns or Oxfords.

CS
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Re: Talk me out of acquiring a new bike

Post by CS »

Enough bikes is relative. My dad has/has had 38 of them. He has ridden half a million miles in his lifetime (more actually, that figure is from a while ago). It's an obsession.

He also, oddly enough, provides free bikes for the rest of us. He finds them all over the place... put out as trash. People don't know how to make the most basic repairs and so chuck the whole thing. He can do just about every repair on a bike except weld the sucker (and he has friends that do that). I just gave my mom my verrrry nice Trek that he had gotten off the street when it was left with the other refuse.

Regarding your question: If it will be useful to you, then why not? If you don't want the carrying costs of three bikes, then get rid of one of the others that is less useful (and give yourself permission to change your mind about them). But if the new bike is just "ohhhh, shiny thing", then it won't be a good purchase long term. To earn your esteem it has to be useful.

vexed87
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Re: Talk me out of acquiring a new bike

Post by vexed87 »

Well the patience paid off, in the end I put the singlespeed on gumtree last week, hopefully that will sell soon, I'm just waiting for the right buyer. I've had someone offer the asking price but they wanted to deal with couriers, cba with that hassle. Also, there's lots of scammers using paypal to pay for goods, arranging their own couriers and then claim the goods never arrived or arrived damaged and angle for refunds, this person may have been genuine but I was suspicious of the story they were spinning, an oil rig worker, needed to buy a bike for a relative, yeah right! :lol: :evil:

Fingers crossed someone local will bite soon. Once sold, I'll use it to recoup funds of components for a used Surly Long Haul Trucker Disc frame I just picked up on ebay. It used but practically brand new, ridden just a few times, massive bargain and just what I wanted. Loads of components are in the winter sales right now too. I've taken a list of the cheapest stuff I could find and asked my LBS to see what they can match/beat, it's going to take them a few days to get back to me. They're holding the bike to fit the headset, the only thing I don't have the tools for at home.

I'm probably sticking with the low cost MTB Deore components for the boring stuff, like cranks, pedals, front derailleur, but mixed in the mid spec XT for the derailleur, chain, hubs, spending more money where it counts. Hopefully I can do this for sub £1000, all in, this includes pricy dynamo hub + lights, panniers and mudguards. Finally I'll be able to do away with needing access to DW's car for hauling shopping, this has been a want for some time.

enigmaT120
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Re: Talk me out of acquiring a new bike

Post by enigmaT120 »

I love the Deore brifters that came on my Rocky Mountain Fusion. 1993 and they work perfectly. Maybe they were top of the line then, I don't know.

vexed87
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Re: Talk me out of acquiring a new bike

Post by vexed87 »

I'll be fitting a drop bar, so need something like these: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/tekt ... -prod34840

And for shifting I'll be using the old school friction bar end shifters, the frame has downtube mounts, but I'd like to try the bar ends so it's not a massive departure from what I'm used to (STI levers on the road bike).

I have a buyer for my SS, hopefully they'll turn up. :D

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Ego
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Re: Talk me out of acquiring a new bike

Post by Ego »

Peer with me for a moment into the mind of a financial writer under the influence of motivated reasoning regarding his bicycle purchase.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/22/your- ... -love.html

vexed87
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Re: Talk me out of acquiring a new bike

Post by vexed87 »

@Ego, I can relate to that... so, is this motivated reasoning an evil form of self-delusion or not? Obviously a decision to buy is always a personal value judgement, but where do we draw the line when it comes to spending $5000 on a fancy bike? I guess from an ERE perspective, it's a no-no, 5k is off the charts and destructive to our financial goals! Personally, I'd never spend that much on a bike, I couldn't see the need to, my road bike cost £700 off the shelf and may well have been my favourite purchase of all time, saving me orders of magnitude more on transportation costs. A second bike will offer me more comfort and convenience, but it's harder to justify the spending on that alone.

I gravitated towards a DIY build as I can fit everything I love, for instance my new brooks saddle, the old school friction shifters, the baby blue frame... Who know's if I'll love my new Disc Trucker as much as my road racer, but for commuting in bad weather, and hauling stuff, it will definitely make life less frustrating. I know I can do this much cheaper than I am, even though I bought the frame second hand, the components are mostly new... but there's something about hand picking every last component means I can't stop thinking about this bike...

Maybe I love it, or just the idea of it... I'm not sure. I'll report back when I get it on the road. :twisted:

Its interesting to see what mental hoops others jump through before acquiring more stuff.

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Ego
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Re: Talk me out of acquiring a new bike

Post by Ego »

@vexed, me too. Yeah, I think motivated reasoning is a form of evil self delusion. After posting that this morning I went for a ride on my work-in-progress touring bike which is certainly better than the $29 thrift shop bike I used on our last tour. But is the difference worth $700? The more I think about it, the more I think I employed a little too much motivated reasoning to my decision.

tommytebco
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Re: Talk me out of acquiring a new bike

Post by tommytebco »

when I had new bike fever, a friend told me that bike performance was 95% wheels and tires. My $100 bike got a few hundred $ of wheels and tires and it rode well enough for 1000s of miles. My goal was to pass the guys with $2000 bikes on my grocery store baby. I never quite made it, but I did ride on their rear wheels pretty well

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