[Closed] Forum members with lots of cash, how do you not buy loads of bikes?

We buy cars instead...

They have lots of money because they [i]don't[/i] buy loads of bikes & cars 😉

I am not one of these people...

I think the real question here should be

Forum members with very little cash, how do you buy loads of bikes?

We choose bikes wisely, it's a trait we have.. Like we don't waste money on trivial things, we tend to take time and choose something we want, assess it, think more about it, research it, buy it, keep it for ages, then look after it.

When it comes to replacement, we do the above.

But it all comes down to we know what we want.

More bikes means more maintenance and more stuff just sitting around getting in the way. We do have ...um...9...between the 2 of us though, if you include unis and tandems. Only 4 ordinary bikes though. Out of the 9, only 4 are actually in proper riding condition right now.

Space in the house.

children take all the money
next the wife
next the house
etc
etc
etc

Painful death from "She who must be obeyed".....twice and at some length

Forum members with very little cash, how do you buy loads of bikes?

Secondhand/cobbled-together/recycled etc etc

I did have 5 a few years back, while a student and also while giving quite a lot of money away.... but that's another story.

Now down to just 3 and only one of those cost me >£500

We choose bikes wisely, it's a trait we have.. Like we don't waste money on trivial things, we tend to take time and choose something we want, assess it, think more about it, research it, buy it, keep it for ages, then look after it.

When it comes to replacement, we do the above.

This ^
coming from a council house/free school meals upbringing I'm more of a saver than a spender so will buy wisely and keep for a long time rather than constantly chop and change and tend to buy something good at first instead of the usual bike to work>upgrade wheels> better group set> better frame etc.
Having friends in the industry and never paying proper money helps too 🙂

IMO Best having 2 really good expensive bikes that are a real pleasure to ride rather than 5 mediocre bikes..

Coke & hookers?

What do you class as mediocre bikes??.Always wonder this do people have more fun riding a £5k bike over a £2k one??Don't see myself.

More bikes just means more time thinking you'd have been better off riding one of the others rather than the one you're on. It's bad enough with a hardtail, a Fs and a road bike. Why add more?

Not enough space. I need a bigger house. It's not that I can't afford that, but it's the immense hassle in selling up and moving. Plus means getting a mortgage again when I've paid mine off, and that means less money for bikes. Though there'd always be enough 😀

What do you class as mediocre bikes??

The ones that dont ride as well as the good ones.

Not necessarily more expensive btw

I think that old 'N+1' thing is a bit silly*. 3 or 4 bikes is all most of us would ever need and they don't need to be pricey either, value of a bike is not really related to £ cost, more about what it does for your riding enjoment.
Really high-end bikes are nice but you need to be able to afford to not get precious and 'baby' them, they're made to be worn out so you may as well enjoy doing it. That's why cheaper but really suitable, well-handling bikes are so good imo.

Not in the lots of cash camp here, just have access to a lot of bikes. 14 in my garage was the breaking point, like the kid made to smoke the whole pack when caught - it works.

*keeps a few of us on here employed though so I'm not complaining : )

What do you class as mediocre bikes??.Always wonder this do people have more fun riding a £5k bike over a £2k one??Don't see myself.

I do, But I can't afford £5000 so I wait for a great S/h one to come up for £2000.

I could buy a brand new car, a bigger house, carbon 'cruz etc but having lived through really leantimes I'd prefer money in the bank.

I still get to own 'trail bike of the year' and an ace steel Ritchey roadbike so I dont feel short changed.

People that buy lots of bikes, put droppers on all etc etc I think its not a fun hobby anymore. Its unhealthy.

I got bored of having 5 or 6 different bikes that I rarely rode and consolidated into a really nice 5" travel mtb that is ace for pretty much everything I ride, and a CX bike that covers road riding when I (infrequently) do it or the longer, bridle way and 'light' off road stuff that the mtb is a bit much for. Mtb is worth a good 4k+ but the CX bike less than £400. Not about the amount spent as much as getting exactly what I want, if it costs more I will pay it but not just because I want the expensive version of whatever component I is.
Enjoy riding them both far more than when I had a different bike for every different type of riding.
Still covet shiny things though, just don't actually buy them.

I have a road bike, a mountain bike and a commuting bike. Civil rs all my resume riding. None of them cost more than my lads recentvflute purchase.

I can see a "need" for a CX for a lot of my riding, but otherwise if I had money I'd just buy better versions of those 3

I see we are all different.I only use cheaper bikes to commute to work as they get covered in salt through the winter plus I am into road/cross/MTB 2 bikes would not be another 😉

From personal experience when I didn't have much spare money to spend I wanted things, Now that I have a fair bit of spare cash I want less, I have a look at things and think 'nah I don't need that'. I have all the bikes I need at the moment and only bike I could see me buying in the next few years is a new commuter as my winter one is getting a bit tired.

Don't count myself as having "loads of money" but I'm naturally careful with money and will take forever justifying spending it. Sometimes this is enough to quell the desire to spend. Currently have five full bikes in the garage and in the process of acquiring another but that will mean one getting sold in order to release some funds.

If you have lots of spare money how do you not buy lots of different bikes?

Space, mainly.

But also that at the sharp end of a specific discipline/niche I'm not proficient enough to need a specific bike. I'd love a DH bike, a DJ bike, a super light XC bike and a 20in trials bike, but I just wouldn't do them justice so no point having them

People that buy lots of bikes, put droppers on all etc etc I think its not a fun hobby anymore. Its unhealthy

Nah, it's really, really fun...

.Always wonder this do people have more fun riding a £5k bike over a £2k one??Don't see myself.

Absolutely not, in group rides, is the size of someone's smile at the end of an ace trail/ride different based on the value of their bike? I say this as an owner of bikes at the 😯 end of the price spectrum.

I ****ing love bikes

/\ that

People that buy lots of bikes, put droppers on all etc etc I think its not a fun hobby anymore. Its unhealthy

Why do you think that exactly?

I used to have 10 bikes but recently cut down to 6. Came to the conclusion that it's better to have less really good bikes than more average ones. Now I have my nomad I honestly think I could get rid of my other mtb's and just have the one. I have an anthem that just doesn't suit my type of riding. It's about the most boring bike I have ever owned and I wish I could get rid but it's worth nothing. It's only good for canal towpaths and I could probably fall asleep riding it.
With regards to the financial side of owning 10 I just saved for them or built them over time. I'm very proud that I have never borrowed to buy them and if I can't afford something I don't buy it until I can.
Also why is running more bikes not the same cost as running one but doing more miles? When I had one bike I don't remember changing the chain or other consumables every few weeks but one of my bikes always needs something.

I've been riding a good few years and gradually realised where, what and how I like to ride, my tastes have changed over the years from xc racer to technical trail riding and have bikes built for the riding I enjoy, I have spent too much over the years to think about it, but now I really don't need to change them......I would like a carbon road bike now though

I buy 2nd hand cars...but new bike frame and swap all the components.

You have a soul, what more do you need ?

Why? Keeping a row of bikes, all with decent kit on whereas nowadays a decent trail bike can cover many terrain types happily
I see it like a woman obsessed with buying handbags and shoes.

I see it like a woman obsessed with buying handbags and shoes.

I find that funny coming from a serial bike buyer/swapper.
A couple of my bikes are £4.5k each the others £1-2k, thinking about another £4.5k+ bike in the future yet I have only ever got rid of 3 frames in 15 years of cycling and own 5 bikes
I think that's less "unhealthy" than years of jumping from one frame to another because of percieved issues with them or thinking the next purchase is going to make the riding experience better?

3 bikes for me(the only 3 I've ever bought as it happens), an alloy hardtail '05 Trek mtb bought for £200 a year ago, an alloy Trek '00 roadbike bought for £750 in 2001 and a steel Specialized touring/CX? bike bought for £125 recently to move Jr around in a rear mounted seat, which I am enjoying riding a lot.

Reckon I'll always see the benefit in having a local beater, a road bike and a mtb bike.

n+1 says tandem next. Or fixie. Or full squish...

The biggest challenge to 'the next bike' is in my view not so much the expense but the time commitment to maintenance.

I only enjoy riding one type of stuff so my decent bike is the only one i need to be decent! My road bike etc is shite because I dont like riding road, xc etc etc.

Fancy a bmx or jump bike again though...

I have to really really want a bike before I'll buy a new one. As has already been said, I research and research and not things for the sake of it.

Some times the money to buy lots of bikes comes at the cost of time to actually ride them 😥

There are other bikes I'd like but I don't get enough time on the ones I have

People with a lot of money generally don't have a lot of time. I could buy another bike that cost £5k+ and not notice it in my bank account but it would piss me off because I wouldn't have time to ride it. I also put a lot of effort into freeing up time to do things like ride my bike and things like researching which bike to buy, shopping around, arranging test rides, setting up a new bike, swapping tyres etc. would all go counter to that.

I've got a nice a nice balance of income v's time at the moment. I have a contract for 39 hours a week but I'm done my 12 on Friday so have lots of time to ride.
Usually home by 5.30 in the week and I only live 5 mins from Caesars camp in Hampshire.

I do ok, but firmly decided that I would work to always have time and live next to trails. I have two nice bikes and lots of time to ride them. I could be wealthier but I support my family, not reliant on benefits and give a bit away each month to charity. My time is my wealth!

You can only ride one at a time!....I keep a hardtail in fine fettle in case a mate who doesn't ride wants to join me on a one-off ride.

Otherwise I have too many other hobbies that divert funds from bikes.
I could have a new 5k bike each year (yes, I've just realised how much of a **** that makes me sound) but I prefer instead to have a motorcycle too, I also play golf, play squash, go sea fishing, coarse fishing, gym membership etc etc....I know I would be bored if I restricted myself to just the one hobby, in order to do them all and have the required equipment for each of them I choose to ride modest bikes and limit the number I own.

Currently have three; a road bike, a full suss and a hardtail.

The hardtail cost less than 1k to build, the full suss came to 2.5k and the road bike was 1k.

I'm trying not to buy the Trek 69er root beer I have always wanted

People always want more no matter what it is and no matter how much money they have.
You can never have enough of anything,
That is the sad, human condition.
Whatever you have is never enough.

Also,bikes aren't the the only thing I'm into.
Ad, cars watches, holidays etc to the list and soon the momey is spread out across quite a few hobbies.

I got lots of money in savings but the reason I don't spend more on bikes than I have to is that I imagine how much crap I've gone through working & commuting X amount of hours to earn the money that it cost to buy the bike or accessory.

I got lots of money in savings but the reason I don't spend more on bikes than I have to is that I imagine how much crap I've gone through working & commuting X amount of hours to earn the money that it cost to buy the bike or accessory.

What are you saving for? Not enjoying the fruits of your labour seems daft to me. No one said, on their death bed, 'I wish I'd saved more'.

I wouldn't say I have *lots* of cash, but we do OK and don't splurge on fancy cars or holidays or whatever, which gives me a bit to spend on bikes. So I have a rule to stop me buying too many: they all have to be green. Properly green, all over the frame, not just with green bits on them.

I have six at the moment. God knows how many I'd have otherwise.

2 good incomes limited debt (mortgage only) and no kids. Now have 6.5 bikes.. you end up buying upgrades all the time and convincing yourself each bike does something different... so nomad cc, pp shan , high spec anthem and a carbon roaddie for me. Mrs has a stumpjumper and a specialized roaddie. Plus i own half a trials bike.... its really hard not to be taken in with all the marketing bs but here i am trying to not convince myself that a for the week it snows here a fatbike could be worth it.....

Nb mint imperial you want one of these...
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I love the posts they say 'I've got all the bikes I'll ever need............but I would like...X' also some serious addiction is evident. 🙂

You only crave what you can't have.

[i]People always want more no matter what it is and no matter how much money they have.
You can never have enough of anything,
That is the sad, human condition.
Whatever you have is never enough.[/i]

Not in my case, I wanted when I couldn't have, now I can have what I want I don't want it.

Children definitely put a stop to splashing out on bikes for me. I used to want all the latest gear but now I'm just as happy running SLX as XTR and don't change things until it's absolutely necessary. I still have 5 bikes but nothing repeating itself. I race on all of them so they get good use in my eyes.

Double post

Ah yes children. Its like taking on a member of staff in your household costwise.

Space in my flat limits me. Still have 5 though

Some people just do buy a lot of bikes. Personally I have a commuter, used daily. A bouncy MTB, 2008 Five, used for dirty riding (frame bought second hand), a roadie bought for £40 from a mate, again nothing fancy and a BMX, just for the track. It makes my garage look like I have loads of bikes, but overall value isn't huge.

People with a lot of money generally don't have a lot of time. I could buy another bike that cost £5k+ and not notice it in my bank account but it would piss me off because I wouldn't have time to ride it.

beefheart - Member
People always want more no matter what it is and no matter how much money they have.
You can never have enough of anything,
That is the sad, human condition.
Whatever you have is never enough.

Some people can control their spending, others struggle more. It's not always related to how much money they have.

When I had a very high income for a few years I had a high turnover of bikes, but mainly stuck to secondhand or discounted models to limit my exposure.

In my experience it's accessories, upgrades and impulse purchases which cost more than actual bikes, when you've got a good disposable income.

I'm in the lucky position of having a decent salary and having no debts and don't spend anywhere near what I earn. I've three bikes: a road bike (bought by my wife for my 50th); a commuter/tourer and a hardtail. These cover probably 99% of all my cycling requirements - the remaining 1% would be for visiting trail centres which I rarely do.

So although I [b]can afford[/b] to buy another bike or indeed several, I choose not to because I don't [b]need[/b] another. Another factor is that all the bikes are kept in the house so there's a physical limit to the number (my wife has four bikes as well).

If others want to spend their money on a new bike each year or whatever then I'm fine with that, it's their money.

In my case you get to the point of 'there are a lot of things not getting proper use.' Then it's just stuff cluttering up the house, or in my case the bike dungeon. Moving stuff to work on bikes is nonsense, as is working on bikes when you should be with your kids or riding. Also the ever changing tool requirements is a bit dull. Kind of an archaeology to the tool chest- for example the BBs (including ISIS) over the last 20 years largely needed different tools. Grrr.

Ive just bought a Diesel shirt from Tkmaxx. I think this describes my spending approach

The ability to go out and buy any bike any time pretty much removes the consumer lust from the purchase so the decision to buy or not is made on far better criteria than just "I want". I've not seen anything in the last few years that would enable me to enjoy a bike ride more than I do now, I don't need different wheel sizes, or plusher suspension. Those things might make the ride faster but it wouldn't make it more fun.

I've currently got 5 bikes but none of them are less than 8 years old with the oldest being more than 25 years old. If anything I've probably got two bikes more than I need as there are two that rarely get used.

I tend to use my bikes in certain places only.Take today rode my Superfly around the Ridgeway and up by Lansdown Tower and Avebury great bike for the area.Yes you could ride a 6"travel bike around there but is a waste of energy to much bike.Have use a CX bike around the same area but ground is to hard now bit hard on the body.Have used an EX8 there to in the past also thought that was overbiked.Yet the EX8 is great in the FOD.Just my way of looking at it.Best bike I have ever ridden on the Purbecks was the Superfly.We are all different.Yet to try a Fat Bike will get one someday 😆

I certainly dont have lots of cash but i now have 13. Every time i say no more i find something else i just have to have. The latest is a 1948 raleigh record ace waiting to be built up with royce components and a klein quantum.

I work hard enough that I'm in a position to buy pretty much whatever bikes I could want. But I don't like things to go to waste. So I've got a decent summer road bike, a very nice mountain bike, and about the take delivery of a nice cx bike to replace my winter road bike. I'd rather have a small amount of very good things that I use regularly, than a lot of average things that I don't.

Ive just bought a Diesel shirt from Tkmaxx. I think this describes my spending approach

What's buying a 3 year old tee shirt, from what can only be described as a permeant jumble sale got to do with buying bikes?

Reread, it describes my approach to buying. Buy good stuff but cheap. Rare though in tkmaxx nowadays though but thats by the by.

I've got 4 bikes and paid a total of about £2400 for all. S/h values will probably remain at 1800 forba good while, so I've invested 1800 and spent 600 for 3-4 years biking. (plus maintenance).

^good thinking

I didn't reply initially as I thought the risk of getting flamed was too high.

I like to buy carefully and then keep for a long time, eg I tend to keep my cars 10 years. My Covert frame I got in 2012 has 2006 forks on it. I don't ride enough or hard enough to wear much stuff out. My Cotic is from 2011 and is still going strong, no need to replace aside from normal maintainence. These bikes replaced the 2006 Reign I had.

As a a side the move to 275/29 has made it much less likely I will replace the bikes, why throw away or sell such great comments as the Hope hoops ?

I have 3 bikes, a MTB, a road and commuter.

The commuter is an old hard tail.
My road bike is a disc brake endurance bike. It can take full length guards, so I use it all year.
My MTB is a TallBoy.

All suit my riding and where I live. I did 200 miles on my road bike yesterday. I don't really think I would buy more, except as a replacement for my current bikes.