[Closed] How often do you change/buy a new bike and why?

About every 12 months. My wife just asks "it's been a while since you last bought a new bike, hasn't it?" - which I take as a green light.

Normally 12 - 18 months, however I have had 5 in the last year. Need to keep the latest for a while otherwise I run the risk of being homeless.

Not very often, the newest bike I have is my 2008 Santa Cruz Heckler which I've had from new. Still going strong and still love it.

Seems to be once a year now, the frequency with which I buy a new bike seems to have been increasing in inverse proportion to how much I actually ride which is depressing, between injuries and just being too busy for the long weekends away I used to enjoy on the road bike I'm rarely getting out.

I think the ideal is a nice wee run-around for commuting and messing about, and a big weekend away bike, that way I could keep the nice bike for several years while updating the run-around on bike-to-work every year.

2010 was my last purchase, my next one will be a self build with as much scavenging from the classifieds as I can 🙂

I've had my HT (steel, 26", 2011 frame bought used) about 2 years, I think. It's not going anywhere. I'll change bits as and when they wear out but I'll be keeping the frame as long as I can. I've chopped and changed FS frames over the last year, mainly because I wasn't convinced I 'needed' one (I'm still not convinced!) but as it's 26" as well and everything can be swapped over between it and my HT (both 20mm front, 10mm QR rear & same disc sizes) if I need to, it's going nowhere either.

I tend to buy second hand stuff that I find interesting rather than shiny new stuff. My runaround shopper bike is a £20 Giant hybrid from BITD that I think I paid too much for 😆

Not as often as I'd like.
More often than I can afford.

Whenever I see/try something I really like.

1 in 2012
2 in 2013
4 in 2014
None in 2015
Just ordered the first of 2016

I like to buy a full new bike when technology has moved on enough to make an actual difference. I regressed to a steel hardtail after the last encounter with a bike covered in snake oil.

I am not the main market here I fear. Last MTB bought new - 1998. Last MTB bought s/h - in around 2008 (a 1995 Kona).

Trying to work up to a new bike this year but choices, choices!!

About every 6 months, they keep getting stolen. 👿

Generally only when they wear out or get stolen.

So that'll be 4 in the last 2 years 2 months then...

One last year (October) and first one in 2016 now on order, mainly because I got a hardtail in 2015 and then discovered bike parks and trails so wanted something better, so gone full sus

I had the last one for two years, current one is three months old, I'm not liking it much so on the lookout again.

Used to be every 2mins. Then I bought a Meta V4. I'll wait until Commencal release its replacement.

used to be all the time, then i had kids, and i actually started riding the things a lot more than fanny about swapping frames/forks

Cannondale Supersix Hi-Mod - bought 2012 - just about to replace with a Giant Defy
Santa Cruz Tallboy Carbon - bought 2012 - just replaced with an Open O-1.1
Surly Krampus - bought 2013 - sold, didn't use it enough to justify keeping it

My mountain bike I bought 7 years ago. It doesn't get a massive amount of use these days though, to be honest. I don't think so much in terms of wear and tear really. Bikes last a long time if you give them some love. Just need to replace a few bits and pieces now and then.

I buy a bike when I get it into my head that I need something different, better, or better suited to the riding I want to do. Have never replaced a bike because it's worn out. In the past 3 or 4 years I've bought 2 road bikes (summer and winter of course), built a touring bike, a singlespeed commuter, and a CX.

I build all my bikes. Once I'm settled on a bike genre (i.e. sure of wheel size, bike use etc), I usually keep a frame for 2-7 years.

However, when trying out a new genre or wheel size, I've swapped a frame as soon as 7 months.

MTB groupsets usually last me 3-4 years, but commuter groupsets last closer to 2 years. Finishing kit and wheels last 5-8 years.

Main bike frame is 3 years old and the components much much older - similar with my DH bike. These are the ones which get ridden the most but that said there's always an additional project on the go, sometimes older retro stuff and sometimes based around a brand new bike which gets stripped, customised, briefly ridden and then moved on in parts - keeps my ebay account active and everyone loves a fettle, right?

Tend to buy and keep, so N+1 when the mood takes me. CX bike last year and raced this last season. Just bought a fat bike.

Currently n=7, will finally have to sell a bike due to limited room, and I never ride my HT as truth be told it's too small for me. Main MTB is 4 years old, main road bike 3, both get upgraded/refreshed regularly (new wheels on road bike last summer, going 1x on MTB this spring).

Approx every two years - I find that the 2nd hand value doesn't depreciate too much at around this rate. Usually I just swap frames though - not the full bike.

How often do you change/buy a new bike and why?

1) When it is worn beyond economical repair.

2) Because it is worn beyond economical repair.

My Specialized FSR XC Pro lasted 10 years before the bearing mounts in the frame wore away.

Too often!

I've been trying, and failing, to find what I think are the perfect bikes.
I think I'm there with the road bike, my Pivot is definitely the perfect hardtail for me and so far the Kite seems to be the perfect do-it-all bike for me. I may look for a new FS frame/bike some time in the future but not too sure.

No plans on changing anything in the near future.

Probs every 2 years, plus a shuffle of random bikes here and there. I get bored. No DH or DJ bike any more, just an enduro bouncer and a 29 hardtail, both of which i doubt I'll still have in 2 years!

A lot less since I realised that the best upgrade would be me being fitter and more skillful..

Rarely, last one was 2010 though I did buy an ex demo last year. I upgrade bits (frame, forks, wheels, etc) when the fancy takes me so I'm not actually riding any of that 2010 bike today.

1 per year 😳 I always say "This is the one" than I see something that makes me feel faint.
I give the old bikes away to try to gain some Karma points ( not working)

Boardman Hardtail bought in 2010 - still got it as my only MTB.
Boardman hybrid bought in 2012 (to see if I liked roadbiking) sold last year.
Giant Defy bought early 2014 - current 'summer road bike'
Pinnacle Arkose bought Dec last year.

Next move will probably be a new roadbike in 2017 (with hydraulic discs) most likely to be another Giant Defy.
Would love a new MTB but the Boardman did 120 miles last year so can't justify it.

All the above have been bought on C2W which works well for me for tax reasons.

So I guess I buy a new bike every 18-24 months

Usually I have one bike that's kind of "under review", I went through a real phase of replacing hardtails literally every couple of months, because I'd had a Soul that ruined me for anything less. But then that got sorted and I had the same big bike for 5 years so I went downhill bike-rigid XC bike- other dh bike- other rigid xc bike- suspended XC bike- fatbike.

And now that I have a fatbike that I love, and a big full suss which is fab, I'm looking at the hardtail and going "You- watch it". But I'd still change the full suss for a remedy 29 in a heartbeat, that's always been the deal there.

All in all, I am a tart.

I've had 7 bikes in 25 years, 3 of which I still have.
Saracen Tufftrax.
Alpine Stars Mega (or summink)
Old steel hardtail that I still have.
a Stumpy FSR
Merida TransMission
Orange 5 (still have)
Specialised Allez Road bike (still have)

I am the odd one out or am I easily pleased?

Oh yeah, why? I like buying bikes. It's just another part of the hobby for me, I like riding them, spannering them, tweaking them and planning new ones or figuring out things about bikes to influence that.

Roughly annually. It's a pity, there's never anything much wrong with them. But circumstances or what/how I'm riding changes, and I get the itch when I'm not quite riding enough.

🙂

depends...
My current 2 are doing well and will be with me till I get more cash. On the 26" bike it's too long in the tooth to be worth selling and still good at what it does. Though I tried the 2 current versions/replacements and they are very good 🙂
The 29r is just over a year, it will stay until I want a new one, there is a decent market for 29r XC bikes here so should sell when I want to.
Before that rode till the died which took about 2-3 years per bike.

Maybe every 9-12 months, I get the itch, possibly saddle related?

I really wish I was buying bikes as often as some of you guys! i think i'm about one new bike every 3 years at the max. Just sold my full sus and i suspect that will not get replaced until I move back to the UK next year at the earliest. And its going to be fighting with a 29er / 650b steel hardtail for that spot!

Was gonna say y'all have too much money.

Then I realised I've had 10 bikes in the last 5 years, 6 new, 4 secondhand.

Got to stop. Don't even find time to ride them.

Whenever something comes up 2nd in my size (XL) that I really fancy. This way if I don't like it I can sell it on without huge losses. Sometimes I buy a new frame if the price is discounted. I've currently got 4 bikes and I ride them 3 times a week.

Main bikes are 22 and 15 years old. The MTB (15yo) nearly got replaced when the rear triangle cracked a couple of years ago, but I got it fixed ok. Apart from that, they keep on working.

I do have a uni that's less than 5 years old though.

It's funny cos we used to turn up to events on this shiny new state of the art machine. Now it's rare to see anything from the same decade.

The last bike was 3.5 years ago.My fave mtb is 6y/o this year,the other one is 12 y/o and starting to get lippy.
So not very often and only when they need replaced - damn you bicycle standard meddlers - 26" wheels and 1 1/8 headset..pah.

Next one will probably be another gnarmac type , but the new P7 is soooo tempting.

Two bikes in 4 years (last one is a year old).

v. cheap hard tail -> v. [url= http://shop.birdmtb.com/zero-am.html ]nice hardtail[/url]

I was at a demo day yesterday because I was getting a full-sus itch. That itch has gone away now. I rode the new [url= http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/nukeproof-mega-275-pro-bike-2016/rp-prod135658 ]Nukeproof Mega[/url] pro version and the [url= http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/nukeproof-mega-275-pro-bike-2016/rp-prod135658 ]Vitus Sommet VRX[/url]. I didn't like the Guide RS brake levers (the brakes worked well though) or the X1 shifter (nice and clicky, but the up shift only worked one way which caught me out a few times). They both had OKLO droppers which were slower up and down than reverbs, the lever was much harder to push too.

But worse than that, I didn't feel I was getting much out of the suspension. They were chattery over general trail riding (the tyres were quite firm which could've made it worse), about the same as my hard tail over drops and rock gardens (the back end felt very firm) and a few times I could feel the back end working when I made mistakes. I didn't think the Pike's on both of them were nicer than the X-Fusion Sweeps on my hard tail.

I preferred the Sommet over the Mega, but didn't find any of them better than my Bird Zero. It might just be the riding that I do doesn't need a 160mm full sus, (and they won't cure my fear of steep rooty bits, or make me fitter).

I will be happily staying on the Zero for a few more years now 🙂

Ndw bike/frame once every 3-4 years. Still have my first mtb bike 10 years later. Forks on my FS are from 2006 although on a 2012 frame. All bikes 26 and as posted before I have a frame i biught in 2912 waiting to be built up with okd/new bits

I don't tend to just wander into shops and buy whole new bikes, more just 2nd hand frames to try mostly.

Current MTB I've had ~4 years I think and it wasn't new to me. Won't change until it dies.

Road bike I bought the frame and repaired it almost two years ago now and snagged a bit of a bargain, I won't be changing it for several years to come.

Last year's "splash out" was a cheap London Road frame, whole build cost under £300 again, I have no plans to replace it for some time...

So I reckon I am pretty much set for the foreseeable future... But based on the last few years I seem to make a new acquisition every couple of years..

Don't think I could do one a year, I don't have the time, funds or spousal understanding...

I average one a year but have had five in just over a year. Of those, two were frames of the same design (steel to Ti Stooge) and two were commuters, so I figure they don't count.

But I'd still change the full suss for a remedy 29 in a heartbeat, that's always been the deal there.

I covet the Cannondale Slate - maybe one day i will buy it, until then i just day dream.

singlespeedstu - Member

I'll have on for sale very soon.

If it's some sort of mediumy-largey (nobody understands Trek sizes) and none of that Boost bollocks and ideally a frame only then I may have just done some terrible negotiating 😆 Otherwise, well, still worth talking

1 in 2013
1 in 2014
2 in 2015

Maybe another one this year

Since I got back in to bikes I have changed my main one in 2005, 2007, 2011, 2014. I tend to change it when the frame still has some value as I don't have piles of disposable income so sell to buy.

Looking to change again now as I think the value of my frame will drop significantly in the next year or so. I also plan to treat myself to a posh bike in a couple of years when I turn 40. I currently have a long travel 29er and had a 26"ht. I want to try a 650b fs and 29" ht so I have covered all bases and can make an informed choice of what I want when I buy my super bike!

I have had other bikes in this time but most have been retro and not very expensive.

every 3-4 years it seems

When I was younger, it was swapping a bike every 3-4 months. I had about 3-6 bikes at a time. Swapped before anything would wear out most of the time.

Found a few bikes I absolutely love and sold the ones I don't use. Now down to 3 and they've been around for 1x 3 years, 1x 1 year and 1x 1 month. Can't see me swapping them anytime soon.

That said, we're moving into a house soon and it's not got a garage and space is limited, so I might have to go down to 2.. so possibly upgrade to same bike but current MY for my favorite and keep the roadie.

When - About every six to eight years?
It's a bit hard to gauge as my two bikes are trigger's brooms

Why - Because they last a long old time and I can't afford to be buying summink new every time something catches my eye 🙁

Northwind.
It's a large none boost full bike.
We'll be up in Inners for a week in April too. I could deliver it for you 😉

used to be every 2 years then i realised that i needed t get rid of a few.
current frame is a 2009 model i bought last year...stuck the 2014 kit on it of the old bike and sold that frame on. that frame was also a 2009 model which i bought 18 months earlier.
prior to that the last frame i bought was in 2006
i've only ever bought 3 complete bikes...2 were in the 90's and one was 18 months ago.
its my 40th next year and the wife has said i can pull the trigger on a new bike...the current one will stay as a backup bike and will eventually be handed down to my son

it varies depending on if i like the bike. I tend to keep them for a year before passing judgement.

i`ve had bikes for yearss and bikes for less than a year. Just bought a 'new' one recently. seems ok we shall see.

Every year, ish.

Usually I'll have an idea of what I want in my head, then I'm patient enough to wait for it 2nd hand or to come up in a sale.

Just bought a Fatty Trail frame, which I'm hoping that combined with selling the original Fatty (or bits thereof) will mean the cost of upgrading to a Bluto will be <£300 by the time I've raided the spares box.

Sometimes I'll just buy/sell stuff because something nice turns up, that's how I went from a Swift to an El-Mariachi. If a large SS Inbred 29 with carbon forks were to pop up at a good price (i.e. a fair bit less than the el-mariachi frame is worth) I'd probably buy that, not for a profit, I just like to ride different bikes and not spend too much £££ doing it (and fancy track ends).

I bought a Dawes Galaxy new in 1996 and since then I've bought 5 more new bikes. I haven't really bought any just because I fancied something new; apart from maybe a Trek hybrid to replace the Galaxy which was just starting to feel like it wasn't the right tool for the job.
I bought an MTB and a road bike to do things the Trek couldn't, and then a singlespeed to replace the Trek when it got stolen.
Then I bought a new MTB when the old one was 6 or 7 years old and needed new parts that were likely going to cost over half the cost of a new one.

When I have to.

I replaced my 2004 FS with a NOS 2008 frame in 2015 because I thought I had ovalised the headtube (I hadn't, I had pulled the fork dropout off the carbon lower). Lack of funds meant I had a tight budget but thanks to the hardtail I had a long time to pick up bargains (~1000 euro for an excellent spec XC bike).

My hardtail needs some new cables and the fork could do with a service.

[url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/prototype-456-ebb-alfine ]Original thread on the hardtail[/url]

I replaced the commuterised pompino when my hip was playing up and on the indirect advice of the consultant, and seeing how the Pomp had paid for itself many times over I did "splash" out on a top of the range PX-LR so I can keep cycling.

I don't feel I'm good enough or on the bike enough to justify spending a fortune on my hobby.

That and I'm a tightwad.

First mtb I had for 5 years
2nd for 11 years
3rd was a replacement for 2nd , bought 2nd hand and the frame broke. (Repaired after bike 4 purchased)
4th I had for 3 years until it was stolen from my garage
5th I had as an also ran for bikes 3&4 for just 9 months before that got stolen with 3&4

In the last 18 months I have bought 2 new bikes and 1 second hand, sold 1 new bike and will need to replace my FS bike in the next year or two due to a hairline crack on a weld on the rear triangle.

I would still have bikes 3,4&5 if they hadn't have been stolen.

Generally I get one new per year on average

The most I've bought in a single year has been two

Last purchase was June 2015 as I cracked a frame (bought a full build second hand & swapped some parts over from the old one)

Got a DH rig in June 2014 as I fancied one

Can't see myself buying anything new for the foreseeable future due to the lack of new 26" wheeled bikes & the constant changing of which wheel size is "the best" by manufacturers

I go through phases, I've bought a new one every year for the last 3 but didn't buy one for 7 years before then and have no plans for 1 this year.

Saying that, I did bid on one on eBay last weekend and only marginally missed it...

Last bike purchase was in 2007. I tend to buy a new bike when the old one is no longer serviceable or maybe if some new development will be a significant improvement over what I currently have. I don't count altering wheel sizes or 1 x drivetrains as all that significant.

Generally once a year (except twice this year :oops:).

It keeps things fresh and motivates me to get out and use it.
I do have a one in one out policy though.

1 in 1999 - SC Bullet
1 in 2006 - SC Heckler, due to the above one being stolen, sold in 2012
1 in 2009 - Decade Virtue, which I still have.
1 in 2012 - TR Covert, for moar travel, but too small (M)
1 in 2015 - TR Scout, for less travel and better fit (L) This babies a keeper!

The Virtue might get moved on this year as I keep getting offers for it.

stewartc - Member

Maybe every 9-12 months, I get the itch, possibly saddle related?

I think you're in the wrong thread, you want the "How often do you change/wash your bibs and why?"

Last one, Kona Hei Hei, built up in '98. Now saving for another next year (probably Soul) once the standards have made their mind up.

I keep them for ages if I like the way they ride. Get rid quick if not. I just sold a 2007 yeti 575 - more due to ill health than anything else. I preferred it over the newer 575 - so flickable and unbeatable on Cumbrian rocks up or down.

I would argue that if a bike is any good it takes years to squeeze the last few drops of speed from a new bike. I was still finding ways to get more out of it.

Next purchase will be a change of direction to a fast hardtail 29er.