I'm currently running just the one bike, my Giant Trance X 29. The Trance is a trail bike at 150mm (F) and 120mm (R), but so competent as an all rounder. I keep trying to convince myself I need a short travel down country bike to compliment it as a second bike (like the Epic Evo - 120mm). I find it quite nice in a way only having the one bike and just not overthinking things, just use it for anything (XC, trail, commuting etc). Who else is in the "one bike just ride it" camp?
Propain Tyee as my one bike; coil shock, inserts etc, so definitely not set up as a down country bike 🙂 I do everything on it including family pootles and going to the shops. It’s just brilliant and I don’t need anything else.
I used to also run hardtails, but I can’t be trusted not to do stupid stuff so I kept breaking them. And I didn’t enjoy them like a FS anyway.
One bike.
At a time...
lol....
6 if you include curly bars as well. I'd consider condensing that down to 4 if used prices weren't so bad.
Mountain bike? I've only ever had one at a time. Currently a 7 year old Marin Nail Trail.
(And then I've got the 'do it all' Genesis Vagabond gravel/road/commute/tour/shopping thing.
Does one mountain and one road count?
Very different usages but I only ever have one of each, not different types of mountain, no gravel as well etc.
(Production Privée Shan GT and Boardman Sport)
@bikesandboots just use a hip lock at the shops or the pub. If I lived in some of the places I used to live in, thinking about it, I probably would have a “shop” bike too 😉
Kenevo 180mm full fat ebike
Ragley Big Al HT
PP Shan 26 shop/gym/bikepacking
'97 Kona Lava Dome pub bike
Boardman ADV 9.0 gravel
All get ridden to some degree
Considering building up a Transition Spire Carbon FS, or maybe another ebike :yes:
So no...
Does one mountain and one road count?
?
I think it does. One is fun. The other suffering.
If you don't ride around 'town' then I think one bike is possible. But IRL I think 2 or 3 are needed.
1. Awesome trail bike suited to the trickiest trails and longest rides you do
2. Alternative MTB for lesser trails or 'gravel' rides
3. Urban bike that is cheaper than either of the others and less upsetting when it is stolen or damaged
Saying that as I bought a gravel bike a few years back on a whim. It's fast. it's neat. But I was reminded that I don't like drop bars. When I ride rough stuff I wish I had suspension and fatter tyres. When I ride road I wish for a road bike. I think I would be happier without the gravel and with a hardtail and an FS. And if I had to choose just one I'd go for FS.
Backstory
I'm thinking of upping my FS game (skill compensation rather than radder ability). Currently running a very satisfactory Canyon Spectral AL 650B 140/150. But feeling the fear in Madeira earlier in the year made me think I 'need' something more forgiving. Like a 150/160 29er.
To make this happen I plan to get rid of my Tempest gravel bike and the old FS. I'm thinking of keeping my Orange Crush as an alternative to the FS. But from experience I typically have taken my FS out for rides. I could get rid of the Orange but it does do service as an 'urban' bike. Of sorts. And an obvious choice for 'it's a hardtail ride' events.
Does one eMTB and one singlespeed hardtail count? I commute on the eMTB which would leave me a bit stuck for transport or bike fun if it was out of action for any reason and I didn’t have the other bike.
“I find it quite nice in a way only having the one bike”
This is where I’d struggle with having lots of bikes. Both mine are equally good downhill (the full-sus ebike is faster but not better) so it comes down to whether I want to squeeze more into less time by using the motor or if I want to embrace the curious pleasure of no gears and no rear suspension.
I guess if I had two full-sus bikes I’d want a fair gap between them, like XC vs trail or downcountry vs enduro or trail vs DH.
I briefly had a normal full-sus as well as the ebike and the (previous geared) hardtail and it just seemed superfluous.
Nope, not me.
Airdrop Edit (Summer), Orange Crush (Winter or most of this year) and my Canyon Dude for commuting and bikepacking/big rides.
Almost. I have 1 hardtail (Calibre Line 29) that I use for most grown up biking but also have a Charge Blender for pump tracks and riding with my kids. This will probably change next year as I aim to add a long travel ebike to the collection instead of getting a regular full sus.
Practically, almost yes.
Santa Cruz 5010 has done almost all my rides this year. Probably about 5 rides total on the hardtail.
I feel really bad about that because it’s a lovely bike and it’s just not getting used.
considering a second wheelset for the 5010 and making the hardtail single speed in an attempt to give me a reason to ride it.
Santa Cruz 5010 has done almost all my rides this year.
If I were 10-20 years younger that would likely have been my summary. Add 10mm and it'd be a 'yes'. Add 20mm and it'd be an mmmmm. That's where I'm headed.
and making the hardtail single speed in an attempt to give me a reason to ride it.
@ayjaydoubleyou sure you aren't getting a bit old for that? 😉 (not really of course!)
I did last year with one hardtail and kept telling myself it's all I need, but have two now and much prefer it. A choice is nice, but also when one's broken or mid upgrade, there's always one ready to go.
and going to the shops
This remind me of a post year a good while back when someone had smashed their face going OTB while riding their DH bike to the shop. Cool story really!
One of each type count?
I used to only have the one bike when the kids were young and we were broke. It was a great all round hardtail.
If I was in a similar financial predicament then I'd do the same.
But, I now have several bikes for specific types of riding which I prefer.
I think you'd be a bit disappointed with a 'Down-country bike' as it'd be too similar to your Trance.
I have 3 bikes, but only use one of them.
I do have a variety of wheels and tyres, though.
Two bikes - an old Sanderson Breath for the commute, and a Stanton Slackline (with 2 wheel sets for different types of riding) for the fun stuff.
I'd like a full sus but have nowhere to store one at the moment (OH also has 2 bikes, and the kids 3 bikes).
I have pretty much had one bike for the last 25 year (obviously many different bikes over that time but only one at a time)
I ride the same mix of road, gravel and single track on whatever bike I have not caring how unsuited it is to the particular terrain. I just like riding one bike everywhere.
Er. no.
Enduro FS
gravel bike
hardtail
Full fat FS e-bike
commute singlespeed
dirt jump HT
The thought of one bike only, makes me sad. All these get ridden and are fun in their own way. I did recently sell my downhill and road bikes, neither of which were getting used.
One MTB
One gravel
One road (dry weather)
One road (wet weather)
One road (retro 80s)
Effectively yes, as I really only use one.
Scott Scale xc hardtail. Not used for at least 18 months.
Road bike. Only used when my car is being fixed.
Privateer 141 (Ohlins set up). Used for all my mountain biking. I've got a couple of sets of wheels to make it more versatile.
Privateer 141 (Ohlins set up). Used for all my mountain biking. I’ve got a couple of sets of wheels to make it more versatile.
That's what I've been riding for the last 18 months. 2 sets of wheels and tyres and it works everywhere.
However, for most of my adult life I've been skint so I've only had one bike, usually a hardtail or a DH style bike plus a BMX or something.
Having 2 nice, modern, fully functional mountain bikes is a recent development. The problem is we were burgled and I had to get replacements during lockdown when there was very little to choose from. So I ended up with 2 bikes which were very similar and I always chose the 141 because it fits properly and the Ohlins suspension is amazing.
I've just went on a selling spree to raise the money to switch it up a bit. I've bought the Druid V2 in my other thread which is my first ever carbon trail bike and shortest travel FS at 130mm. I'm hoping it'll be agile and lively and not smother the local trails like an enduro bike.
I've also got my eye on a longer travel mullet frame which will do uplifts and Bikepark duties. Going to see it tomorrow.
Then I'll have 2 very different bikes for different purposes and it'll be an easy choice depending on where I'm going.
Also got the 22" BMX which was cheap and needs zero maintenance.
(My 141 is in the classifieds if anyone is interested!)
Having recently bought a Curtis after wanting one forever and converting my Ti HT with Gravel Kings that covers most bases but it still leaves me with the Orbea Rise if i need a bit of assistance I can now confidently say I never need to buy another bike ever again! ???
TBH, I was using just my gravel bike for the last 3 years after coming from having a fleet in the U.K. 🙂
I did get a FS in the sales and have fixed up my old holiday bikes wheels so if I people visit there’s a bike to pootle around the countryside.
I look upon the downsizing as an opportunity to upsize later on 🙂
2 - A Yeti ARC 140mm hardtail and a Spesh Enduro 170/160mm FS . TBH, somewhere in the middle of those two bikes is probably the one bike I should own.
I never owned more than 1 bike at a time. But I don't commute nor enjoy road riding.
In fact I dislike the idea of having more than one bike. I have a "special relationship" with my bike ? and it would feel like being disloyal even though I change often.
I dislike off the shelf bikes so my bike is very personal to me, I have put it together so there is a bond between. I agree it sounds weird though.
Currently enjoying the company of a Ragley Big Al that does everything, which means trail riding for me, whatever that means.
In fact it's a keeper as I don't even see the point of FS anymore, nor electric.
What's this one bike, does not compute.
Trail bike (Bold Linkin)
XC Hardtail (Scott Scale)
Gravel Bike (Sonder Camino)
Gravel bike got relegated when I bought the Scott as its so bloody fast and light everywhere, I just didnt see the point in the gravel bike. Its sat on a Turbo trainer for 18 months.
Just sold my Mega so now only have one MTB, a Trek Roscoe 9 hardtail.
I do also have a gravel bike and BMX (although at 2 weeks away from 44 I don't know why I still have that!).
Ha! The OP must be a peasant!
Kind of, I'm in the 1xMTB 1x'Other' camp.
Decided I'd sell a bike and go all in on building my beloved Stooge MK4 with all the parts I've ever dreamed of and accept that I'd rather have one dream bike, than two pretty good ones. So that bike's blinged up to the eyeballs with Chris King, Enve, Hope, and eeWings. I like steeps but not mega-gnar so it covers all the MTB bases just fine for me.
The other bike is my Surly Cross-Check, which does everything else. Pretty much permanently fitted with full mudguards, 45c tyres, and is basically my 'training bike'.
V interested in the wheels/tyres you are running & where/why?
The bike came fitted with Hunt Enduro Wide V2 wheels and Schwalbe Super Gravity MM/HD. I've just fitted those tyres to the new build for one last trip to the mountains before I bin them.
I bought the Trail Wide V2 on sale and fitted a pair of 2.6 Dissectors which were lighter and absolutely rapid. They were much preferable for pedalling around on big days out.
Takes 10 minutes max to switch them over and makes the bike twice as versatile.
My commute would have to be very short, and my mountain biking very tame in order to make it viable for me to run one bike.
However since getting my Ragley Marley, it has made me question whether I really need a full suspension bike as well. Although I have just come back from a great week in the alps on it.
V interested in the wheels/tyres you are running & where/why?
My most used set of wheels are DT240’s with XM481 rims, rimpacts, Continental Kryptotal enduro fronts. This is for riding the enduro stuff in Aberdeenshire
The other set of wheels are DT350's with XM481 rims, no inserts, Continental trail Kryptotal and xynotal. These are for when I ride trail centres or more chilled rides.
Both sets of wheels have discs fitted so it is just a cassette change.
Both sets of wheels have discs fitted so it is just a cassette change.
Not Shimano 12spd I'll guess, I believe SRAM cassettes are one piece?
When I take my Shimano off there's about 4 loose individual cogs that need to be lined up exactly, plus 2 or 3 spacers to all go in the right sequence.
I only ever have one bike of each type (mountain/gravel) at any time. Whatever I have does everything from xc to DH until the next one comes along.
One bike. I built up an almost duplicate tourer as a shopping bike because I didn't want to risk parking my actual tourer around Glasgow as I have a sentimental attachment to it.
Then there is the MTB. Then a flat bar road bike for the short summer when full mudguards aren't needed.
I thought I was doing well stopping at 4. I fancy a Brompton for some reason but don't need to bike commute any more.
Not Shimano 12spd I’ll guess, I believe SRAM cassettes are one piece?
Yes, Shimano 12 speed and easy enough to change. Undo the lock it, clamp the cassette between your thumbs and fingers, slide it off the freehub and slide it onto the other, pre-aligned, freehub. Opposable thumbs for the win.
What are those Continental trail tyres like? I was going to try some but I'm scared of getting a flimsy casing and too hard rubber.
Who else is in the “one bike just ride it” camp?
Yes three and a half of them in that I keep my bikes for years until they die. 1,5 hardtails. 1 street/trials bike and a hybrid for daily commuting.
when i had a Norco Optic i was a one bike man. I rode everything on that thing.
But these days, nope....
Enduro (Raaw Madonna)
XC (Spec Chisel HT)
Commute (Merida ESpeedster)
Jump (Saracen Amplitude)
Zwift bike (Trek something or other raod bike)
I find it a bit strange that your running your trance at 150/120 ? That’s quite a bit of difference front to back, enduro front and downcountry rear ? No wonder your confused
I think the Trance X is 150f and 135r
Sorry, yes the Trance is 150mm (F) and 135mm (R).
Just one Ebike, but about to become two when i get the fork change finished. Just shimmed in the lower headset bearing and all is going well.
Reminds; need to sort out front pads
A nicey bouncy Ebike and a Ecommuter/shopper.