How do you decide which bike to ride?

[us56456712]

At our Friday guy lunch today they asked me how I determine which of my 30 bike to ride. In the first place I have less than 30 and in the second place they don't pay attention to my bikes so they think I ride a different one to each guy lunch. This is easy to determine. In winter I ride one of my winter bikes selected for the amount of ice and don't drink alcohol at lunch. The rest of the year selection is determined by how dizzy or bad my balance is or is likely to get. Good balance - road bike. Medium balance - cruiser (width of tire on the bike is fine tuned by degree of dizziness). Wobbly and dizzy - 20 inch folder with training wheels. When not going to guy lunch I generally pick a bike that is best for what I am doing. If I am going on the bike path in town it is usually my Gov'nor, but I also like my patina 60 pound rat for this. If I am going on the rails to trails path I like my 30s, 50s and 60s cruisers, unless we are going over 10 miles then I use one of my mountain bikes as there is some gravel. For single track I use about 40% clunker, 50% front shock MB and 10% rigid mountain bike. My road bike is for riding to other towns with my wife or for the annual 100KM road bike tour, or any rides on pavement over 15 miles. My women's vintage bikes are ridden by my wife and loaned to my buddies wives for the annual vintage ride. If a bike hasn't been used for awhile, like one of my folders, I get it out and use it just because it needs to be ridden. Such a chore to fit all these bike rides in. Anyone have a magic formula to determine which bike to ride?

 

[Bicycle808]

Yeah, I'm pretty much the same way. I pick the bike according to terrain, distance/speed of the intended ride, and conditions. If I'm going for a road ride with friends (or, if I'm running late for work), I take the road bike. If I'm riding trails with friends who want to keep the pace up, I take my "real" MTB. If I'm riding trails alone or with slow ppl, i take something klunkish. If it's raining, or may rain, or if there is snow or ice on the ground, i take something with fenders (I avoid the wet-butt at all costs. My road bike has SKS fenders on it). If it's dark, I take something with lights. My main ride for commuting, JRA, small grocery runs, or whatever is a Worksman with Fat Franks, full fenders, front drum/ rear coaster, and dynamo head- and tail-lights. That bike weighs a ton, and is always slow--- but it can do almost anything (slowly). (Fenders are a problem offroad, but I take it on mild trails anyway, if I'm bored and feel like hitting some singletrack at night after work....)

I'm in the process of collecting parts for a fat-tired "road" bike (vintage MTB dropbar conversion), and it'll probably be a fairly incapable bike-- no fenders, no knobs, no lights-- it'll just be for fast-ish rides, but still slower than everyone else on the ride. So, I'm guessing I won't ride it very often.

I guess the only real considerations are pace, terrain, and conditions. "Pace" is determined by who I'm riding with, or just by my whim if I'm solo. Conditions are determined by time of day and weather. Terrain, of course, depends on where I'm going and what route I choose....

 

[ADVHOG]

Sometimes I have to choose the bike with gears because of distance or size of hills, but usually I just feel like riding certain bikes. Today my Ugly singlespeed grocery getter called out to be ridden, so it got rode.

 

[Bicycle808]

Sometimes I have to choose the bike with gears because of distance or size of hills, but usually I just feel like riding certain bikes. Today my Ugly singlespeed grocery getter called out to be ridden, so it got rode.

I'm working til 10pm tonight, so I took the cruiser with good lights....

 

[patman73]

i usually ride my 24' dk general lee , but i will a ride a cruiser or muscle bike it i'm not going on a long ride , i take out my westcoast chopper if i'm not going farther then just around town my next power climber is fun to ride but it has no brakes . the american speedster pvc pedal kart is fun but can't keep up with traffic !

 

[patman73]

in the summer i just grab whatever bike that need it's legs stretched

 

[us56456712]

i usually ride my 24' dk general lee , but i will a ride a cruiser or muscle bike it i'm not going on a long ride , i take out my westcoast chopper if i'm not going farther then just around town my next power climber is fun to ride but it has no brakes . the american speedster pvc pedal kart is fun but can't keep up with traffic !

Pictures? they sound like cool bikes.

 

[patman73]

Pictures? they sound like cool bikes.

sorry no pic to post i did have some on my facebook page & i poosted some on the old ratrod bikes facebook page

 

[Ichoptop]

bar hopping....custom stretched bare metal fat tire cruiser

running errands in suburbia.... murdered out fixie

getting around downtown Denver...downhill mountain bike (I like being able to hit curbs, run steps, climb hills, etc.)

Dinner with the wife...custom stretched powder coated and pretty fat tire cruiser

To the grocery or farmers market....custom trike to match my wife's restored Schwinn Town and Country trike.

Feeling stylish and want to show off....Bare metal and brass 30's inspired stretched cruiser

Muscle bike night with my friends....the Sears Spyder

going through Olde Town.... the Spaceliner

 

[tacklebox]

It's easy for me to decide my schwinn racer is my fast bike and my monocog is my rip down staircases and jump stuff bike


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[Bicycle808]

It's easy for me to decide my schwinn racer is my fast bike and my monocog is my rip down staircases and jump stuff bike


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Any pics of the Racer? I've already seen the Monocog....

 

[tacklebox]

Any pics of the Racer? I've already seen the Monocog....

Here it is nothin special I got a good deal on it though $10 on Craigslist didn't look like this though it was really ...... not really what I'd like to be riding but it's fast and fun rather have a prewar but having 5 kids kinda puts a damper on the bike fund

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[Bicycle808]

Naw, that's rad.... I got a Collegiate frame I need to build up. There's something really nice about Schwinn diamond frames.... Not the type of thing that impresses anyone, just good ol' simple bikes.

 

[tacklebox]

Naw, that's rad.... I got a Collegiate frame I need to build up. There's something really nice about Schwinn diamond frames.... Not the type of thing that impresses anyone, just good ol' simple bikes.

Thanks some days I love it some I dream of having something different but the truth is it's my favorite bike to ride it's actually really sporty feeling when your on it I have a huge hill on the road I live on it sucks getting up to the top but going down is such a rush I swear I'm doing like 60 mph down it I just try not to think about the two spokes missing in my front wheel and the rest are pretty loose but I don't know how to tighten them lol


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[patman73]

Thanks some days I love it some I dream of having something different but the truth is it's my favorite bike to ride it's actually really sporty feeling when your on it I have a huge hill on the road I live on it sucks getting up to the top but going down is such a rush I swear I'm doing like 60 mph down it I just try not to think about the two spokes missing in my front wheel and the rest are pretty loose but I don't know how to tighten them lol


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take it to a bike shop better get it fixes or you will die , hope you ware a helmet

 

[tacklebox]

take it to a bike shop better get it fixes or you will die , hope you ware a helmet

I know bike shops aren't cheap around here one told me 50 an hour don't ask about the helmet thing lol my son got too big for his and needed it more than me


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[Bicycle808]

Thanks some days I love it some I dream of having something different but the truth is it's my favorite bike to ride it's actually really sporty feeling when your on it I have a huge hill on the road I live on it sucks getting up to the top but going down is such a rush I swear I'm doing like 60 mph down it I just try not to think about the two spokes missing in my front wheel and the rest are pretty loose but I don't know how to tighten them lol


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You got a bike co-op by you? Then can help you true the wheel up, replace spokes, teach you how, etc...

 

[tacklebox]

I don't think we have those in nh


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[Bicycle808]

PS I'm about to build wheels for my Collegiate... Collegiate is basically a race with derailers, but I'm going with a 700c wheel conversion and Sturmey 3 speed with drums front and rear...

 

[Bicycle808]

They got a few... Yellow Bike Co-Op in Durham at UNH, and this spot http://keenebikecoop.blogspot.com/ Not sure where you are; might be a haul....