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If by some tragic circumstance N were to equal 1, what would your one bike be, and why?
For me, I'd keep the Brompton (though I'd add a wider range of gears than the three it currently has!).
It does almost everything I need from a bike to a reasonable standard, but has the extra bonus of instant car/bus/train/aeroplane transportability. Also it's nice and upright for when I get old(er)!!
But what do you chaps and chapesses think?
I managed fine on my dynamo-and-rack-and-guard-augmented (and now de-drop-barred) roadbike for years and could do so again. The spare is just that. An ideal single bike would be exactly what I have except with proper mudguard clearance and the option to slightly fatten the tyres.
Horrible choice for someone like me who rides mtb, bmx, road and plain old commuting - n is currently equal to 5 and there's not really a middle ground between a park bmx and a road bike. If I'm allowed to modify the bike for each use (ie swap knobbies for slicks and take mudguards off) I'd go for a hardtail mtb with lockout forks. Have slicks and guards on for commuting/road and then fit knobbies/flat pedals and remove rack/guards for offroad fun. I'd take that over a cross bike as I'm not really sold on drop-bars-for-everything. Like wide flat bars with bar ends.
If I could only have one, my Surly Long Haul Trucker would be my desert island bike. Comfy geometry to ride all day, Brooks, SPDs. 28mm slick Gatorskins. Dynamo hub. And it can go fast if I want it to. If I can just wrap the bars with Brooks leather before you take it all away...
Ideally, it would have disk brakes but it doesn't.
Mileomnomnometer, aka my Croix de Fer.
I haven't yet done anything on my other bikes that it can't do extremely well, except be locked outside in town without me fretting about it.
Unsurprisingly… Brompton.
However, I've got three, T6 (effectively an M6R), S6L and S2L-X.
I prefer S type handlebars, faster and less bendy, but the M let you use bigger luggage on the front. So it would be an M.
The 2 speed is nippy in town because of the flying start acceleration but the gears are 56" and 74" which is a wee bit short at the top end so I'd probably get a standard ratio 6 speed.
I don't use the rack for carrying stuff much but it's handy when you need it and you can put nicer rollers on there for hurling it around when folded so thats R with easy wheels.
The X option adds a few hundred to the price but you don't get corrosion on the back end or the forks.
I like a SON hub and lights.
Funnily enough the one on order from BikeTrax is an M6R with easy wheels and SON. It's not getting the X bits as that would have pushed the memsahib over the edge.
Most likely my commuter, it's the jack of all trades - every other bike is more specialised, or more compromised, depending on your point of view...
Yes, it can't fold, or isn't a two-seater, but these are things I don't need regularly.
Robert
Interesting the specific mention of Bromptons.
In addition to the merits of the actual machine(s), it highlights the fact that experienced bike owners appreciate 'versatility' above most other aspects of ownership.
My choice is as easy as I have a Moulton AM. 25 years old (I've had it about 10) very comfortable on Edinburgh setts and atrocious surfaces ('full' suspension). Currently has 21 gears so will get up most things. Fast (slicks) - does off-road well (unless it's muddy). Luggage options.
Also splits in two so 'counts' as a folder on trains - hardly ever had to do it.
It would have to be my trusty Whyte CX commuter. It practically is my 'N' given my *Cervelo hasn't been out since August last year, and there was no place in my heart for my MTB which was sold.
*I really need to get the rear wheel rebuilt on that bike, I so miss it.
Tandem's the only bike the whole family can ride (not all at once, obviously). And necessary to pretty much everything we do, so would have to be the one.
That said, we're soon going to need two...
I think I'm in the odd position of having more than three bikes and somehow none of them could be my (n=1). My little black recumbent is the closest, and would qualify if I could fit winter tyres, but until Schwalbe makes a 32-622 spike tyre I'm at least (n=2). It has to commute, tour, shop, climb hills and go on trains, so either a HPV Streetmachine GTe or a Lightning Phantom would be the one. A RANS Cruz might also hit the spot.
yeah I would stick to the recumbent, the nazca fuego is a great allrounder and you can fit spikey tires for the winter so thats covered, it wont do much offroading but then i never do that anyway. for fun, commuting and hauling luggage its a great machine.
It would have to be my commuter, a slightly upgraded Specialized Secteur. Takes a battering 5+ days per week, but does the job in all conditions that I regularly cycle in.
The carbon roadie only comes out for special occasions and I'd never consider commuting on it. The MTB comes out even less, as I don't do mountains except with the kids, which doesn't happen often (their decision, honest). I don't own a bmx any more, the days of jumps are behind me.
Well it would ideally be my Brompton because of the flexibility it gives: it goes on the train and bus without fuss, it carries a remarkable amount for its size and it makes me smile but I must be able to commute year-round, I rely on spiky tyres in the winter now, and you can't get spiky tyres on a Brompton.
So, until further notice, my N is a flat-barred hybrid with Alfine 8-speed, rack and full mudguards shod in Marathon Plus/Marathon Winter. With any luck it will have a dynamo by next winter...
Neither of my bikes are my N=1; my fixed gear On-One Pompino is very fun but can be a bit hard work for the long commute after a 12hr shift.
I can't leave my Surly LHT outside, it's my lovely baby and I'm paranoid about it getting swiped. It's reserved for special occasions - like going to the borders to tour and be rained on.
As I'm (hopefully) soon to be a poor student (again), I can't justify another one.
I think the Helios makes a pretty good N.
It's ability to transport 2 kids + panniers, year round (with guards & spikes) covers most of my bases.
I have taken 1 kid down the green route at WolfTrax on it - does that count as MTBing?
It was also the proud owner of 4 Strava KOM's over the winter (riden solo) although they have since all been overtaken.
Likely the Cotic X. Can put guards and a rack on if necessary; that off, and knobblies on, and it goes off-road pretty damned effectively; slicks and it's a fast road machine. The geometry, being between an MTB and a road bike, is beautifully comfy for long rides.
That said, I don't like subjecting it to commuting, and as soon as the ongoing saga of the new Kaff wheels is ended then I'll forget this folly of n=1... ;)
None of mine would be N, mtb comes closest but its too slow to chase down muppets in normally flowing traffic... and it gets sore on the wrists after a couple of hours.
I nearly bought a kaff to replace the mtb or the racer but I like them too much and the fixed is too handy in the winter... Please don't make me chose!!
The evolved Kona Sutra, simply because for the past 4 months it has been my N=1. It also looks tatty enough for me to not be too worried about locking it up, something I can't do with recumbents!
Further evolution for true N=1ness would include dynamo + lighting, gear hub and chain case.
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