So What IS The Perfect Bike?
I own more than one bike.
Indeed, it has been remarked that the number of bikes required is one more than you currently own. There always seems to be a different / newer / better bike to lust after. But surely there must be a zenith of bicyclism. An Überbike. A bike to vanquish all others? One that would release the rider from chasing this elusive next-and-final bike . . .
Is it a UCI-approved full-carbon road bike?
Or maybe a triathlon / time-trial bike?
Too rich for you? What about a more traditional style of bike - something with real class?
Or maybe the budget’s a more pressing issue for you, and you just need something cheep . . .
Perhaps it’s important that you’re cool . . .
Though for my money, the perfect bike just might be a Brompton!
But I’ve really only just scratched the surface here - and the chances are that I’ve picked out some pretty extreme examples.
What’s YOUR perfect bike?
The perfect bike is the one you ride… and smile with.
For me, it has been my Trek Valencia. I’ve been utterly estatic with it since purchasing it, and if it wasn’t for current living and weather environments, I’d be out riding right now XD
What no Bullitt?
I agree we may need more than one perfect bike:
Perfect Bike 1: The perfect bike is the one that requires no maintenance and is always there ready to go. The one you can rely on every day for any task. (Bullitt)
Perfect Bike 2: The perfect bike is the one that makes life easier by giving me the flexibility to solve so many transport problems (Birdy folding bike)
Perfect Bike 3: The perfect bike is one that wastes no energy and glides along silently (Pearson Touche fixie)
Perfect Bike 3: The perfect bike is the one that I can share with my wife and see the world in comfort (Trice X2 recumbent tandem trike)
…
For me? I agree with Antoine. It’s the one you have time to ride. Whether it’s track, road, Mt, cross, or comfort, if you’re not able to get out and ride on it then it’s just so much metal, carbon, rubber, and plastic taking up space. Ride the one you have, and if you’re blessed enough to get an upgrade or add one to your stable then go for it and enjoy the riding.
For me, my perfect bike is my Pashley Roadster Sovereign. It gets me to work, shops, church and everywhere else I go.
As we all know, there is no such thing as the perfect bike, you always need more than one bike, and the ideal number of bike can easily be calculated with the following equation i=n+1
The perfect bike for me hass a Brompton fold, 20″ wheels, quality brakes and a set of touring gears that don’t need double changes.
I own 4, 6 if you count my daughter’s outgrown bike and a friend’s that was too expensive to ship to NZ. I think it’s the Big Dummy, modified with chaincase, IGH, dynamo, Porteur-ish bars, and fenders. It goes fast enough, I can still haul it over snowbanks, carries loads, stable, surefooted, and comfortable.
The top two bikes don’t look very useful, as they don’t have any pedals