if could only have one bike what would you buy

Questions about bike hire abroad and everything light bike related. No off-topic chat please

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khouse
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu Feb 08, 2018 6:58 am

by khouse

I live in nyc have no room (literally my partner threw out my bike years ago, we split and now I can splurge...), but I still truly only have room for one bike...I'd like to get something titanium or steel light and as mean as possible. I saw some sales on lynskey's site, I haven't looked around much but these seems like good deals, or are better prices to be had?

https://lynskeyperformance.com/specials/

by Weenie


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Marin
Posts: 4035
Joined: Wed Jan 22, 2014 11:48 am
Location: Vienna Austria

by Marin

I'd get a Ti bike with long reach brakes that could fit anything from 700c x 23mm for racing to 650b x 48 for gravel.

Hold on, I actually have that bike :)

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Frankie - B
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Location: Drenthe, Holland

by Frankie - B

Moved to chat,

I’d get a disc gravel bike as, for me, discs do make a difference. They are the future in road cycling and make switching between 700c and 650b wheels with 40+mm tires easy as pie.
'Tape was made to wrap your GF's gifts, NOT hold a freakin tire on.'
If you want to see 'meh' content of me and my bike you can follow my life in pictures here!

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prendrefeu
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Location: Glendale / Los Angeles, California
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by prendrefeu

Only one? Build up a WW gravel disc.
Exp001 || Other projects in the works.

bilwit
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Joined: Sun Apr 03, 2016 5:49 am
Location: Seattle, WA

by bilwit

with no budget? custom Ti disc on 28mm. Good for commuting, group rides, solo, all weather, etc. Having a posh pro bike is cool but if I could only have one that would probably be it.

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themidge
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Joined: Fri Jan 13, 2017 4:19 pm
Location: underneath sweet Scottish rain

by themidge

If I were only to have one bike i'd go for a fast race bike, quick but stable handling, 405mm chainstays etc. You just can't get the same feel on a gravel/cross/'do-it-all' kind of bike that you do on a fast road bike. I don't know how much gravel you're going to be riding in NYC but I'm fine on some fairly 'cyclocross' riverside paths and farm tracks round where I live on 25mm veloflex masters.

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TonyM
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Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2015 4:11 pm

by TonyM

Only one bike?

It depends where I live!.... :wink:

But if the roads are ok, a road bike only :thumbup:

dim
Posts: 596
Joined: Fri Oct 13, 2017 11:25 am
Location: Cambridge UK

by dim

I will steer clear of ti ..... too many reports on forums of welds failing

I'd get an all rounder carbon bike climbing with Di2 and good fast light climbing wheels (such as a Giant TCR SL or a Scott Addict SL)
Trek Emonda SL6
Miyata One Thousand

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TonyM
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Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2015 4:11 pm

by TonyM

dim wrote:
Thu Feb 08, 2018 9:30 pm
I will steer clear of ti ..... too many reports on forums of welds failing
(Humm I was thinking about getting a Ti oneway....)

It is also the case for brands like Litespeed?

AJS914
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Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:52 pm

by AJS914

I had a Litespeed that I bought in 1997. I rode that bike for 20 years - no cracks. A friend bought an Ultimate and he also rode it for the same amount of time. Those bikes were bulletproof. You could tell from the welds that they did an amazingly meticulous job. I think if you buy cheap Ti you are taking more of a risk.

If were to have one bike it would be my C59. I use a Crux as a gravel/winter bike and it's a lot of fun but if I lived in a sunny place a nice road bike would be my only bike.

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TonyM
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Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2015 4:11 pm

by TonyM

AJS914 wrote:
Thu Feb 08, 2018 9:41 pm
I had a Litespeed that I bought in 1997. I rode that bike for 20 years - no cracks. A friend bought an Ultimate and he also rode it for the same amount of time. Those bikes were bulletproof. You could tell from the welds that they did an amazingly meticulous job. I think if you buy cheap Ti you are taking more of a risk.
Thanks for the feedback!
I can remember also that 25 years ago Litespeed was the brand in terms of Titanium frames (Gewiss Pro Team etc...)
I suppose the cheap Ti frames don't have the quality. But I also see so many "custom made Ti" adverstised everywhere and which are quite expensive and could imagine that the price tag doesn't necessarily reflect the quality of the build but more the marketing etc....

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FIJIGabe
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Location: The Lone Star State

by FIJIGabe

You get what you pay for, and in Ti, that's especially the case. I think I've seen one Lightspeed with a cracked weld, and the company was quick to fix the problem. You haven't clarified whether your current living situation is permanent, or you're just looking for one bike, now. If your situation is what I think it is, then I'd invest in a disc brake road bike with room for larger "gravel" tires. It can be Ti or carbon, but would definitely have space for fenders, given the weather in NYC, if you ever decide to ride outdoors during the fall/winter/early spring. I would stay away from steel, just because it can get very heavy, but aluminum is a decent option if you want to keep costs down.

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Stolichnaya
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Joined: Wed Oct 06, 2004 6:55 pm
Location: Vienna, AUT

by Stolichnaya

Trying to find a bike that does everything "ok" is a rubbish idea. The bike will do everything "ok", but nothing stellar. Pick the specific type of riding you want to do and buy the bike based on that. You may eventually have more space allowing for more bikes.

I always preferred to ride a road bike in NYC. And most modern road bikes are being designed around tires up to 28mm, so you can swap tires seasonally for different weather. Not sure where you are in NYC, but I recall some spirited group rides could be joined in a few boroughs back in the day. The bee swarm packs that would develop nightly in Central Park were super fun. Those still going on? I assume so.

bm0p700f
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by bm0p700f

one bike scoff, bigger garage so I can keep more. If necessary move that what I did. life too short for just one bike.

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tymon_tm
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Joined: Tue Sep 05, 2006 4:35 pm

by tymon_tm

Madone. with mechanical Shimano groupset and Cosmics.

I find the sensation of a stiff, agile aero bike beyond anything bike biz has to offer. I would ride on bike paths with my family on it, I'd climb on it, perhaps I'd stay indors more in winter, but I don't really ride in cold that much these days.
kkibbler wrote: WW remembers.

by Weenie


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