What do you think is the truly appropriate number of bikes to own?

[Leopold Porkstacker]

Eight is a good number.

[lidarman]

Two!

That way you have one while you are repairing the other.

I violate this rule but I am unreasonable. I like having a trashy SS commuter bike and a long travel FS as well a a short travel FS.

But I could happily live with a trashy geared hardtail and a long travel FS, using my hardtail for commuting and smooth rides and my FS for big technical rides and as a commuter back-up when the other bike it in service.

[Crunch406]

4.

Carbon road bike
Hardtail 29er
Fatty
Commuter

I have the first three. The commuter is something I would love to have, I just don't know if it would get enough use to justify it. Of course, now that I have the Necromancer, my HT may also be relegated to that very thing.

[Vitamin G]

I think this is based on geography. For me, four would be nice. I'm missing the gravel bike to complete my collection.

- XC (racing) bike
- commuting bike / grocery getter (I actually have 2 commuters right now, one for summer and one for winter)
- gravel road bike
- road racing bike

[hartwerks]

For me it's 5.

Trail bike
Downhill bike
Dirt jumper
Road (or cross) bike
Townie / bar bike

I have couple more than this (singlespeed MTB, singlespeed road bike) but those first five I feel are important, and the other two are sort of superfluous (but still fun).

[seat_boy]

I've always targeted three for me (as others have pointed out, 1 road, 1 mountain, 1 for errands), but I like the OP's idea of the third bike being for the riding you like best. That actually might be my errand bike for me-- I spend a lot of time pulling the kids around town, or using it for short overnighters.

I was briefly thinking about thinning down to 2, but now I'm ballooning up to six. It's like a diet yo-yo.

[LostBoyScout]

I like the idea of combining as many types of riding into each bike as possible - I was at two for a while, an all-mountain bike that sufficed on any type of trail and a touring road bike that could do everything from road rides to light trail use, with braze-ons for anything. It was a very well rounded pair.

Made-to-look-cheap bar bikes are key, I agree with the sentiment that it needs to be nice enough to be enjoyable to ride. My upcoming bar bike is a de-badged Long Haul Trucker with a parts-bin build.

[LostBoyScout]

Also, I'm currently selling said touring bike to fund a Salsa Mukluk + a set of 29er wheels, so I can use it with anywhere from 32c to 4.7" tires to ride and tour every type of surface. It will be the everything-tourer.

[ilikefire]

I like the idea of combining as many types of riding into each bike as possible .

Agreed. For that reason I have to say 3.

One all-mountain/trail do it all mountain bike
One bar bike/commuter/road bike for training
And one fatbike for winter.

If i could combine the fatbike with the bar bike/commuter via wheel swaps - I would say 2. But I haven't looked into that yet.

[zippinveedub]

I have 2. A cross bike and ht 29er. Ideally I'd like to add a road bike and a 6in trail bike.

[A-Ray]

I curently have 17, but I really only "need" 16 of them

[olijay]

Townie bike
Full sus trail bike (~140mm)
More hardcore AM bike (~160mm)
Hardtail trail bike (~120mm for winter and as backup)
Fancy road bike
Beater road bike (winter/backup)
CX bike
DH bike

So. Eight bikes. Damn that's a lot. I only have the first two!

[zebrahum]

The correct answer is n+1; there is no such thing as a practical limit to the number of bikes you should have, it's simply a limit of your current situation. Just because you don't have the money or room for another bike doesn't mean you don't need another one!

Let's see, my garage currently looks like this:
FS 170 trail bike
SS HT
DJ HT
Cruiser
CX
First hand built frame: CX
Wife's FS 140mm
Wife's cruiser
Random WalSchwinn (in case of company needing to ride to dinner with us)

Need:
Wife FS 170mm (will likely replace 140mm)
DH bike, probably 2
To learn to fillet braze, build 650b AM HT
Wife should have a HT
If velodrome finally gets funding: 2 track bikes
Near future: kid's bike(s)

If I ever get to get a new house, I'm going to need a garage bay for bikes and bike building.

[KCHT]

I'm down to 3 and have never been happier with my set up.
Rigid SS - Karate Monkey
Trail bike - Bandit 29
DH - TR250

I really think that is the perfect set up but I don't require a road bike.

[TitanofChaos]

I'd say 3-5

FS mountain, commuter, road, FATTY, HT mountain (probably SS)

[Igoreha]

1. fixie - road riding, commuting
2. rigid ss 29er - xc, singletrack
3. DJ ss hardtail - tricks, jumping, pumptrack

These are the 3 that I need and these are the 3 that I own.

Maybe Dh bike, trials bike and BMX but I really don't need them.

[Mtn-Rider]

The truly appropriate number is 3 mountain bikes.
2 is the bare minimum for consistent regular rides until one bike breaks.
1 is never perfect and induces extreme bike anxiety.
Roadies add 1 road bike.
5 bikes total is too many, one will always be abandoned.

[LostBoyScout]

I'm down to 3 and have never been happier with my set up.
Rigid SS - Karate Monkey
Trail bike - Bandit 29
DH - TR250

I really think that is the perfect set up but I don't require a road bike.

Holy smokes, we have similar quivers. I am swapping my vaya parts to an Ogre so it's getting more similar too.

[manchvegas]

4...

1 do everything full suspension.. (my mojo HD)
2 road bike
3 hardtail light 29er for racing
4 downhill/freeride

right now, I make the best of what I can with the Mojo HD, for racing I switch tires and forks, and same for DH and freeride. I have a road bike. It'd be nice to ad a xc racer, and a DH rig to my stable....

[irishpitbull]

I'm good with 3.

1 XC
2 Trail

[One Pivot]

3. Road, mountain, and a goof off bike. I like to ride the same mountain bike until im bored with it, then I sell and buy something else.

[53119]

i have 3 currently and will be adding a 4th.
2011 enduro
2009 sx/4x/ss
2008 blkmrkt mob djer

soon tr. klunker! i don't like adding as much as i like replacing. It's always in direct relation to how many times a week i can ride.

[Lenny7]

As many as you want, as long as you can pay cash for them and not go into dept.

[RobinGB]

i would say 3,

1.your primary biking discipline - DH, road, XC ect.

2.a commuter - because everyone who can should bike to work, simply because if your lucky enough to have an excuse to ride everyday you should. =p

3.secondary discipline aka the fun bike. Single speed, DH sled for parks, trials, BMX ect.

I think personal think anything more then that gets to expense in initial purches and upkeep.

I have my little AM monster, which i do all my riding on. Im getting a commuter in a month or so, and i have been looking for a Bike park DH sled for a while.

[mfisher1971]

One.

Owning a single bike is infinitely better than owning none. Any number of bikes beyond the first, though rewarding and favorable, is relatively insignificant.