Is this it????

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Sandra,
The key is this: Happiness is loving what you have. (that goes for both material and other things in life)
Remember- there will ALWAYS be millions of bikes better than yours. And there will always be millions of bikes worse than yours. One could buy a bike a week and still not be happy. It's all in your "frame of mind" (pun intended).

Just find a bike that fits you right and is right for the task you want it to do....and then put your heart and soul into making that bike truly wonderful and LOVE that particular bike for its own special uniqueness.
This system still might require several bikes, depending on the different riding needs you have (speed, errand/fun, long distance, mountain, etc.).

Now, if you are perfectly happy with buying bike after bike and continually looking for something better or a new thrill (NOT saying this is you, Sandra), then there is no "problem". But if one is distressed by repeatedly seeking to buy another bike, then one might look inwards to find the solution.

[sandra]

Yep, it's that old saying "happiness is wanting what you have, not having what you want."

Thanks Lisa for the reminder.

[mimitabby]

Lisa there are NOT MILLIONS of bikes better than mine. Maybe hundreds, but NOT millions.

[sandra]

sigh. she's not talking about YOURS Mimi, she's talking about MINE.

[elk]

for me it is an evolution of discovery. I love my hybrid....but it didn't take too long for me to realize what the limitations of the bike are. (slow and heavy and not so lean on hills.) I also have really strong body memories of what a steel road bike was like to ride...a craving as it were....

I think there was no way to know until I jumped in and started having cycling experiences...And sometimes it takes a while for things to sift out....

[sandra]

You are right where I was last July when I decided that my faithful old Giant Cypress DX was too heavy and slow. I needed a road bike. I made that purchase, loved it and sold my hybrid. A few months later I missed the hybrid. Then I purchases the mixte. Welcome to mixte fever!

Is it possible to have ONE bike that does everything you want? For me, I don't think so, or at least I don't know what it would be.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Is it possible to have ONE bike that does everything you want?

Depends on how many different things you want!

If you live in a flat place and don't want to ride long distances or on rough trails, and just want to ride around town doing errands... then one bike can do all that.
If you live in a hilly area, don't care about speed, and like to ride rough fire roads and wooded mountainous trails, then you can have one bike that does it all for you.
If you only want to go super fast on only paved roads, then one bike could do it all for you.

For myself- I only need to go medium fast, do occasional long distance riding in comfort, and be able to go over rough gravel roads as well. My bike does all that for me.
My next bike will do the same things....because that's just the kind of riding i do!