Today, two days prior to a multi-day bike trip I found out there is a small tear in my carbon road bike frame. As there is not enough time to repair it I have to arrange an alternative bike. I do not want to go on my CX bike. For various random reasons, but mainly because it feels old. The most obvious solution, of course, would be to rent a road bike for a week and do the trip. But, as I’ve been looking to replace the CX bike for a while, my mind directly jumped to “Now it’s really time to buy that new bike! It’s even necessary and will save me the rental money!.”
Now the question: Is this my cycling addiction talking or common sense?
Probably a local specific question, but in a lot of parts of the world it seems like quite a stretch to get a bike in the right size on the spot / get it build up in time.
Personally if it’s a week long trip I’d rather ride a old and proofen solution than a new one.
I’m going to go against the grain and recommend taking the CX bike. Sure, it’s old, but it’s a known quantity, you know what maintenance has been done, you know there’s nothing broken, and most importantly, you know it fits right. When the trip is over, you’ll remember the journey, not the bike.
I always avoid making a big change or doing big maintenance on my bike before a big trip, and it really doesn’t get much bigger than a whole new bike. I wouldn’t want to buy a new bike and take it on a multi-day trip untested. Who knows, maybe you’ll fall back in love with your CX bike, or if not, those new bikes at the shop will still be there when you get back.
.
if it’s really the right fit.