+1 on this. I’ll be acquiring tools until I die. I like doing my own stuff (bikes, cars, house, etc.) and there is zero hesitation to buy the right tool to get the job done.
But I have been trying to minimize other areas of life. I’ve always been a bit of a hoarder, but have made a real effort to get rid of stuff since retiring a couple years ago. So much crap we didn’t need. Cycling stuff is part of it, but it’s mostly been old parts/cloths I’ll never use rather than bikes. There’s a couple bikes I could do without, but they aren’t worth much and still get used from time to time. Of all the crap I need to get rid of, bikes are pretty far down the list.
Not that I’ve cleared much (I would say that I have, other people would say I haven’t ) I have preferred to just dump or donate without checking what would happen to the donations. So it’s a really good point to check the donation site.
Would a local bike shop want a bunch of old kit/tools etc ? Kinda like free cycle but with a central hub ( far too many bike puns in that sentence)
I wouldn’t say I do minamalism. I’m more a few pieces of high quality equipment/clothes from brands that have a modicum of respectability. I like to buy infrequently and get years out of it.
Tools are tricky, I try to be self sufficient in everything I do which I think is more important than minamalism. I need bike tools, automotive tools, carpentry tools, electronic tools, I have 4 computers for computer work.
This is something I think about all the time because I’m a minimalist by nature. I try to own just enough in most aspects of my life, but cycling stuff definitely creeps up over time. When I buy a bike, or anything for that matter, I tend to use it until it dies. I’m not one to sell things and upgrade, so becuase of this I can accumulate bikes! My general rule when it comes to bikes, is if I use it regularity or it has a purpose, then I keep it. I only upgrade when a bike is beyond it’s useful life, or a significant advantage warrants an upgrade - pretty rare in my opinion, but going from my older 26 mtb to newer 29 def fit that upgrade for me.
I think the amount of bikes comes down to how you approach cycling and how much space you have. I ride all year and do multiple disciplines so, I need:
Road bike for fast competitive road rides (it’s not new, and has over 100,000k from 2008)
A gravel bike that doubles as my bike packing bike (8 years old)
A mtn bike as a significant portion of my riding is pure mtb (7 years old)
Fat bike - we have snow here for at least 5 months, and this a large percentage of my riding (6 years old)
An old cyclocross bike - gets most of the early season miles when roads are still messy and salty (13 years old)
Where I struggle sometimes, is when is it time to move on from a bike. This is different for everyone, but I’ve noticed that I keep mine way longer than most folks.
I’ve been slowly downsizing, not with just this but all aspects of my life.
I used to own 3 road bikes: an SW Tarmac, a fixie, and my old beat up alloy Allez. I sold the fixie and the Tarmac, keeping the near-worthless Allez. Converted it to 1x10 and I’m loving it!
I’ve got two mountain bikes: my Procaliber XC rig and a fat bike. I realized I’m probably never going to fat bike race again and I’ll probably focus on winter running, so it’s pretty easy to say goodbye to that. I’ve got corner bars and a 40t chainring in case I want to do gravel stuff with the PC.
Lastly, I’ve got a tandem bike I’ve used ONCE. Bought it back in 2019… time to let it go.
I am unsure if anyone else is like this, but my sentimentally is attached to the object. Once I let the object go, the sentimentality goes with it. So, once I power through selling or donating something, I no longer care about it.
I actually only play one guitar, one bass, and one acoustic… so I’ve also been paring down my collection. Goal is from 5, 3, and 3 down to 2, 1, and 1 respectively. I got a free multi-effects that works wonderfully, so keeping that. And keeping my bass amp cuz it plays guitar real well, too.
That’s definitely me. It’s not linear in terms of sentimentality to letting it go. Once I make the decision, it’s over. But right up to the moment I might be 100% all in.
Assuming you’re a road cyclist. 1 bike. 1 set of wheels (45mm-70mm), tyres for the season (or just got GP5K TR!) 3 bibs, 3 summer jerseys, 3 winter jerseys, 1 gilet, 1 jacket, 3 pairs of socks, 1 pair of shoes, 1 helmet, 1 pair winter gloves, 1 sunglasses with clear lens and sunny lens, two 750ml bottles, 1 set of allen keys, 1 set of tools to completely disassesmble and reassemble your bike by yourself, 1 set of spares in the saddle bag, 1 Trainerroad, 1 smart trainer, 2 fans.
The rest you buy as you go (spare parts, nutrition, etc).
I wish I was like this. I desperately miss my VW, like badly. It’s been gone for 7 years now. I also miss several other cars I’ve had, which cost less than a set of wheels on my bikes.
) I have preferred to just dump or donate without checking what would happen to the donations. So it’s a really good point to check the donation site.