Anyone else fall out of love with bikes?

Kinda feel like I have.

I go cycling everyday, but just don't seem to be that bothered about building bikes, looking at bikes online or even watching content on them?

I have a Colnago that has been my baby since the day I got it, I've always wanted one, and I walked past the frame (which I've done nothing with) in over a year, and even considered selling it. I was always so enthusiastic about finding the parts I wanted, scouring eBay, writing down exactly what I wanted to build next and just enjoying the whole process. I've left that bike in bits in the garage for a good few years now.

Kinda worries me a little as I'm happy in my life, but literally have no interest in the bikes anymore. I've had times where I've lost interest for a few months, but it has probably been 2(ish) years now?

Anyone similar?

No. Strange question and even stranger place to ask it.

Bollocks. There’s another thread, has Mojo in the title, where people have discussed this.

I suggest using the bike to go and do non-bike things. Or even just try doing something extra on a ride, like take a book and a flask of tea.

Museums. Birdwatching. Foraging. Dogging? Is there cycle dogging yet? There should be.

Starts cycle dogging thread

Dibs Colnago. Pending price/size/location/model/colour/amount of dust/rust accumulated

Interest and hobbies can change and often come back later. We are all continuously evolving. There no rule that enthusiasim for bikes or cycling needs to a life long passion.

There’s another thread, has Mojo in the title, where people have discussed this.

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/239417/

this! :) poor colnago....

These things (not just about bikes) come and go for me too. It seems normal, and as you hint, a bit sad to know that something once gave you a lot of pleasure but no longer lights up anything in you.

I think it has a melancholy in it because it's like seeing something that was important in your childhood, and remembering the feeling but no longer having it, and that's a recognition that part of your life has gone and won't come back.

I also think that the past 18 months have washed the light and enthusiasm out of many people for many things. For me, I'm hoping that some of those will come back when this all passes.

I'm happy in my life

Maybe you've reached a state of nirvana and now aren't trying to fill a void by worrying about building up bikes to silly perfection. I have 4 bikes in the flat, and constantly thinking about the details and what i want to change on each one is exhausting and borderline obsession. Money draining too. I think about the serentiy of slimming down to one nice road bike. Or the freedom of having one ratbike that I don't care about.

As long as you've not fallen out of love with cycling maybe it's a healthy place to be and you've 'arrived'.

I'm semi joking here. But also not really. I love messing with bikes but it is a commitment!

I miss being in London where the decision to cycle is a no brainer over public transport and there are lots of places (pubs) and people (bike nerds/drug dealers) to visit.

I'm in a smallish town in Somerset with spectacular scenery and quiet lanes within a mile. I invariably enjoy riding, but making the decision to go for a ride, simply for the sake of riding, I really struggle to commit to

Re. The Nag: Never. Sell. Anything

Everyone will have this to some extent. Be it dragging yourself out for riding 12hrs up and down an A road for training or going to explore beautiful scenery just for fun. Sometimes you're just not that into it.

Given how 'into' cycling I am, you'd laugh at how many times my missus or someone had to kick me out of the house to get going.

As for building bikes... I fucking hate building bikes, I hate working on bikes, I hate that they break and wear out. If I could afford to have a service course and team of mechanics working on everything I would. I'm just too tight for that and as for new bikes and builds I don't read most of those threads these days. I've seen enough bikes to last anyone a lifetime. If I'm out of my depth knowledge-wise then sure, i'll get into the MTB threads to find out what the go is but mostly I don't care.

Lockdowns and shit like vaccines aren't helping motivation.

I go cycling everyday, but just don't seem to be that bothered about building bikes, looking at bikes online or even watching content on them?

You don't say how you feel about the actual cycling part. Still enjoying that?

When I was younger and had more time I was always happy having multiple projects on the go, things to tinker with.

But these days I really can't be bothered with most of that - I've other things to do, other things I'm happy to do. Plus having too many unfinished projects about stresses me out needlessly. If the bike-tinkering was filling a hole then I guess I've found other things there.

But the bike riding if anything is better - less fretting about bike stuff, just riding what I've got.

The frame collection has halved (still up in double digits but improving(?) ! ). I've even considered letting a bike shop do stuff for me these days now that I'm more time-poor rather than money-poor.

I'd be more worried if I was losing interest in cycling but for that I've found mixing it up helps. For a little while I was following roadies around, getting faster, people talked about 'training' and stuff and it was getting a little... dull.

I've rekindled enthusiasm by stepping away and back to my cycling roots a little - I'm out there just exploring, getting lost, visiting places I'm curious about. Taking it less seriously and doing a lot of that off-road (gravel bike, MTB).

It's possible you were never in love with bikes or cycling. You were just using it to fill a hole (no euph) that you've now found something else for. I've done this before, not with cycling -i'll be doing that for life - but other obsessions.

I still love riding, but the price gouging, industry trends and Instagram cycling is taking its toll. Hardly buying any unnecessary stuff anymore or agonising over upgrades, new bikes or matching finishing kit, a lot of recycling spare parts in my reduced fleet.
In a way, is quite liberating and the money saved goes to better stuff like power meters or wheels.

100% this. If I had someone to short all the annoying issues on my bikes, clean them and work out what I need next and make it all compatible I’d ride loads more! Bikes can be so frustrating

Someone today asked if I had a crank puller. I looked in my toolbox. I have 4 of them.

I don't even own any square taper motherfucking cranks anymore, no wait the pub bike still has a set of 600s. But still! 4 fucking crank pullers! I bet I've got more back in Oz and maybe even in Poland too.

This is another reason that if you do upgrade bikes, think about their proprietary shit. Like, I try to buy 27.2 seatpost bikes that have BSA threaded BBs. It's one less thing to think about. Most of my spare seatposts will fit, yada yada. Beer is so much easier.

I think about the serentiy of slimming down to one nice road bike. Or the freedom of having one ratbike that I don't care about.

So much this.

EDIT https://youtu.be/si4rMCJBD3E

Never fallen out of love with bikes... cycling yes. Being a professional mechanic yes. But both have always been framed from the perspective of "man... all I wanna do is fiddle with MY bike..."

Oh man, the romanticism of Rat Bikes is real. They can be fucking deathtraps, but at least you'll die cool.

Someone today asked if I had a crank puller. I looked in my toolbox. I have 4 of them.

I don't even own any square taper motherfucking cranks anymore

Lol.

I can relate, but with music. I used to live and breathe music, logged thousands of hours on 2 instruments, built up a massive music library, etc etc. Now I much prefer quiet, can’t be bothered with playing, and ‘the scene’ just bores me.

I’ll occasionally be motivated to sit at a piano or bring out my trumpet, and most of the time I’ll enjoy it (lack of practice means I’ll struggle where I previously didn’t). It’s not nearly as impassioning now, but I guess that’s life. We grow, and sometimes we move on.

constantly thinking about the details and what i want to change on each one is exhausting and borderline obsession.

About once a year i have a melt down, stop for a while then start over with a new build that addresses where i went wrong with the last. Wash, rinse, repeat.

I'm trying to make the shift from building bikes as a hobby to actually riding them for fun which isn't as easy as it sounds. Being happy and being able to ignore unfinished projects sounds like the OP has made it in life rather than something to be worried about.

Exacto. My only saving grace is I am actually also enjoying riding (most of) mine. But the one bike sees 80% of the action. The others are feeding off scraps of the remaining 20% of the time.

The most expensive one is a 90's 650c double tri-spok steel triathlon bike ffs...

None of my bikes are projects. They're all bought for a purpose or because I see one that I always wanted. If I see a bike that will do purpose x better than I'll start looking at excuses for getting rid of the other one and replace it. Normally though, I just wait until some shithead on a phone runs into me and destroys my bike and then I get to buy a new one. I also have a system of scattering bikes across multiple countries to the point now I've lost count of how many I actually own.

To me it sounds like you've actually reached a desirable state. Still riding bikes every day but not hung up on the 'gear'. Yes it might feel slightly unsettling to observe this shift in yourself, but as others have hinted here I would take it as a positive.