'Weekend' bikes

One of Roberto's ebay ads was deposited in my inbox by some ebay thing I always forget to turn off.

Clicky

Perfect to be built as "weekend fixie" (a bike meant to be ridden only once or twice on the weekend so it doesn't get scratched).

What's your take on the 'weekend' bike idea? Is it like having a geared bike that only comes out in the summer? Is it perfectly reasonable to have a nice bike in which one can take pride and a beater for regular riding? Or is it offensive to the very purpose of a bike to barely ride it?

Discuss!

I ride my (sort of) bling phil wood equipped bike every day. But only because i know i can park it safely at both ends of the journey. It depends though i guess, phil wood is definitely bling but its built like a tank - designed to withstand heavy riding. I wouldn't be so confident taking out vintage campy record stuff every day! I think bikes look better scratched too.

i have plans for a weekend bike, the condor is my commuting/weekend bike at the moment but i have a mercian that is going to be repaired and repainted with barbers pole/lug-lining and have the phil/dura-ace/brooks/shiny bits treatment, can't see it being done for this summer though. I don't care what people think about it being ridden enough, It will mean having 4 bikes and as far as i'm concerned none of them get ridden enough (the condor does the most miles though)

I'll be first to throw my tuppence in on this one,
you have bikes you ride them, if you can afford to have more than one, and want one to be pristine, and virgin territory that you ride around on every so often, then good for you. Personally I find that anathema, a friend of mine used to live with a friend of his in his friends mothers house, she had a front room which was locked, but kept in pristine condition just for when visitors came round, so you could show them your best. I don't understand that, where I live, what I ride is what it is.
I'm all for people having more than one bike, different bikes for different jobs, moods, styles of riding, all good. A bike to show off on, to be pristine, to come out a couple of times a year I don't understand. But I like things to be lived in, used, experienced, I'd rather have the scratches and the history than repainted perfection.
My bikes are dirty and well used and I love them that way, I may clean them come the summer so they shine and gleam a little bit, but I'm not going to get all OCD if they get a bit grimey, as long as there's no corrosion/rust etc, a little dirt won't hurt.

And on the whole beater/hack subject, if you can't just throw it down outside a place and leave it there until you return, if it'll hurt you to lose that bike, then its neither a beater or a hack, so don't call it that, call it an everyday. The great thing about having more than one bike is that, god forbid it happens, if one does go walkies you've always got another to get about on.

I'm building 2 bikes up at the moment.

i. Pub Pug (Peugeot) riserbars, original parts, rattle can paint & doodles. Ideal for riding pissed, taking on trains & leaving outside newsagents after going in to buy fags (a friend left a new £800 Kona outside Spar and managed to walk the half-mile home before he realised!)

ii. IRO Angus I'm trying to build as light as I can from better quality (mostly used) parts. The bike I'll put weekend and night riding miles on this Summer.

I think Roberto's latest lot of ebay ads are pretty funny, especially the 'Perfect for...' paragraphs on the track frames.

Look what how he's tagged this item:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-cycling-jacket-top-german-flag-emo-indie-gay_W0QQitemZ220195470195QQihZ012QQcategoryZ36124QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
LOL.

I am with cornelius blackfoot. Exactly my thoughts, but I would not stop someone who wants to, each to their own, even if it is a bit weird to me.

I think that things should be used, but that doesn't mean they should be abused. I've got a friend who's just bought a Look Carbon frame with full Campy Chorus. Lots of carbon and race level kit. He's gonna ride it hard (he rides for the Brixton Cycles team), but not take it out in crap weather etc. That makes sense to me and is a pretty similar idea to Rob's ad. Not every bike should get scratched and locked to lamposts.

Well, my "weekend" bikes would be used for commuting as well until some cnut decided an empty fscking cupboard was better in the corner than my fscking bike.
So, now my nice bikes get to sit at home unfsckingused and I ride the twatster to work because I'm not prepared to lose my nice wheels for some cnut whore building manager slag. The Soma looks lovely with black tyres and the metallic paint.. I only wish it was a road bike now so I could race it at Hillingdon. :)

What Momentum says. I'm not going to be taking out the Spesh in the rain and grit and shit while I have the much cheaper Ribble to use in rubbish weather.

If I wanted to own something beautiful, just to look at I'd buy a painting.

ride them til they cry.

i remember riding down to watch the TdF prologue last year. beautiful sunny day. the world's best sporting event. perfect.

i couldn't help but notice how quite a few people were on their 'weekend bike', including two beautiful trackbikes some guys were on. fair enough. not for me tho. i like my bikes to look like me - used and abused ;)

Having a bike for a different use for example a carbon race bike for racing not for commuting is different to a weekend bike. TO me a weekend bike implies a bike which is a "show and shin" type of bike. It is ridden to be admire rather than to be ridden.

As I stated above if people wish to do this I would not want to stop them as different people get pleasure from different things and building a bling bike for bling sake seems wasteful to me but it is not harming anyone.

cornelius blackfoot And on the whole beater/hack subject, if you can't just throw it down outside a place and leave it there until you return, if it'll hurt you to lose that bike, then its neither a beater or a hack, so don't call it that, call it an everyday. The great thing about having more than one bike is that, god forbid it happens, if one does go walkies you've always got another to get about on.

that's neither fair nor true, i had an iro that i loved to beat on, trew it down, never once looked a what i leaned it on, leave it in the rain/snow/etc, never cleaned it, it was just there. but that doesn't mean i wouldn't care if it were stolen. i still spent good money on it, that i wouldn't like to spend again, you can still use an item and still love it.

on the whole 'weekend bike' thing, bikes can be pieces of art, and while yes they are made and meant to be ridden, some aren't meant to be ridden in everycondition, and as an end product of fine craftsmanship, maybe deserve a bit more respect in their treatment. one doesn't wear a tuxedo to get groceries, or wear loakes to a gig.

In that case Tommy, I don't have any 'weekend' bikes. I don't go in for that show & shine thing. All my bikes are ridden.
I can understand collectors and that having bikes that rarely (if ever) get ridden but that's a little different.

@ hassanr
if you left the iro wherever good on you, what i was trying to articulate is this notion that beaters and hacks are less than a decent bike, because you won't mind if they are lost, you might class your iro as a beater, but I wouldn't, its an everday bike which you used in all conditions, and all seasons. My argument isn't so much with the usage of the bike but how the bike is viewed by the user. Your bike wasn't a beater because you would have felt a certain amount of loss if it had got snatched off the street, if its a true beater/hack then it goes missing and you don't care you grab another mess of a bike and ride on that. Different people as has been proved conclusively on this forum have different ideas of what is a "mess of a bike".

I don't have the space, the time or the money to have a weekend bike, every bike for me has to be used regularly or whats the point of them, they are not fulfilling their function, their purpose, so I ride then wherever whenever. As tommy says a weekend bike is to be admired, not ridden, I want my bikes to be ridden and if they are admired so be it, if not fuck it I still love 'em...

that's why i usually don't get involved in conversations such as these, everyone has their own ideas, and generally no one is going to budge, so we all agree to disagree. fair enough on your opinion, enjoy it. :)
edit-
and one other small point. your definition of a beater requires apathy towards the bike. i only ride bikes because i enjoy it. why ride one you feel nothing (or more likely, actively don't like) towards just so you don't worry about it's loss?

Surely most 'weekend' bikes are getting ridden, just not as much. Most weekend bikes aren't hanging on the wall, they're just being taken out when the owner won't have to worry as much about them getting stolen/scratched/whatever. I don't see the problem with that.

hassanr that's why i usually don't get involved in conversations such as these, everyone has their own ideas, and generally no one is going to budge, so we all agree to disagree. fair enough on your opinion, enjoy it. :)
edit-
and one other small point. your definition of a beater requires apathy towards the bike. i only ride bikes because i enjoy it. why ride one you feel nothing (or more likely, actively don't like) towards just so you don't worry about it's loss?

thats why I don't like the term beater, it seems to imply that you have no love for the bike that you are riding, if thats the case, why ride it, get rid of it and ride something you do like. ;-)
I feel you should love your bike not to the point where it can't leave your sight, or not be locked outside, but love it because you enjoy riding it, and want to continue to do so, because you've made it for yourself and no one else.

Personally I don't think we're that far apart in opinion, or that our opinions differ that much, just with all things forum/email based, nuance and tone are difficult to convey, or express. Come out on the regular sat/sun rides being proposed, or the monopoly ride in march and we'll discuss face to face. ;-)

probably true, and again, part of why i don't usually indulge in these types of discussions via web. sounds good, i like the sound of this monopoly ride. reguar sat/sun rides?

if having a "weekend bike" means more bikes for all, Im down with that ;)

hassanr probably true, and again, part of why i don't usually indulge in these types of discussions via web. sounds good, i like the sound of this monopoly ride. reguar sat/sun rides?

regular rides thread below
http://www.londonfgss.com/discussion/3928/regular-ride/#Item_21

cheers, saw that just after i posted!

straightedgeandy if having a "weekend bike" means more bikes for all, Im down with that ;)

Good call Andy.

hassanr why ride one you feel nothing (or more likely, actively don't like) towards just so you don't worry about it's loss?

Because I'm not prepared to leave £3k of bike locked up next to £50 beaters all day, 5-days a week.
Nor do I want the paint on my £300 bike scratched off by some gumby's Brompton (no offence Sam ;)).