Why did you buy your bike*?

[CAMRAMan]

I bought my Harry Quinn - even though it was too small for me and a track frame - so I could powder coat it lilac and take it to Half Man Half Biscuit gigs. Sadly, it was in the way when I moved out and I flogged it for a song to a nice woman who'll hopefully be riding it round Anglesey as I write.

[drossall]

Some omissions for simplicity:

• A teacher at school saw me braking by putting feet on the floor, and told my Dad I needed something with working brakes
• I had joined a club and wanted something for racing
• I had bent the first bike above and I wanted a spare to avoid riding the racing bike in all weathers
• The racing bike was proving a bit big, so I wanted something that was a better fit
• Work moved to the next town and I wanted to free up the spare bike to turn into a commuter (and this really nice frame just hung in the LBS looking at me for three months)
• I had persuaded my new wife to ride tandem with me
• Various successive frames had a tough time on the commuting run, and rusted or (on two occasions) were hit by cars
• There was this really nice second-hand MTB in the LBS, and it would give me more street cred with the Scouts
• The LBS at Mum's completely failed to sell this amazing Principia, so I felt obliged to release it from captivity into the open air
• A proper Mercian tourer frame was on offer at the same time as good wheels, in the Former Place
• My first cycling club had lots of trike riders, and one my size was on offer in another place, so I had to try it, didn't I
• My teenage dream bike (well, there were several of those) was finally on offer decades later, also in another place
• I got made redundant and needed to have a folder to cycle to the office in London for my new job
• Evans were offering a mahoosive discount on a lightweight folder, and the new job also offered big Evans discounts at the same time, so they nearly paid me to take the bike away for rides home from London on nice summer evenings
• The original Dahon folder broke in half when I was riding home, so I thought it was time to join the Bromptonaughts

[fd3]

I got my Pompino frame when they were discontinuing the MK1 design, £75 ~20 years ago seemed like a lot of money at the time.  Fixed gear was the rage, but importantly I could leg brake when heading downhill with a bike covered in canal muck (too muddy for the rim brakes to work).  I could upgrade it to something 10% better, but meh.  Maybe I'll treat it to new brakepads.
I got the Catrike because I always wanted a recumbent trike, I was tolerating the SPM, and the price was quite doable (BHPC forum).  Factoring in that I managed to then sell the SPM and I have probably spent more on the Trike's accessories since I bought it.

[Polar Bear]

For this thread I will stick to my Roberts Rough stuff tourer.

I had started touring and the first bike I used was a Marin Muirwoods hardtail with a rack on the back.  The frame helpfully could accommodate a rack.  It was mostly OK but we soon started contemplating camping whilst touring so I bought an Orbit something or other drop bar tourer.  It was better for load lugging than the Marin but, and this is a big but, I had no confidence in both the brakes (Avid Shorty 6 cantis) or the handling over anything but smooth tarmac.  I mulled things over and realised that I needed something built for lugging load with better brakes than the cantis, something that I felt confident on over broken surfaces and something that I personally felt more in control of.

And so I bought the Roberts Roughstuff specced out with a lot of consultation as I wanted it.  Flat bars, Avid Arch Rival v brakes, Brooks saddle, XT MTB running gear, Schmidt dynamo hub and Tubus racks front and rear.

I have covered tens of thousands of miles on that bike and the only items requiring replacement have been gear and brake wires, brake pads, chainrings, cassettes and chains and of course tyres and tubes.  I have upgraded the front light to an led one and that's about it really.

Sits in my loft now.  Although I can no longer cycle I cannot bear to part with Roberta.

I keep promising myself that I am going to strip her down, have the frame resprayed with new decals, rebuild her and hang her on the wall.  You never know ...

[HTFB]

I am a bloke of few bikes.

1) 1991 Raleigh Massif. For teenage cycling things. I'd entered some sort of Barclays prize draw and won £200 of Raleigh, and this was as many indexed gears I could get with the voucher.

2) 1996 Dawes Street Scene hybrid. Initially for student things mostly on towpaths. The Raleigh had been nicked and insurance paid out. It was marked down at Beeline Bicycles on the Cowley Road, and it was as much 25" frame as I could get for the money. I had my eyes on a tourer but couldn't afford to upgrade. The Street Scene was I think a rebadged Horizon frame and I gradually converted it to a touring spec.

3) 2017 second-hand Genesis Day One Di2, to commute on. I wanted a bike with both drop bars and hub gears, of which there is not a wide choice, and my grate freind GRT found one on eBay.

There's also a tandem, bought on eBay because I thought it would be nice to have a tandem and it was an XL frame up front.

[morbihan]

There was always a bike knocking around during the mid/teen years. I can barely visualise them aside form perhaps a Raleigh chopper circa 1970's.
I had some kind of basic steel road/tourer in the late 80's which was used to commute  and it also went on a couple of camping tours to France too. I recently unearthed some photos of it and there was a glimmer of a memory. Nostalgia.
Aside form a hefty mountain bike used for getting around the Island here in the early 90's, bicycles sadly left my life for a good few years. Im not really sure why.
Running, rugby, work, took over I suppose. Racing was never my scene. It seemed very niche and for skinny people at the time.
About ten years ago we did a couple of organised cycling tours and fell back in love with the world of two wheels again.
I bought an alunimum trek roadie and started to race after a running knee injury. It was fast but a pretty hateful ride. Its the only bike since that I have let go.  Given away.
Between us now there are (gulp) 8 titanium bikes. 2 van Nic Yukons and 6 Fireflies. All with varying geometries.
Unlike ZigZag, and I get where you are coming from, all of my bikes are very personal, loved and precious. I don't intend to part with any, ever. Or at least until Im unable to ride them.
I don't envisage getting any more bikes in my life, except perhaps an ebike Dutchie come the day when I can't get my leg over the current ones.
We also have 2 specialised Lobster Rolls, and three trek hybrids. They are mainly for VRBO guests to use as loaners. Though I use them too for shopping trips, towing luggage with a trailer and painting on location. Im fond of them but they are not irreplaceable.
Ive never owned a carbon frame bike but have mulled the idea of a fast aero road racer with more tire clearance than my trusty FF roadie, but I can't justify that for the odd Saturday race. I couldn't do the bike justice at my stage in the game either.
There is very little I'd change with the bikes I have. Perhaps some lower gearing on the FF endurance bike. there is 40,000km on the drivetrain so maybe that will happen in the not too distant future.
As a side note, when I got back into riding, I was in a pretty dark place for a bit there and its probably not an understatement to say that the bicycles may have saved my life.

[JellyLegs]

To get fit again after cancer and chemo in my mid 40s, which I realise makes the bike 9 years old next month.

[fd3]

Unlike ZigZag, and I get where you are coming from, all of my bikes are very personal, loved and precious. I don't intend to part with any, ever. Or at least until Im unable to ride them.

I recently gave away a bike I really like that I never ride.  I find that often selling is a mug's game as the old bike that you have fond memories of will not get what you think it's worth.

[sojournermike]

Unlike ZigZag, and I get where you are coming from, all of my bikes are very personal, loved and precious. I don't intend to part with any, ever. Or at least until Im unable to ride them.

I recently gave away a bike I really like that I never ride.  I find that often selling is a mug's game as the old bike that you have fond memories of will not get what you think it's worth.

This is very true. Oddly, or perhaps not, in an inflationary climate when new bikes cost ever more good second hand bikes seem to have little actual value. Perhaps the evil auction site is to blame - not because it’s evil, but buyers don’t see what they’re getting or know who they are buying from.

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

2002 Roberts Audax - because i was wanting to do longer riders and a friend recommended it.  Good recommendation - completed an SR series on it this year and has done 2xPBP and a couple of other 1000km events
2004 Roberts Compact Race, because spring club runs got too tasty for me to keep up
2017 Enigma Etape - becuase I liked the idea of a Ti frame and thought I would update the Audax  bike.  Its now relegated to my commuting machine (although my occcasional commutes are 100 miles)
2018 Airnimal - because I used to travel a lot for work and could take it with me on planes, this was to replace the 2006 Airnimal that broke.

[morbihan]

To get fit again after cancer and chemo in my mid 40s, which I realise makes the bike 9 years old next month.

This is both heartwarming and noble.
Congratulations.

[mzjo]

Unlike ZigZag, and I get where you are coming from, all of my bikes are very personal, loved and precious. I don't intend to part with any, ever. Or at least until Im unable to ride them.

I recently gave away a bike I really like that I never ride.  I find that often selling is a mug's game as the old bike that you have fond memories of will not get what you think it's worth.

This is very true. Oddly, or perhaps not, in an inflationary climate when new bikes cost ever more good second hand bikes seem to have little actual value. Perhaps the evil auction site is to blame - not because it’s evil, but buyers don’t see what they’re getting or know who they are buying from.

The vast majority of my bikes are based on stuff that I have been given because it was not saleable (but the french secondhand market seems a bit different to the UK one, useful but uninteresting stuff has no taker and so no value; bizarre and broken junk seems to be advertised at ridiculously overvalued prices, probably without takers as well but there I can't answer, having been put off by the price in the first place!)

[onerousdeporte]

I got my Pompino frame when they were discontinuing the MK1 design, £75 ~20 years ago seemed like a lot of money at the time.  Fixed gear was the rage, but importantly I could leg brake when heading downhill with a bike covered in canal muck (too muddy for the rim brakes to work).  I could upgrade it to something 10% better, but meh.  Maybe I'll treat it to new brakepads.
I got the Catrike because I always wanted a recumbent trike, I was tolerating the SPM, and the price was quite doable (BHPC forum).  Factoring in that I managed to then sell the SPM and I have probably spent more on the Trike's accessories since I bought it.

Pomp sold lots like that.  Great frame too.

[Basil]

In response to the OP.
Because they wouldn't give me them.

[The Family Cyclist]

Going through ones I had a choice in I.e wernt what was cheap from back of newspaper to get me to college/work/wherever I needed to go

My haro escape, had saved up around £300 and looked round LBS, got slightly conned by cycle King as had left front tyre soft so suspension seemed better then was but did me a good turn for work till....

Carera Zelos mountain bike (confusingly they do/did a road bike afterwards with same name) worked at Halfords and was a voucher so got a third off. Lightweight lovely cross country mountain bike which doubled as my transport to work however I grew a bit more late teens and it was a tad small to start with for road use so......

Second hand on one inbred which was built up with various bits a lot from the zealous. Was a cheap second hand frame and suited budget at time but also could take rack etc which became important as this bike stayed in my fleet for ages but was eventually converted to a tourer but found with drop bars ws too stretched

While this was still in my fleet and I now had a house with shed space I decided I'd like to try a tri so visit to LBS for a second hand guess road bike, RB1 rings a bell. Was fairly aero and had clip on tri bars so suited what I needed. Didn't get to do the tri as got ill so didn't have energy and then started riding off road more with a group of mates. Brother in law then borrowed for LEJOG and wanted to keep so sold to him well below value but....

Thankfully got some inheritance and another visit to another LBS as was out on road at work selling. Wanted a fast roadbike and the shop I chose had Merida bikes. Got a race light 901 (I think) which I still own and enjoy for what it is which is a decent enough aluminium road bike. Still got this but its very rarely used as

Met some weird blokes down the pub on a cycle who mentioned this place, kinda changed my outlook on cycling to be more of an explore rather then a how quick can you go. Also started utilitarian cycling lots more so after mostly using my inbred in tourer mode bought a second hand thorn club tour from this forum and built that up. Oh just remembered gor a second hand 29er mountain bike which I just didn't use enough as hardly had any cycling friends and not a huge amount of off road round my way. Sold to get money for a tourer but ended up buying a new fridge freezer as ours died. Once saved a bit more bought the thorn.

It suits me perfectly, well could be a bit lighter but it can drag a trailer with a week's shop it, carry camping gear, get me to places and still good for rides with mates especially on crap roads and can cope with mild off road

[JellyLegs]

To get fit again after cancer and chemo in my mid 40s, which I realise makes the bike 9 years old next month.

This is both heartwarming and noble.
Congratulations.

Thanks.  I was VERY lucky.  Thanks mainly to an information leaflet* sent out by work’s Occy Health nurse, I caught what was subsequently described by the oncologist as “the best type of cancer to have” very early before it had a chance to spread.  A cure was always statistically very likely. The chemo was adjuvant and mild compared to what many go through but it still took it out of me and made me realise just how much my fitness had dropped off while my kids were young.  The experience changed my outlook on life and to be honest taking up cycling 3 months later was one of the best decisions I made.  Getting out on the bike for however many hours let’s me clear my head, alleviates stress and keeps me fit-ish.  It has also introduced me to a whole new set of friends so it can’t be bad.

* These campaigns imploring you to check yourself and not to be shy if you find something suspicious but get straight in to see the GP really do save lives.  I probably wouldn’t have found my cancer for another 6-12 months without that leaflet and then my treatment would have been much harsher and the outcome may not have been so good.