AIBU to think 2 bikes are enough?

[ColdAsConcrete]

DH took up cycling as recovery after an accident whilst I was pregnant...

He decided a while back he was going to learn bike maintenance and build his own bikes etc.
The first mountain bike he bought was the wrong size. This is now my bike (1)

The second mountain bike he bought was fine, used it at least 5 years.

During this time he bought a road bike (3).

He decided to build his own mountain bike (4). Bike 2 is now DS's.

Then he sold bike 3 and decided to build a road bike (5).

He then bought a gravel bike (from US) in parts and never managed to assemble it. (6)

He had now decided that he can't be doing with bike maintenance for all our bikes (bear in mind he bought all the tools etc and took over our basement my workbench as in the long run it would be cheaper etc etc)

He bought me a tour bike for my 40th, bike 1 is being held in reserve for DD.

He has now bought himself a touring bike (7).

bikes 1,4,5&6 are in the basement. I'm not allowed to use the workbench there whilst he's working on a bike as it creates dust.

He's just offered the basement as a playroom to the DC and said I should clear my stuff out as I never use it 🤯 Because there's been a half build bike abandoned for the last 6 months! I was half way through building something for DD and I had to stop.

AIBU to insist he has to sell two bikes? We'll keep the one intended for DD and he can keep one other in there? He has to cover them and I get my workbench back?

I don't know what it is but I absolutely detest those men with multiple bikes! I wouldn't tolerate me not being able to use a workbench in the garage because of the dust getting on a bike. He can cover the damn thing if he feels so precious about it.
I nearly killed my ex once because he used my expensive paper cutting scalpel to cut something to fix his inner tube so I do have a bit of a PTSD when it comes to bicycle maintenance and men who collect useless crap "to fix it up" (aka, dump in a heap in the garage never to be touched again).

We're a multi bike household, and DH definitely has a bike collecting hobby. Do you actually use your bikes? Start by selling the unused ones - do you actually use both the tourer and the MTB? He probably doesn't need an MTB, a gravel bike and a tourer - most gravel bikes can do MTB and touring - so I'd say two is probably plenty. It's impacting on shared space in the house, and affecting how the rest of you use your home, so it's reasonable to ask him to rein it in a bit.

Well in theory multiple bikes are fine

But his hobby preventing your use of the workbench is well out of order and I wouldn't have left it 6 months ( you could make a bike cover with an old blanket or plastic bags to protect form dust )

I don't think this is about the number of bikes, but use of the workbench.

If it's a shared space, both of you need to clear away sufficiently that the other one can use it when you're not.

You aren't allowed to use the room because the bikes might get dusty?

FFS. It's not an operating theatre. Tell him to jog on with that nonsense.

We are a multi bike household and our spare room is full of bikes, turbo set ups, the garage has more bikes/work space etc.

Like the the PP it's not the bikes which are the problem, but it's the fact that 1 person is taking over. Whilst we have a similar set up it works but that's because it suits both of us.

This is purely selfishness and prioritising his interests over yours and the families. Esp as he's not even using any of it.

If the dust is an issues, surely he can just chuck a dust sheet over his stuff and then problem solved?

Number of bikes i don't see as the issue, it's the fact he's telling you can't use the space when he's the reason you've been forced out of it. Put your foot down and remind him the reason you haven't been using it, don't let him bully you into giving up your workbench, it's not ok for him to have his hobby but you not having yours.

How old is DD? Is she actually going to use an adult sized bike soon?

I don't think that multiple bikes are an issue, as long as they're all getting used. Hogging rooms and making them unusable for everyone else is.

Also I'm pissing myself laughing at the idea that bikes can't get dust on them when being worked on. Unless you're blasting stuff directly into seals and bearings, bikes are generally pretty good at getting dirty (especially mountain bikes!). If he's that fucking precious, dust covers exist!

As a cyclist myself, I can confirm that the appropriate number of bikes to own is n+1! Sorry OP, doesn't really help your situation 😬

I agree with the other posters who say this isn't a multiple bike issue, it's a space hogging issue.

If he's using the bikes, it's fine to have them in my opinion. It's not fine to want a lot of parts to play with if he isn't even riding them all.

He shouldn't get to have a monopoly on shared living space. That's selfish.

Yes, he often goes out for rides at the weekends...

DD is 12 so may well be using the bike in the next couple of years (and it was expensive!) so I don't think it's worth getting rid and buying a new one when she needs one.

if there were two, then it would be easily to cover them but they all take up so much floor space and then the rest of the stuff has to be in the middle of the room (stand, tool box, boxes of bits he's ordered but never mounted)

@MotherWol the gravel bike is in bits as he hasn't been able to figure out how to assemble it.

The bikes we use are not kept in the basement. They're more accessible (my touring bike, DH's new touring bike, DS's and DD's) and kept in the garage as we don't have a car.

DH has at least 10 bikes. I have lost count. He is ridiculous. Road bikes, tri-bikes, winter, summer, fixed wheel, blah blah.
I do sympathise with you, but I agree with others it's more about the shared space than the actual number of bikes. You need to be more assertive about your right to use the space.

Can you get wall hooks for them?

DH used to be a multi bike person, to the extent he would never tell me that he'd bought another. All kept in garage which I don't go in.
The killer for me is that over the years he's become too busy with work to find the time to ride.
Convinced him to sell one or two and was blown away when he sold one for £1500 so f**k knows how much he's spent over the years.
He still won't part with four of them because he says they've been customised for him.
Regardless of the fact HE HASNT RIDDEN A BIKE FOR THREE YEAR.
Rant over!

It’s his attitude not the number of bikes. My OH has 5 (road/gravel for fun, folding for commuting to clients, an old post office one with massive panniers for shopping and an old gravel one he uses for commuting to office). The two in frequent use along with mine & kids bikes are in our utility space on hooks and the others are locked up in a shed. He services all of them & has rebuilt before but it’s fine as it’s not in the way of any of us or disrupting us using the utility sink/ floorspace/ benches for something if we want.

Totally agree! I'm not even a very keen cyclist and I've got 4 bikes.

He needs to shift his bikes out of the shared space. Have you got room for a shed?

YABVU.

Every cyclist knows the magic number of bikes is N+1 😏

I would simply move the bikes that should be sold (and bike 7, not sure why that gets basement privileges) to the garage. Preferably in the way of the bikes he uses.

Then crack on with your projects.

@ColdAsConcrete sounds a lot like my DH 🙄who built up a bike so he'd have something to do the nursery run on, because he couldn't put a child seat on any of his nicer bikes. Turns out I do 80% of the nursery runs on my sub-£500 clunker!

@PuttingDownRoots Thats why I'm thinking keep two. I think there'd be space for wall hooks for two, so the one for DD and one of his. Then the other of his in the garage.

I have no idea how much he has spent over the years. This last bike he ordered he refused to tell me how much it cost.

How has he failed to put one together. Can he at least take it to a bike shop and pay someone to assemble it so it gets use. We are a multi-bike household and the issue here is not multi bikes per se, but the fact he won't let you use the space if you need to, because he's fannying around with a particular degree of incompetance. I have a friend like this with cars and the tools to fix cars. Mind you just be glad for the garage space that you are not both into bikes, as rather than the 'hiding the latest bike from the other half' you get either sent pictures of the next one you should buy, or end up in competitive one-upmanship with your other half instead. 😳

We have about two bikes per person in the family. But bikes are for riding. Not storing in the basement, blocking a workbench, or protecting from dust.

For my DH, riding bikes, tinkering with bikes, and curating a collection of bike parts are three separate hobbies. I don't mind, because it means my bikes are well maintained for me.