I've had many bikes in my life and most of them are undocumented. As I've aged and re-located my riding preferences have reacted and adapted.
My visions of what a bicycle is and what a bicycle can be are the products of experience and education. There is no doubt in my mind that those visions will forever be in a liquid state - continuously altered by internal and external influence. I figure if I'm ever going to discuss theory and opinion then you should know how I got here in the first place. I present to you a somewhat accurate timeline of my stable...
[2005-2008] FIXED GEAR CONVERSIONS: 3 remembered - an unbranded road bike converted to fixed and rattled orange; a beautiful blue Centurion that was too big for me; "D'Artagnan" the 1991? Schwinn 354 stripped and rattled beige. I was, and still am, very proud of this last fixed build. The aluminum frame, lack of brakes, and super short chainstays made for a very lively ride. Would've been perfect for an actual courier, but I at the time I was just pretending and that's a very dangerous life to lead.
[2013] 197? ATALA: this bike was garbage. It was converted to a single speed and was too small for me. I learned a ton about cycling in NYC and bicycle design from this failure. Cottered cranks? Fuck that. It did have brakes though, and that was a big step in the right direction.
[2014] 1978 MOTOBECANE SUPER MIRAGE:
Here is where practicality starts to take hold. Fenders are added for riding in various weather conditions (and keeping the street grime off of my ass). Lights for all day/night stretches and a leather saddle for ultimate comfort. Around this time the words of Grant Petersen are slowly trickling in via a fellow cyclist and it's not long before a rack/basket are added. Still, it's not perfect and it's obvious that as I look back on these images that I have a lot to learn about a lot of things. Loved this bike. So gorgeous.
[2015-] 2004 KONA JAKE THE SNAKE:
"The Aluminum Monster". Such a cool bike. It's a Cross Country design (higher bottom bracket, a bit more tire clearance, etc.), and although it's a spirited steed it left me longing for the ride of a steel frame and the adjust-ability of a classic quill stem . Some of my first bike camping adventures were with this particular bike. It holds a special place in my heart and I've got plans to re-purpose it. Most likely I'll post about that in the future.
[2016-] 1985 RALEIGH KODIAK:
A fairly rare touring frame that I cleaned and built up as commuter camper. The nature of city living has limited me to 2 personal bicycles and 1 for the wife. This particular bike has gone through many changes and is very forgiving. I set it up in typical Rivendell fashion (3x8, cloth bar tape, friction shifters, racks/baskets, etc.). It's always been too big for me, even after the 27" to 700c conversion, and due to mid-80's design flaws it's not optimal for an upright build. However, if you ever want to look OVER the traffic this is the bike for you. Improvements to comfort include the dynamo lighting system and pannier compatibility, not to mention the ultra-upright Bosco bars and weather resistant Cambium Saddle.
[TBD] RIVENDELL CLEM SMITH JR: The stars finally aligned and an actual Riv frame will be in my workshop (studio apartment) before the year is out. Of course, I'll need to take measures on slimming the herd as there isn't enough room for all of these fucking things - but we'll come to that when we come to that. This upcoming build will be meticulously documented and I plan to post every little detail about it. So...buckle up for that shit.
Obviously, I've owned way more bikes than this if you include the skeleton frames, donations, childhood rides, and flips. I've omitted anything that didn't make a significant mark on my map. I could go on at length about any decision I've ever made on any bicycle I've ever ridden, but I'm guessing that would be boring for you all. We'll leave that minutiae for the Clem build if your interested.
-irreguleur