Toronto Fall Bike Show and N+1?

I went to the Fall Bike Blowout Sale this weekend in Toronto.  Amidst the thousands of people, there were deals to be had if you were willing to elbow your way through the crowds and line up to pay for your purchases.  I wasn’t looking specifically at bikes, but still managed to spend some money on a new MIPS helmet and new riding glasses (both from Smith).  50% off retail was good enough for me for these items.

I did look at bikes for a little while.  There was a time not too many years ago that the only bikes I’d look at were mountain bikes.  I’ve since diversified my collection, but now I’m starting to think about thinning the herd a bit.  I’m not sure just yet about how this will shake out, but I’m thinking that there are two types of riding that really appeal to me right now: fat biking and gravel grinding.  I currently have a bike for each of those disciplines, but they’re both fairly entry-level bikes.  If I was to get into these rides more, I need (or at least I’ve convinced myself that I need) new bikes.  I also believe that I should be able to sell one or two or three of my current bikes to help finance any new wheels.  Ideally, I’d then have better bikes and fewer bikes (N minus 1?).

I saw one affordable gravel grinder bike by Masi (shown below).  It has fender mounts (something many newer cyclocross bikes don’t have), plus clearance for wide tires (at least 40mm).  Each time I went past this place, the price was reduced another $200 to as low as $799!  Tempting, but they didn’t have my size.

As much as I like my current fat bike, I did look at other fatties at the show (sorry Pugsley, don’t be jealous).  There were some good deals, but nothing that really struck me.  More and more bike companies are making fat bikes now.  This means that there’s a much wider range in bikes that are available, from entry level fatties for well under $1000, to full carbon, lightweight machines for close to ten times that. I’ll likely have to wait a while before I upgrade.  Unless I find a perfect deal (or a bike sponsor!).

So I wait… N=N for now…