![\"yfddqdskq6nweutswtnq7zwlyf0zktikdya4fy4f5zb7byg4.png.png?w=1140&v=2\"](\"https:\/\/images.teemill.com\/yfddqdskq6nweutswtnq7zwlyf0zktikdya4fy4f5zb7byg4.png.png?w=1140&v=2\")
<\/p><\/p>
Have you ever heard of a \u201csuccessor function\u201d? If you have, leave this article now as there\u2019s nothing for you to see here. If not then let me ask you a simple question,<\/span><\/p> Can you prove that <\/span>1 + 1 = 2<\/span><\/strong>?<\/span><\/p> And I mean prove. Just putting two rocks in front of me and pointing at that there is a \u201cone rock\u201d another \u201cone rock\u201d and hence two, won\u2019t work. Because, like a proper mathematician, I\u2019ll ask you to get every rock in existence and show me in turn that each one combined with another makes two rocks. You will likely proceed to beat me to the ground with the nearest heavy object.<\/span><\/p> Of course, proving 1+1 = 2 is pointless to most people as we know it is, but to mathematicians, it\u2019s quite important. If they find out 1+1 doesn\u2019t always equal 2 then a lot of things out there are potentially going to stop working. And so a while back some mathematicians did just that, they proved it using something called a successor function which basically tells you the number that\u2019s going to come next. I know this because I did a degree in mathematics and had to sit through a whole lecture on it whilst most of us looked at each other mouthing \u201cit\u2019s obvious?\u201d, just like you would.<\/span><\/p> But what on earth has any of this got to do with bikes? Stay with me as I\u2019m about to explain the only equation in cycling that really matters. This equation stands above the one that proves the heavier you are the faster you go downhill, the seriously complex one that explains why you\u2019re more stable at speed and the non-existent one that justifies shaving your legs.<\/span><\/p> The equation we are talking about is <\/span>N+1<\/span><\/strong>. Or to be more specific:-<\/span><\/p> \u00a0If <\/span>A =<\/span><\/strong> <\/span>The optimal number of bicycles that a cyclist should own<\/span><\/em><\/p> And <\/span>N =<\/span><\/strong> <\/span>the number of bicycles owned\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p> Then <\/span>A = N + 1<\/span><\/strong><\/p> There are multiple proofs that this equation is correct. To name a few; bike shops exist, a new cycling genre emerges monthly, most bikes need fixing and hence spares are required and finally let\u2019s not forget that spending money on anything else is a complete waste of time.<\/span><\/p> Each of these is incontrovertible and there\u2019s no need for the jury to retire, but let\u2019s see if we can go somewhere down the path of the mathematician and explore the successor function for cyclists. I have a feeling that it\u2019s going to get complicated.<\/span><\/p> As stated earlier a successor function tells you what\u2019s going to come next. As a cyclist, this starts off relatively easy to define. Because if N = 1 then we can only presume it\u2019s your first bike, so you\u2019re either young or a newbie. If you\u2019re young the successor bike will be a bigger one as you will have grown, and hopefully, it will be a much lighter model than the one Dad only just managed to lift off the Aldi middle aisle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> If you\u2019re not young then it will be something a lot less crap than the rusty three-speed you bought off a fella in the pub or the Halfords special that weighs ten times as much as the kid\u2019s bike in the previous paragraph.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> So the first N+1 is just a bit better and maybe a bit lighter. You\u2019ll ride it for a while before discovering that whilst your cycling experience has been elevated, you\u2019re not going as fast as you\u2019d anticipated you would on the upgraded steed. The reason will be obvious if you stand on the scales in front of the mirror, but the cycling successor function doesn\u2019t quite work that way. Deep in its mechanics are the \u201ccogs of covetousness\u201d which scan the landscape of bicycles comparing each to the one you currently have and pointing out the clear advantages of the model not currently owned.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> And so N+1 chalks up another N and you ride some more. Sadly, the successor function is not done with you yet. There may come a point when it flips away from the calculation of covet and moves into a genre branch. There you are happily riding a super lightweight carbon bike on a beautifully tarmacked road when the function steers your gaze towards a smooth track. You weren\u2019t thinking about it previously but now your desire cortex is screaming at you \u201cgravel bike\u201d! The successor function has triumphed yet again and it\u2019s clever as it recurses. You\u2019ll go gravel-bike-entry-level and then before you know it the cogs of covetousness are whirring again.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> I\u2019ve tried to write the successor function down on paper but I can\u2019t. It\u2019s far too clever as it knows if we understand it we\u2019ll stop buying bikes and that would never do. So like Father Christmas let\u2019s just accept that it does and doesn\u2019t exist. Of course, it\u2019s a ridiculous concept but every year stockings get filled and bikes get bought. All of us cyclists know that we have a successor function and we want more bikes than we currently own.<\/span><\/p> Let\u2019s acknowledge N+1 for what it is. A real cycling truth that none of us can hide. And to help you all celebrate the fact we\u2019ve created the <\/span>N+1 mug to make things simple<\/u><\/span><\/a>. We don\u2019t need any mathematics, we just need something to hold our coffee and tea whilst we covet the next 1 to make our equation complete.<\/span><\/p>