Ride on: The Great Victorian Bike Ride. Credit:Simon O'Dwyer Whitehead is more sentimental. Her desert island bike would be, "My original single-speed – the one that brought me into this world of bikes," she says. "It's been everywhere with me, and I could never replace it." Over 350,000 bicycles were sold in Victoria last year. The Australian Bicycle Council estimates 877,000 Victorian residents ride a bike in a typical week. With the Around the Bay completed last month and the Great Victorian Bike Ride about to begin, Melbourne is Australia's unofficial cycling capital, catering to an ever-expanding spread of enthusiasts – with an increasing number feeling one bike is just not enough to feed their passion. Rhys Yeomans, a 30-year-old project manager from Hawthorn East, is sitting on a quiver of three rides: a BMX, a mountain bike and a track bike. "None of them are really fancy or worth a large sum of money," Yeomans says, "it is more the enjoyment I get out of each of them."

Done in: Cyclocross riders chill out. Credit:Simone de Peak He is perhaps an acute victim of a recognised condition within the bike industry known as "upgradeitis", characterised by an obsessive desire to constantly update and improve their machines. "I enjoy the time spent researching or trying to finding certain parts as much as riding them," he says. "I've got parts stashed away for bikes I may not own right now but know I will want to in the future." Way to go: Cyclists ready for the Around the Bay. Credit:Drew Ryan As a bike shop owner, Huw Vellacott of Commuter Cycles in Brunswick is all too familiar with upgradeitis and sympathises with Yeomans' hoarding tendencies.

"It's like any addiction, the more you get the more you want," Vellacott says. "You start along that road of upgrading and what have you, and it's very difficult to know where the line is to stop." Devil of a ride: Spotted at the Hell of Northcote event. Credit:Wayne Taylor Vellacott says that cyclists looking to secure a new bike or bikes should concentrate on finding the apex of the value curve – that is, not to get too carried away, but also to be aware that you get what you pay for. Do your research and ask around. Like Yeomans, you just might enjoy the process. "When you're getting the titanium bolt kit, that's when you know," says Vellacott. "There's certain stuff you should only be using if someone else is paying for it – that is when you're competing and you're sponsored." Steam power: Cyclists finish the Hell of Northcote ride in June. Credit:Wayne Taylor

Though they all part of the same family tree, bicycles come in many forms, each catering to a specific purpose. That's not to say you can't ride your BMX bike up and down Beach Road, but to get the most out of the experience, you would best be advised to try a lighter, more agile road bike. "There are plenty of versatile bikes that span a few different categories," Vellacott says, "but in the same way a chef has eight very good knives, as you get more involved, you realise you need a specialised bike to get the most out of it. For example, I've got a bike I use almost exclusively for taking my two kids around in. There's lots of things I can do on that bike that I couldn't do on any other, because I'd normally have to jump in the car." The bike in question, a Dutch Cargo bike, features a large front compartment, suitable for hauling shopping, baggage and even little humans around. Vellacott is also a serious mountain biker, and commutes to work every morning on his "roadie". "I'm not unusual at all," he says, "I just happen to be someone who has a pretty big foot in a number of different camps." I quiz Vellacott on these different camps, and he reels off a list. As well as the more obvious suspects – the lycra set, the fixie crew, the mountain bikers, the BMXers – he clues me in on a couple I'd never heard of. I, for example, am a "Beardo"; a relatively new sub-breed of cyclists who favour old-style steeds that are built for touring around the countryside, complete with all the bells and whistles. "Beardo bikes have mudguards and racks, dynamo lights, soft supple tyres … they're performance utility bikes," says Vellacott. The name, I suspect, is derived from the fact that most of these guys have ample facial hair to match their rustic machines. Guilty as charged.

"After the fixie boom there was the cyclocross boom, and now a lot of those guys are getting into the beardo or randonneur bikes," explains Vellacott, acknowledging it's a cyclical trend, but adding, "I'm excited about this one because the bikes are genuinely good." He's right; the bikes are fantastic. Mine is a lovely royal blue, with a rich brown leather seat and matching bar tape. I have furnished it with shiny silver mudguards and racks, as well as a couple of canvas saddlebags that make commuting a breeze – no backpack required. I can carry my laptop, a change of clothes, plus have room to pick up groceries on the way home from work without breaking a sweat. I admit that I did go a little over the top when fitting it out, but I've never regretted the time and money I put into my beautiful beardo bike. Having said that, it's been recently joined in the shed by a jet-black road bike I picked up second-hand from a mate. It's the beardo's antithesis – sleek, light as a feather, unencumbered by bells, racks or reflectors, far too delicate to lock to a pole; in short, completely impractical for commuting. However, it is perfect for riding really fast on, while wearing lycra and those funny clip-in shoes. At first I felt guilty for splurging on another bike, when the one I have is so perfect for my needs. But as soon as I took Black Beauty (that's what I call her) out for a spin, I was hooked. It's like piloting a spaceship, while Beardo is like driving a limousine. There's space for both of them in my life. Aside from simply taking a few for a spin, the best way to identify what type (or types) of bike is for you is to check out some of the bike-centric events that roll out around Melbourne. As well as well-established dates on the calendar like the Great Victorian Bike Ride (November 29-December 7), Around the Bay in a Day and Ride2Work Day, a newer breed of events catering to more niche groups are rapidly gaining popularity. "Melburn Roobaix and Dirty Deeds Cyclocross are good example of significant things that have grown from very small bases," Vellacott says, "where someone's passionate about something and devoted their spare time and energy into it."

Inspired by the legendary Paris-Roubaix, Melburn Roobaix is an annual, non-competitive race that winds through Melbourne's cobblestone laneways, dirt tracks and cycling paths. The event attracts cyclists of all descriptions and skill levels, though the emphasis is on enjoyment, not competition. To the uninitiated, attending a Dirty Deeds Cyclocross event feels like stepping into a scene from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Competitors of all ages and skill levels ride loops around Brunswick Velodrome or Darebin Parklands, before diverting into a muddy path that weaves through the middle of the venue, complete with jumps, fences and seemingly impenetrable pits of sludge. "Our main thing is to not make the atmosphere too serious or competitive," says Dirty Deeds organiser Hamish Fitzsimmons, "I think that's what separates Dirty Deeds from other cycling events. Anyone from any ability can go and have a race and enjoy themselves." Enjoyment, it seems, is the key word here. Melbourne is a great city for cycling, and offers a wide variety of bike lanes, paved paths and off-road tracks for cyclists who are keen to spread their wings. "The cycling infrastructure improvements in Melbourne over the past 10 years have been dramatic, and as much as they could've been better, certainly by Australian standards, we're ahead," Vellacott says. "We get people coming down from Sydney and they think Melbourne is a cycling nirvana."

"Whether you're on a mountain bike, or getting to work, or doing laps of Beach Road, we are all ultimately getting off on that sheer delight of riding a bike," he says. "I think that delight is heightened by the right bike." As a confirmed beardo and apprentice roadie, I can heartily agree.