Bike Mileage

[Sittingduck]

4000 miles on my bike - 560miles last month.

Iv upgraded bits on my bike due to me wanting to and nothing else. The only thing iv had to upgraded (due to ware and tear) was the tires and break pads.

Have you checked the chain for wear? Probably gone past its best by 4000 miles and will be wearing down the cassette prematurely by now

 

[hoopdriver]

I have a 13 year old expedition tourer (Thorn eXp) that has been all over the world and has been my very high mileage winter bike for some years now. It would have at least 80,000 miles on it. I have no plans whatever to retire it

 

[Davidc]

The only bike I've had wear out was killed by sea water spray rotting a seat stay away. That one had done 15 years hard work and well over 150,000 miles of commuting and touring.

The rest have either been written off in crashes, one stolen and one passed on to offspring who got it stolen. Most have done several tens of thousands of miles for me.

All being well the Dawes Horizon I have now will last as long as I'm riding bikes, and I've had it 4 years now. The other bike, a Ridgeback MX4, may not last as well as it's aluminium and so may crack, but I'm hoping it will be joining me around town and for shopping for just as long.

Just keep replacing worn out parts, deal with any corrosion, and a bike should last for decades.

 

[Hip Priest]

My father in law rides a Peugeot road bike he got in the early 80s. Runs like a dream. Bicycles are quite simple things, and if you look after them they'll look after you.

 

[Hip Priest]

My father in law rides a Peugeot road bike he got in the early 80s. Runs like a dream. Bicycles are quite simple things, and if you look after them they'll look after you.

 

[byegad]

My trikes have covered, approximately*, 7800 miles, 5000 miles and 1000 miles.The one with 5000 miles is at least as good as the 1000 miler and the 7800 miles one is not far off it in condition, although a bit mucky! The 5000 miles trike has had a new chain, two chainrings, headset and bottom bracket fitted, by me recently. It is literally as good as new, the cassette still looks brand new. The 1000 mile trike has had a new chain, to replace the one it came with which is a make I don't like, so I replaced it way too early for strict wear reasons wanting to put my favourite make on it before a weekend of heavy cycling. The high mileage trike has had new chainrings, chains, cassette, wheels and gear and brake cables and rides as good as new. I fully expect it to cover more miles than me!

All you need to do is replace and repair as necessary and any bike should last as long as the frame stays sound. Sadly frames sometimes rot from within or develop stress fractures but I know several people with bikes 20 or 30 years old, except they're a bit like Trigger's broom, having had virtually every part replaced short of the frame and that has been repainted!



*Only one has a bike computer on it.

 

[evo456]

Thanks for the replies guys, not adversed to the idea of replacing worn parts and up-grading them as you go along. Was wondering whether there are good mileage equivalents where one needs to start looking at the rim, pedals for example, like a car cambelt at 60k miles. Of course it depends on quality of components and the type of abuse that's gone under it. I don't think I'll be cleaning, degreasing, relubing the chain say, every week, it seems like changing car engine oil every 1000 miles - it doesn't seem to maximise the operational effectiveness from the last service, nor minimise cost of ownership.

 

[simon.r]

Thanks for the replies guys, not adversed to the idea of replacing worn parts and up-grading them as you go along. Was wondering whether there are good mileage equivalents where one needs to start looking at the rim, pedals for example, like a car cambelt at 60k miles. Of course it depends on quality of components and the type of abuse that's gone under it. I don't think I'll be cleaning, degreasing, relubing the chain say, every week, it seems like changing car engine oil every 1000 miles - it doesn't seem to maximise the operational effectiveness from the last service, nor minimise cost of ownership.

I don't think the car anaology works.

Grit and road grime on a bike drivetrain / pads / rims can dramatically shorten the life of components. I've gone through a set of disc brake pads in one very wet and muddy ride, for example! That's the extreme, but regularly cleaning and lubing the moving parts, even under non-extreme conditions can extend their life by a factor of...waves finger in the air...5 times?

 

[Nigel-YZ1]

As long as a bike frame is ok it's easy to replace the bits. I think my MTB is on it's third drivetrain and second bottom bearing.

 

[byegad]

I ride my trikes with a view to checking things like chain wear fairly often, every few hundred miles and more ften as the go/no go gauge gets closer to the no/go area. Things like pedals I check once in a while. I've replaced the bearings in two, out of six pedals in the last 10,000 miles, not on the same trike. Some items tell you hen it's time to change them, it's a matter of knowing what things should feel like and exploring why something feels or sounds different.