Everlasting bike? Cranks? Anything else?

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

scotsbikester

Active Member
OK, I've built the bike that I think I want to ride forever. Or at least a bike of a certain type I want to ride forever, in the sense of a drop bar road bike aimed at recreational/light touring. A flat bar, or something with hub gears, or a folder or whatever, would be a different animal.

It's:
Steel Frame
68mm English BB Shell
Drop bars.
1 1/8" Threadless front end.
9 speed triple, Ultegra levers, Ultegra FD, XT RD.
Avid BB7 cable disc brakes.
135mm rear dropout spacing
700c wheels
Square taper BB with Spa crankset.
27.2 seatpost.
PD-T8000 pedals.

Given that high quality triple nine speed kit is kind of on its way out, I've been busy squirrelling parts away for future breakages or wear.
So far I've got several pairs of NOS or good used ST-6510s (or equivalent Tiagras). Ditto XT 772 RDs, or similar (771, 592 etc.). I've managed to snag 3 new UN55 Bottom Brackets of the right length. I've got a spare rear hub, M525A, which I bought complete just to have a spare freehub. The headset is a cheap and cheerful VP with loose balls (I've got 500 spare balls!)

I'm fairly sure I've got all my bases covered. I've spent quite a while on this, so have got accustomed to watching for when things start going out of production. I'll keep my eyes on BB7s, and if looks like they're on the way out, grab some spares.

Is there anything obvious I've missed? The Bottom Brackets are all square taper. I've got Spa Cycles own 5 arm cranks - do cranks ever break? Or wear out? Should I buy a spare pair as insurance? Though it's worth pointing out I've got two right hand ones with two different chainsets.

I'm assuming that "consumables" like chains and cassettes are going to be around for a very long time (although Adam Kerin at ZFC says high quality 9 speed chains are hard to come by). Though I daresay it's always worth keeping an eye open for when they are on sale cheap, and stocking up.

I've got two spare FDs, though I don't worry too much about those, as they seem like a component that hardly ever breaks, and there's tons of used ones around.

What I'm mainly worried about is some small but significant component that I've overlooked which if it broke/wore out would render the whole drivetrain defunct.

I'm in my 60s, don't cycle hard, and don't do massive mileages. I'm fairly sure I've overstocked with some things, but if I have, most of them are NOS which are perfectly sellable.

Any suggestions gratefully received. Thanks.
 
Given that I'm still using the original Shimano Acera crankset, pedals, and headset/handlebars on my longtail bike, bought in 1997, I think you're probably okay.
 
9spd cassettes will be the limitting factor. I retired my Campy 8spd for thus reason.
Shimano 8 is very widedpread across all levels of quality and in simple versions, is still a bike shop staple. 9 speed never made the trickle down.
 
OP
OP
S

scotsbikester

Active Member
OP
OP
S

scotsbikester

Active Member
9spd cassettes will be the limitting factor. I retired my Campy 8spd for thus reason.
Shimano 8 is very widedpread across all levels of quality and in simple versions, is still a bike shop staple. 9 speed never made the trickle down.

Thanks. What do you mean by "9 speed never made the trickle down"?

I've been researching chain waxing as an approach. Partly for the longevity aspect (and also the cleanliness). Stocking up on cassettes and chains (and maybe a couple of chainrings), combined with a chain waxing and rotation regime could be a way of securing the future.

As I've already spent a fair amount on components as just-in-case backups, it would make as much sense to stock up on components that we know do wear out.
 
9 speed was never very popular for everyday hybrid bikes in the way that 8 speed was. You can get 9 speed hybrids but at upper midmarket levels, not lower levels.
You can buy almost anything online but in bike shops I would hazard a guess that 9 speed will become unavailable before 8 speed.
 

Ajax Bay

Guru
Location
East Devon
In due course you might consider getting TRP Spyres (vice Avids) to match the quality of the other components: ha'p'orth o' tar, an' all that.
I thin the chances of 9sp cassettes ceasing production are the SRoFA.
 
The gap between the inner faces of the rear drop out. That's why I used the phrase "135mm rear dropout spacing" in my post. Also known as "overlocknut" dimension, or "OLN", or sometimes "OLD" I think

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_sp-ss.html

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_n-o.html#old

https://www.halowheels.com/frame-spacing-hub-o-l-d-information/

Cheers.


Aha, I missed that; the other posts now make sense. Thanks for the Sheldon Brown link as well...
 
Top Bottom