Named and shamed

[paul fellows]

I will try to make my point this way.

The lady going cycling with her child in the park, a green commuter and me just out for a bit of exercise, what we want out of cycling is fun.

Over the past 50 years the reliability of cars has improved a lot, the reliability of bikes has not. And according to Globalti on this thread durability may have even gone down. If bikes had shown he same level of improvement as ca have, then those who want them could have fool proof bikes. And the racers could have the choice between the extra weight of a better chain or a light chain and the extra weight of a chain tool.

I chose chains as the example of how the drive for light weight / high performance as been at the expense of better bikes for the ordinary bike rider.


Pale Rider how would we know? Though I now know what replacement chain not to buy.

 

[Rob3rt]

Given a chain lasts a couple of thousand miles, the average "lady going cycling with her child in the park" will get years out of a chain...

 

[Red17]

No cam chain on a pushrod engine either. The powerband thing was a joke, right?

Paid good money for a powerband in my engines

 

[Citius]

I will try to make my point this way.

The lady going cycling with her child in the park, a green commuter and me just out for a bit of exercise, what we want out of cycling is fun.

Over the past 50 years the reliability of cars has improved a lot, the reliability of bikes has not. And according to Globalti on this thread durability may have even gone down. If bikes had shown he same level of improvement as ca have, then those who want them could have fool proof bikes. And the racers could have the choice between the extra weight of a better chain or a light chain and the extra weight of a chain tool.

I chose chains as the example of how the drive for light weight / high performance as been at the expense of better bikes for the ordinary bike rider.


Pale Rider how would we know? Though I now know what replacement chain not to buy.

Your posts on this topic are becoming more and more absurd...

 

[Smokin Joe]

I will try to make my point this way.

Over the past 50 years the reliability of cars has improved a lot, the reliability of bikes has not.

Having been riding bikes for over 50 years I think you have the rose coloured specs on. Bikes did not last forever back in the good old days, chains and sprockets wore at the same rate they do today and many other components were crudely engineered by modern standards.

And when things do need replacing, prices are much cheaper in real terms. The good old days, Eh? Been there, done that, got the T shirt and you can stick 'em.

 

[Markymark]

The good old days, Eh? Been there, done that, got the T shirt and you can stick 'em.

Posts about the good old days aren't as good as they used to be.

 

[Globalti]

I'm just coming up to 10,000 miles on the current battery on my Cateye Velo computer and I can honestly say that in all those miles my bike hasn't ever let me down. I ride in all conditions, winter and summer, wet or dry and I've probably gone though two sets of brake blocks, three chains and three sets of tyres. Nothing has ever broken and apart from a few punctures I've never been forced to make roadside repairs. During routine maintenance sessions I've spotted possible problems (kinked or frayed cables, rough headset bearings, worn brakes, cut tyres, binding pivots on brakes or derailleurs) and corrected them but nothing has ever broken. And my bike weighs around 8.5 kilos, which is pretty acceptable.

Seems pretty good to me.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

Paul, stop digging.

 

[Markymark]

Never had any issues with my bikes and probably 20k miles between them. I used to get lots of punctures until I bought decent tyres. I used to not have great braking in my road bike until I bought decent pads.

Tbf standard components on less expensive bikes can be rubbish but you get what you pay for. Don't expect cheap to last

 

[Supersuperleeds]

I will try to make my point this way.

The lady going cycling with her child in the park, a green commuter and me just out for a bit of exercise, what we want out of cycling is fun.

Over the past 50 years the reliability of cars has improved a lot, the reliability of bikes has not. And according to Globalti on this thread durability may have even gone down. If bikes had shown he same level of improvement as ca have, then those who want them could have fool proof bikes. And the racers could have the choice between the extra weight of a better chain or a light chain and the extra weight of a chain tool.

I chose chains as the example of how the drive for light weight / high performance as been at the expense of better bikes for the ordinary bike rider.


Pale Rider how would we know? Though I now know what replacement chain not to buy.

Our lasses bike is roughly 15 years old and still on the original chain. In fact the only things not original are the brake blocks which I did last year, so they lasted 14, and the tyres of which I think one has been replaced once and the other twice.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Our lasses bike is roughly 15 years old and still on the original chain. In fact the only things not original are the brake blocks which I did last year, so they lasted 14, and the tyres of which I think one has been replaced once and the other twice.

In my aunt Edna's garage is a bike that's 52 years old, still with its original chain and brake blocks.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Although it could be said that if that second chain breaks, that's the end of that engine's life.

There is nothing like the bill that follows that sort of catastrophic rendezvous between valves and pistons to drive that point home.

 

[Origamist]

At least the thread title is apposite - paul fellows - Named and shamed...

 

[Smokin Joe]

There is nothing like the bill that follows that sort of catastrophic rendezvous between valves and pistons to drive that point home.

I once had to scrap a Ford Capri because of a spark plug fault.

A piston hit it.

 

[I like Skol]

This is a good point. Cars have got more and more reliable?

The engine timing chain ran in oil and would often have a tensioner built in and if neglected would continue to run quite happily, getting noisier and noisier, giving plenty of warning of an impending failure at high mileages. The modern engine has 'progressed' from this primitive technology and now has a timing belt. These are efficient and precise. The downside is that they need expensive replacement at frequent intervals and if neglected will fail catastrophically without warning, often writing off an otherwise healthy engine. Is this an improvement for the end-user?