Was there a specific point in time...

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ayceejay

Guru
Location
Rural Quebec
Judging by some of the posts I read on here, some expensive road bikes are manufactured 'down to a weight' rather than being optimised for durability. They are no-doubt modelled on the bikes that racing-teams use, which is fine if you have a van full of mechanics and spare parts following you around everywhere you go (I don't!) and your BMI is honed to perfection (mine isn't!).

My bike has no weight-weenie parts made of exotic aerospace materials, has more than twenty spokes per wheel (sixteen more, in fact), and is robust enough to be fit-for-purpose on our wonderful roads. I'm sure the bottom-bracket isn't an expensive one, but has been working fine since I bought the bike (used, and somewhat thrashed) a year ago.

So you are going to enter a team in a race that lasts three weeks and covers close to 200 kms a day and since light weight and not durability is the aim there is no need to think too much about materials lasting out the day? Is that what you are saying? If so that is nonsense. Imagine careening down the side of a mountain at 70 kph plus with your fingers crossed in case your brake cables snap.
I think you will find the opposite to be true, carbon, stainless steel, titanium, latex .....
 

S.Giles

Guest
So you are going to enter a team in a race that lasts three weeks and covers close to 200 kms a day and since light weight and not durability is the aim there is no need to think too much about materials lasting out the day? Is that what you are saying? If so that is nonsense.
Agreed, that is nonsense, but isn't what I said. I'm sure that the lightweight bicycles used by racing teams are capable of 'lasting out the day', but does their level of endurance match a private buyers' expectations of their expensive new purchase? The race may last three weeks, but that does that mean that the bicycles used need no adjustment or parts replacement during that three weeks? (that's not a rhetorical question BTW, I honestly don't know).

It's surely a case of 'horses for courses'. Red Rum was a great racehorse, but wouldn't be my first choice for pulling a horse-drawn milk-float every morning. I wouldn't use an F1 racing-car for going on a shopping-trip to Tesco's. etc, etc.
 
D

Deleted member 1258

Guest
Are we too picky these days? are our expectations too high, do we tend to expect too much from our machinery? There's a massive amount of choice in what bike to buy these days and I wonder if some people end up buying a bike that doesn’t suit what they want a bike for.
 

400bhp

Guru
OK let's think.

Tiagra groupset bought in 2010. Used on 2 different bikes to commute in all weathers. Probably clocked up 25,000 miles on it. I have replaced the £12 bottom bracket a couple of times and the rear derailleur now needs replacing as it has lots of play in it. Chain replaced every 1700 ish miles. So, still on the same levers, front mech, chain ring and brake calipers.

Not bad I'd say.
 

thatname

Active Member
Location
SE London
I can't say I've noticed any trend in components manufactured these days to those 25 years ago being any less reliant. Granted there is more choice and for those who like to watch their pennies then maybe they are buying into short lived products. Bottom brackets in the cheaper end of the market aren't worth touching as they seem to last a year or 5000 miles and these are the only real issues I have had of recent years. Cables, chain, cassettes and tyres should be part of your annual overhaul, not a BB!
 

Shut Up Legs

Down Under Member
When 'mainstream' cycle component manufacturers suddenly forgot how to make important components. I'm getting very tired of having to replace (insert important component) every time I dare to get one even slightly damp, or (shock horror) ride more than about 50 sodding yards. I seem to recall getting a lot more (more than about 30 seconds) use from these components in years gone by. They really seem to be made out of cheese of late.:gun:.
Can someone help me? I'm trying to find a replacement chain ring, but couldn't find what I needed on this site. Ta! :okay:
 
So you are going to enter a team in a race that lasts three weeks and covers close to 200 kms a day and since light weight and not durability is the aim there is no need to think too much about materials lasting out the day? Is that what you are saying? If so that is nonsense. Imagine careening down the side of a mountain at 70 kph plus with your fingers crossed in case your brake cables snap.
I think you will find the opposite to be true, carbon, stainless steel, titanium, latex .....

See this team mechanic video.
Chains are replaced after 1000km. Brake blocks after a couple of mountain descents. Riders do not use one bike for the race and often use several wheelsets/day. Sprockets may be changed according to terrain. Bikes are replaced every season.
Elite amateur riders using their own bike often put more usage on that one machine than pros with a quiver of bikes and unlimited spare parts.
 

summerdays

Cycling in the sun
Location
Bristol
I often wonder whether it's in the desire of the consumer to look for the bargin bike that they cut corners with some components. So each year the bike cost doesn't increase much but they have to find their profit somehow so they reduce the spec either obviously or in ways we don't notice.

I had to replace the headset on my bike when it was only a year or two old (new one is still going strong several years later), and my friend had to get hers replaced this week on a bike that again was only a year or two old.
 

Kestevan

Last of the Summer Winos
Location
Holmfirth.
I had to replace the headset on my bike when it was only a year or two old (new one is still going strong several years later), and my friend had to get hers replaced this week on a bike that again was only a year or two old.

With the headset I'd hazard a guess that it came out of the factory assembled as fast as possible with the bare minimum of a cheap low quality grease.
When you replace either yourself or at the LBS it's done much better (hopefully) and therefore the replacement lasts much longer.
 
OP
OP
Racing roadkill
I've had a careful think about how things have actually lasted, given the mileage and usage I've been putting on them. I also looked closely at the latest failed BB. The spindle on the left side has sheared off, that's not a usual failure mode. Given that my chains, cassettes, rings, and rims, are actually showing no adverse wear and tear, I think I may have had a slightly skewed view.
 

John the Monkey

Frivolous Cyclist
Location
Crewe
Checking my mileage records, I think the commuter's tyres are getting on for 2,500 miles (Continental Touring Plus).

The BB on that bike (Shimano UN54) has been in since the bike was built, in 2009. That makes for more than 15,000 miles, according to MyCyclingLog.
 
Are we too picky these days? are our expectations too high, do we tend to expect too much from our machinery? There's a massive amount of choice in what bike to buy these days and I wonder if some people end up buying a bike that doesn’t suit what they want a bike for.

Pretty sure that's right. Bloke in his thirties, well off, he's gonna plump for a full carbon cos it's a bike to be seen on rather than ride.
 
Frames break a lot more than they used to. In one week last year I came across 3 unfortunates who had suffered the rear mech breaking off for no apparent reason.
But then again, I also remember 1980's Campag Record cranks, notorious for breaking at the pedal thread, and Campag hub axles too, I used to break at least one a year.
 

Smokin Joe

Legendary Member
Frames break a lot more than they used to. In one week last year I came across 3 unfortunates who had suffered the rear mech breaking off for no apparent reason.
But then again, I also remember 1980's Campag Record cranks, notorious for breaking at the pedal thread, and Campag hub axles too, I used to break at least one a year.
Believe me, I've seen plenty of broken frames back in the day. To know whether more broke then than do now would need more evidence than a handful of personal experiences from either era. Peugeot went through a spell about 25 years back where the weld at the RH rear dropout on their road frames (Decent ones, not BSOs) used to fracture, my then LBS stopped stocking them because of that.

Either way, non crash related breakage of any kit is rare enough for most people to never experience any.
 

Dogtrousers

Kilometre nibbler
I had a SRAM BB seize after only a couple of thousand miles.
Would you prefer cleaning and rebuilding bottom brackets and hubs with balls and grease to all those sealed cartridges?
.
Actually, yes. (As I said in the thread I started to get help when my BB seized.)

Edit: Fwiw, I broke a steel frame in a crash in the late 70s
 
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