bikes & parts - getting worse or better?
ok
fair bit but I don't actually thrash it either. The parts that are on it
seem to be of a decent quality since mostly everything on it is original
still. However, this bike is still 10 years old and after a decade of steady
use, some parts are a bit roughed up.
The biggest example the I can give you are tires. They lasted about 9 years.
I went through quite a few tubes, but the tires themselves, in my opion,
went the distance (so to speak). When I finally changed them, it was the
sides of the tires that gave up first. (Not the tread!) These new tires,
after about 6 months have lost about half their tread on the rear tire and I
can easily say that I am not riding the bike any harder.
I have talked to one of the guys in the bike shop where I purchased the
tires and told him what I have just told you. Although there are more and
less expensive manufacturers, a tire is a tire. It also seemed to him that
tire companies might be making a softer rubber compound to sell more tires.
Although, I do not find this to be out of the question, I wonder if this is
actually the case.
The questions now are:
-Can I buy an 'iron man' type tire similar to my original pair that will
last me another decade?
-Have other people noticed their tires lasting less and less?
-Does anyone have any other experiences with other parts (ex. brakes or
brake pads, rims, chains etc) - Are these parts lasting less time as well?
-Is a bike made today less durable that 10 years ago?
Finally, don't get me wrong. I still drool at the new bikes coming out and
would love to buy one right now. I'm just wondering how long it would last
if I did. Any thoughts?
Westie
> -Can I buy an 'iron man' type tire similar to my original pair that
> will last me another decade?
> -Have other people noticed their tires lasting less and less?
Not really. I believe that the compounds and tread patterns have changed in
most tyres because of advances in technology and new compounds being
developed for specific uses. Believe it or not but a good tread pattern and
a softer compound will grip better and deform over the terrain better. The
disadvantage is that it will wear faster.
You can still get hard compound tyres but it's like wearing old gumboots
versus track shoes in a 100M race.
> -Does anyone have any other experiences with other parts (ex. brakes
> or brake pads, rims, chains etc) - Are these parts lasting less time
> as well?
Yes and No. You can still get parts that last for years - but weight and
performance has been more highly tuned over the years so a lot of components
have sacrificed durability and strength for performance and weight-savings.
More moving parts to wear out too e.g. suspension components.
>Is a bike made today less durable that 10 years ago?
Generally I'd say Yes. Durability sacrificed for weight and performance.
More moving parts e.g. suspension components
> Finally, don't get me wrong. I still drool at the new bikes coming
> out and would love to buy one right now. I'm just wondering how long
> it would last if I did. Any thoughts?
As long as you look after it and maintain it well it will last for years.
You may find that parts like suspension bushings, brake pads and tyres will
need regular replacement of course.
BTW, I'm impressed that you got 9 years out of a set of tyres. How often
did you actually ride that bike?
--
Westie
(Replace 'invalid' with 'yahoo' when replying.)
Super Slinky
> -Can I buy an 'iron man' type tire similar to my original pair that will
> last me another decade?
> -Have other people noticed their tires lasting less and less?
> -Does anyone have any other experiences with other parts (ex. brakes or
> brake pads, rims, chains etc) - Are these parts lasting less time as well?
> -Is a bike made today less durable that 10 years ago?
> Finally, don't get me wrong. I still drool at the new bikes coming out and
> would love to buy one right now. I'm just wondering how long it would last
> if I did. Any thoughts?
I can't fault you for wanting to do things on the cheap, but is it
really that important that a tire lasts 10 years? Softer treads don't
last as long, but give much better grip. I would say that you can still
get tires that wear like iron, but they will also comparatively weigh
like iron and ride like iron too. You can get bike parts with any
durability you want. You can get parts designed for downhill or freeride
bikes that are built like tanks. It may be that the low-end stuff
hanging on the wall at the LBS has migrated to more lightweight
materials and construction, like more aluminum and less steel. The same
may be happening with tires, since tire weights can vary by a pound or
more.
Ground Control
| The questions now are:
| -Can I buy an 'iron man' type tire similar to my original pair that will
| last me another decade?
A decade is a hard one, but the longest wearing tires I've dealt with are
Serfas Gators - harder rubber, full coated sidewalls, kevlar mesh belting.
Tough as nails and I sell a lot of them. The biggest problem for me is that
once I sell a pair, I never see these folks for tires again!
| -Have other people noticed their tires lasting less and less?
Actually they're getting better in my opinion. There was a period in the
90s when they went *ultra* soft (Onza white Porcs anyone?) but that crud has
passed.
| -Does anyone have any other experiences with other parts (ex. brakes or
| brake pads, rims, chains etc) - Are these parts lasting less time as well?
Buy well and wisely for your conditions. I've never worn out a brake pad (I
change them often during tinkering sessions) but I've seen two people buy
the same pads, one chews thru them in a week and the other I never see
again.
| -Is a bike made today less durable that 10 years ago?
I think so - yes. No easily obtainable full CroMo, everything LIGHT LIGHT
or built like a freakin tank.
| Finally, don't get me wrong. I still drool at the new bikes coming out and
| would love to buy one right now. I'm just wondering how long it would last
| if I did. Any thoughts?
Buy a mid-priced hard-tail. Replace parts when they wear out with what you
know lasts.
---
__o
_`\(,_ Cycling is life,
(_)/ (_) all the rest, just details.
The Nelson Paradigm =^o.o^=
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bri719
>A decade is a hard one, but the longest wearing tires I've dealt with are
>Serfas Gators - harder rubber, full coated sidewalls, kevlar mesh belting.
>Tough as nails and I sell a lot of them. The biggest problem for me is that
>once I sell a pair, I never see these folks for tires again!
>
sell them special order only? (prepaid in advance, of course) ;-)
>| -Have other people noticed their tires lasting less and less?
>
>Actually they're getting better in my opinion. There was a period in the
>90s when they went *ultra* soft (Onza white Porcs anyone?) but that crud has
>passed.
>
mine seem to last me a while, and I don't even run very expensive jobs.
just your typical medium profile XC tread - generally get at least a
year of riding out of them if not more unless an extreme rock or
something gets the better of one. it took me even longer than that to
wear out my first pair when I was just getting into the sport, and even
then the sidewalls gave out faster than the rest of the tire...tread, etc.
for racing I have a better tire in mind but haven't made the jump yet
(which might last even longer under general use...or not, who knows.
remains to be seen, if I ever decide to test out that theory).
>Buy well and wisely for your conditions. I've never worn out a brake pad (I
>change them often during tinkering sessions) but I've seen two people buy
>the same pads, one chews thru them in a week and the other I never see
>again.
>
I have a hard time wearing out brake pads as well. they eventually do,
but usually just replace them sooner if they're slightly less even than
I want them. I can recall buying a pair of Kool Stops a couple months
after getting my current bike and not needing them til quite a while later.
>I think so - yes. No easily obtainable full CroMo, everything LIGHT LIGHT
>or built like a freakin tank.
>
I never owned a CroMoly MTB, but can remember having a BMX as a kid made
of the stuff. didn't seem like such a bad material, but I had friends
who managed to bend a frame or two (no racing or serious jumping
involved but you know how kids are). always seemed like it would make a
good application, when did they stop making bikes out of that anyway? I
know it's lighter than steel but maybe not as strong, and not as light
as aluminum or carbon but maybe a little stronger ... in theory. I'd
prefer it over steel but my late '90s alum. hardtail has always worked
well, if a bit finicky at times.
bri
--
* enjoying the karma *
remove LKJSDFJSD from address to email
Ground Control
news:10o2u1i...@corp.supernews.com...
| Ground Control wrote:
|
| >A decade is a hard one, but the longest wearing tires I've dealt with are
| >Serfas Gators - harder rubber, full coated sidewalls, kevlar mesh
belting.
| >Tough as nails and I sell a lot of them. The biggest problem for me is
that
| >once I sell a pair, I never see these folks for tires again!
| >
| sell them special order only? (prepaid in advance, of course) ;-)
Nah - it's my best seller after cheap Kenda "alpha-bite" copies.
| >I think so - yes. No easily obtainable full CroMo, everything LIGHT
LIGHT
| >or built like a freakin tank.
| >
| I never owned a CroMoly MTB, but can remember having a BMX as a kid made
| of the stuff. didn't seem like such a bad material, but I had friends
| who managed to bend a frame or two (no racing or serious jumping
| involved but you know how kids are). always seemed like it would make a
| good application, when did they stop making bikes out of that anyway? I
| know it's lighter than steel but maybe not as strong, and not as light
| as aluminum or carbon but maybe a little stronger ... in theory. I'd
| prefer it over steel but my late '90s alum. hardtail has always worked
| well, if a bit finicky at times.
CroMo died out because *you* wanted aluminum. It's part hype, part what the
customers want. CroMo has skinny tubing, Aluminum has burly, healthy
looking tubing. People worry about rust, aluminum corrodes more slowly than
steel. With all my bikes, I only recently got into AL. I just replaced my
old steel (not CroMo) cruiser with a new AL unit. I've got a "Beater" bike
in AL. Almost 2 weeks ago I bought a new road bike in AL, though it's
hanging at the shop waiting for the composite fork.
My primary MTB is a 94 Rockhopper Comp FS. Triple butted CroMo. I utterly
love that bike - perfect for me in every way!
Phil, Squid-in-Training
> what the customers want. CroMo has skinny tubing,
Cromo frames hurt when parts of your body impact them. Aluminum imparts a
lower stress to the body since the area is larger.
--
Phil, Squid-in-Training
Ground Control
Deore XT parts up to the end of the 7 speed era were fantastic. I've still
got several parts, including thumbshifters and derailleurs working on most
of my bikes.
Deore XT parts in the 8 speed era were a huge drop in quality. In the
derailleur, the change from a flat spring to a helical (coil) spring alone
just about ruined them. There was even a cottage industry of stronger
replacement springs. I've heard all kinds of stories about this. Shimano
said it was to make shifting effort easier. More cynical voices said it was
to defeat mixing SRAM Gripshifters with Shimano derailleurs. That makes
sense, considering many folks added "Bassworm" spring enhancers to that
setup.
The 9 speed XT is, IMHO, a return to the good quality of old (with the
exception of their V-brakes - the unholy howlers!) They still have a coil
spring but it is much more powerful and works fine with almost any shifter.
I can't speak for the new "Low Normal" STI XT setup since I haven't ridden
any of it yet.
Nelson @ International Bicycle
message news:Txfgd.340$fN6...@news.flashnewsgroups.com...
I never thought of it that way :) Makes sense. Not a really big issue
since a crash bad enough to bruise with skinner tubes may hurt you in other
ways on the AL.
Nelson<--yet to sing soprano
Phil, Squid-in-Training
How so? Forces would always be more concentrated on the CroMo.
> Nelson<--yet to sing soprano
More specifically, my knees and the inside of my knees. ;)
--
Phil, Squid-in-Training