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lantius

Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 1:54 pm

1337 Joined: 22 Jul 2005 Posts: 6705 Location: right over

so one of my friends is asking my opinion on this bike and a couple of her questions were, "is 3000 miles alot for a bike?" and "how do i figure out what will need to be replaced soon?"

now, i go through bike parts at a ridiculous rate but i am hard on things. what do the rest of you think? my hunch was that the best places to look for excessive wear would be along the rims, look for any cracking on the carbon fork, and check to see how pointy the cassette is to gauge drivetrain wear.

given "normal" riding conditions, are there per-mile or per-hour failure specifications for most bicycle parts?

zuvembi

Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 2:19 pm

Joined: 24 Jul 2005 Posts: 942 Location: Little Addis Ababa

Quote:

given "normal" riding conditions, are there per-mile or per-hour failure specifications for most bicycle parts?

Like you, I destroy things at a high rate, so I don't think I'm a good person to ask. It does seem to vary drastically by individual. Chain life is one of the more consistent ones, and even that seems to have a really wide variance.

_________________
When the revolution comes, we're going to need a longer wall

derrickito

Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 2:21 pm

now with 50 percent more EVIL Joined: 22 Jul 2005 Posts: 10566

id definately check out the carbon components. ive had 3 carbon forks on different bikes, and have made 2 of them unsafe for riding to the point that i pulled them off the bike in fear for my front teeth. and just doing training/long rides, etc. look for stress points, cracks, etc.

some people im sure can use carbon components and not sweat it, but the price vs how long my 200 pound body smashes it to the breaking point doesnt pan out for me anymore. steel!

3000 miles doesnt sound so bad, the ad does state never ridden in rain, might be taken care of well.. but really, anyone could write that and you'd never know

sekai

Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 2:38 pm

Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 1466 Location: on the lake

i have around 4000 miles on my race bike. no maintenance. lots of carbon.

when i was riding a older geared bike everyday, i went thru a rear derailleur, few tires, and a chain over the course of 3 years.

I’ve been really surprised how little maintenance any of my bikes need.

3000 miles is low in my opinion.

derrickito

Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 2:47 pm

now with 50 percent more EVIL Joined: 22 Jul 2005 Posts: 10566

sekai wrote:

i have around 4000 miles on my race bike. no maintenance. lots of carbon.

yeah, all depends on who's riding it. you weigh less than dry leaves blowing in the wind, i weigh more than mountain ranges :)

god i love cheese.

henry

Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 2:49 pm

somewhat piggish Joined: 05 Aug 2005 Posts: 5415 Location: on porch with shotgun

derrickito wrote:

god i love cheese.

someone brought two loafs of bread to this meeting i'm sitting in.

I ate them.

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winter men

derrickito

Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 3:00 pm

now with 50 percent more EVIL Joined: 22 Jul 2005 Posts: 10566

loaves!
you're a loaf.

lantius

Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 3:02 pm

1337 Joined: 22 Jul 2005 Posts: 6705 Location: right over

henry wrote:

derrickito wrote:

god i love cheese.

someone brought two loafs of bread to this meeting i'm sitting in.

I ate them.

the bread or the guy who brought it to the meeting?

langston

Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 3:12 pm

Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 5547 Location: Columbia City

sekai wrote:

I think this account vs Derrick's experience brings displays varying amount of stress associated with the affect of the mass of the rider on a bike. at ~180lbs I've gone through three cassettes, three chains, one set of pedals, four rear wheels, three sets of tires and two sets of cables in the last two years.
A significant amount of my damage can be attributed to friction shifters, rough useage and bad luck/poor technique (the wheels esp)

sekai

Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 3:14 pm

Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 1466 Location: on the lake

the lesson, stay skinny. or just ride less.

joby

Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 3:15 pm

goes to eleven Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 3899 Location: The Cloud

langston wrote:

A significant amount of my damage can be attributed to friction shifters, rough useage and bad luck/poor technique (the wheels esp)

That's PR speak for "Being drunk and falling down", right?

langston

Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 3:18 pm

Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 5547 Location: Columbia City

joby wrote:

langston wrote:

A significant amount of my damage can be attributed to friction shifters, rough useage and bad luck/poor technique (the wheels esp)

That's PR speak for "Being drunk and falling down", right?

knock on wood, but I've not fallen whilst drunk in quite a while. I really do think the drive train damage is due to the sloppy shifting of friction shifters. For example, I have three teeh broken out in sequence on my 16t SRAM cassette right now, and it's only 7 weeks old.

SeditiousCanary

Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 10:03 pm

sorry, can't make it! Joined: 26 Jan 2006 Posts: 2315 Location: Fremont Troll

I have had a chain with over 9000 miles on it which worked great. My Cross Check has parts with well over 15000 miles on them and they were used when I got them. Nearly every part I have replaced was because I upgraded or needed a performance change (12-28 instead of 11-23 or some such). In my twenty years of cycling, I have replaced as a result of my braking, crashing or wearing out:

1 Trek 750 frame
1 Trek 700c cro-mo fork
3 chains (1 Shimano HG-70, 1 Sedis Sport, 1 SRAM nickle plated 8 speed chain)
1 Shimano DX rear derailer
2 1" headsets (1 Suntour XC Pro, 1 Specialized Pro Alloy)
1 1 1/8" Dia-Compe headset
6 tyres (2 Vitoria Techno Tread, 2 Kenda Kikzumbut, 2 Tioga City Slicker 2)
1 Sun M14A 26" rim
1 Rhyno Lite 48 hole 20" rim
1 Sella San Marco Turbo saddle
Less than 16 flats total
4 Velox rim strips
1 Suntour X-1 brake lever binder bolt
1 Scott/Matthauser finned alloy Super Brake padset
4 pairs Kool-Stop brake pads (2 grey threaded, 2 blank canti)
Some cables and housing
Some spokes and nipples
Some bearings

3000 miles is just the begining for parts on a bike I own.

That said, have seen people trash a bike in a month. The fact it's never been riden in the rain is awesome. Odds are this bike is more like one I own/have owned, but careful inspection is required. I'd be happy to help if I can.

Old Crow

Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 8:17 am

Helen Keller, WHAT? Joined: 30 Sep 2005 Posts: 395 Location: Ballard

The rule of thumb is that a chain should be replaced around 1500 miles, and that a good drivetrain should last through about 4 or 5 chains. Chains are meant to wear out, since they're much cheaper than the parts they come into contact with.

The number of people who actually follow that is pretty small, I would guess.

Aaron

Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 8:38 am

Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 4645

There are just too many variables to give a succinct answer.

As you have just read above: Rider weight, skill, care & maintenance, road conditions (route), weather and quality of parts ALL play a part in how long something will last.

So, 3000 miles may or may not be many miles on that bike.

Best to have an experienced mechanic look at it. I am sure Niki, myself or Alex would be happy to help, especially for beer! God I am such a beer whore!

A word about Carbon Fiber: If you are a big person, DON'T RIDE IT!

A message from Trek Bicycles:
WARNING
Damaged carbon fiber can fail suddenly, causing serious injury or death. Carbon fiber can conceal damage from an impact or crash.
If you suspect your bike has been impacted or crashed, immediately stop riding. Take the bike to a dealer for inspection.

They sent me this poster, I cut out the above message and posted it at my shop. You can bet they have had some lawsuits and people seriously hurt because of improper use and care of carbon fiber. On an airplane or a race car where the conditions and maintenance are strictly controlled (except for human error, oops!) Carbon fiber is probably OK. Bikes, no. People like to tinker with their own shit and there are just too many hack bike mechanics working at shops for carbon to be safe. For instance, a guy brought a bike into me last week and we just happened to notice that the seat binder bolt had crushed his carbon seatpost. It could have snaped off and chewed him a new asshole! I see negligent damage all the time. Also people just don't know when or if their bike is damaged and they keep riding.

SeditiousCanary

Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 8:51 am

sorry, can't make it! Joined: 26 Jan 2006 Posts: 2315 Location: Fremont Troll

The 9000 mile chain was pulled, soaked, scrubbed, dried and lubed about once a week due to the crap weather we were having in DC that year. So you all don't think there wasn't some level of effort/ignorance going on. It never even tested out at "Replace" by the time I retired it.

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