General Cycling Discussion - How long do you keep a bike?

Hello

I am relatively new to cycling (4 years) and really new at road cycling. I purchased a Raleigh R700 used in Aug 05 and put over 2K miles on it. It is well maintained by a trusted LBS. My question, perhaps dumb, is do I keep this forever or is there a time when the frame or complete bike is sold for something else? I like the bike, it fits well and recently purchased a new wheel set to replace a pothole damaged rear wheel.

Be a real BF man. Forever. :D

I don't think I could bring myself to sell any of my bikes.

In 10 years, my bike has gone through 2 sets of forks, bars, seatposts, saddles and brakes, 3 sets of wheels, 4 sets of pedals and it is still as good as the day I bought it.

In 10 years, my bike has gone through 2 sets of forks, bars, seatposts, saddles and brakes, 3 sets of wheels, 4 sets of pedals and it is still as good as the day I bought it.
And one frame:roflmao:
Seriously tho I have at least one bike that I have had for 25 years, others have come and gone over the years. If you get a good bike, keep it and don't be afraid to get more...besides what are fellow BF'ers for except to feed the habit. FWIW I just accumulated 3 from here in the past 6 months:rolleyes: :D

Aaron:)

I have one that doesn't even have the same frame! (warranty replacement after I found a cracked weld) The only original parts are the brake calipers.

The bike I ride the most these days is an '83 Schwinn le tour luxe that I've had since it was a year old. Granted, I've completely replaced the drivetrain with more modern stuff, not because the old stuff was worn out but I've customized it for my specific needs. So as not to give the wrong impression, I should add that I've had a bunch of other bikes along the way, I just happen to have revived the old Schwinn recently. And truth be told, I didn't ride the le tour luxe all that much during the '80's, I had a '79 Schwinn Traveler that I bought new and I liked it better for some reason, so it got most of the miles at that time even though the le tour luxe was the "better" bike of the two-

If it aint broke don't fix it

i tried to sell a bike once, but i felt guilty.

so, i shipped it down to my parents place so i always have a nice road bike down there when i visit. i might even try to get my GF's parent's permission to keep a bike at their place too. so, when i go up there, i'll have something to ride as well. if we ever break up, it could be hard to get that bike back though. lol.

Till it dies or gets stolen.

At 25 years or 100,000 miles you gotta throw it away - or sell it to a vintage collector..................my oldest current bike is a '94 Cannondale hybrid (no original parts) converted to singlespeed. It's the backup bike to the hybrid that replaced it which is the backup bike to the used Rans recumbent I ride. The rule is that you have to have at least one backup bike.

It depends on the bicycle. I owned one for a few months ... it didn't fit me very well, and I found it a new home with someone who loved it.

Most of the rest of the bicycles I own, I've owned pretty much forever.

Unless it doesn't fit, I keep it until it breaks or gets stolen. If it doesn't fit, I'll usually keep it for a while until I find someone in that size who doesn't ride. Then, I gift them.

Mountain bikes are easier to fit - I've become known as the guy with spare bikes, because I'll keep any mountain bike I get my hands on, and loan them out for group rides with new people (I'm semi-in-charge of the school outdoors club, so there's a lot of new people who need to borrow equipment.)

Unless it doesn't fit, I keep it until it breaks or gets stolen. ................(snip)................

I guess I'm stuck with this one... perfect fit, too heavy to break, too ugly to steal. Bought it used in 1984.

http://www.pbase.com/billd9/image/59094962.jpg

There's an expiration date on the bottom bracket. :)

There's an expiration date on the bottom bracket. :)

Left side or right side? Cause I can't seem to find it!:D

I've only gotten rid of one bike. It was about 23 years old. The wheels and the drivetrain were shot to the point it was no longer safe to ride and totally not worth the cost of repairing. With three other bikes of my own and the rest of the families' in the garage it was better to make a little room than hang on to a useless bike for nostaligia, but I felt bad seeing it go.

But I think with, say, aluminum entry-level and near entry level road bikes 10 to 20k, with high end bikes keep them forever unless they become unsafe.

Ride it for thirty years doing routine maintenance, then walk in to a bike shop and see if there have been any technological advances that aren't so hideously ugly that you might barf, go back outside and get back on your bike.

Ride it for thirty years doing routine maintenance, then walk in to a bike shop and see if there have been any technological advances that aren't so hideously ugly that you might barf, go back outside and get back on your bike.

+1:roflmao: :roflmao:

The only technological advance that I have seen worth a crap in the past 30 years is in lighting...especially in the LED taillights and the headlights with halogen bulbs and reflector design.

Aaron:)

If it aint broke don't fix it
I thought it was, if it isn't brokent fix it untill it is. :D

I've been riding my Peugeot for thirty years. My newest bike is a '93.

I have a later model ten-speed that I plan to give to Goodwill, but keep procrastinating. I thought about taking my Giant Cypress to the Philippines and leaving it there, but cannot part with it.

So maybe I am in the forever club.

thanks, I thought that would be the answer. I'll let you know in 10 years how its holding up.

Until the headtube cracks from the pressure of emergency trackstanding on cobbles to avoid getting run over by a cop SUV blowing a red light.

Man, I loved that Rockhopper.

Until the headtube cracks from the pressure of emergency trackstanding on cobbles to avoid getting run over by a cop SUV blowing a red light.

Man, I loved that Rockhopper.

. . . Maybe I don't understand trackstanding. What did you DO?

I get rid of bikes when my kid outgrows them... except for one he just won't part with.

I buy a new bicycle every year, transfer all my equipment to the new bike, and donate the previous one to a family member or friend.

I sold one bike....my Gary Fisher Joshua F3 mountain bike that I bought in 1999 (I think). Sold it in 2002 for $900, in pretty mint condition for a mountain bike, too. I still have all my other bikes, including my '93 Trek 2100 road bike and my 1990 Trek 930 mountain bike (which currently isn't rideable).

I do have a '97 Trek 930 that came with my VW Jetta, with a matching bike rack....10 years old, and has never been ridden - 10,000 bikes/cars made, and the only way to get one was to buy the car. Kept the bike and rack as a collectors item. I'd like to sell it at some point to someone else who won't ride it :D.

Until you crack the frame. :)

But you could very well swap out every component multiple times before that happens. Then again, it'll eventually become cheaper to buy a new bike than to fix the old one.

if you get rid of a bike every few years, you can't do retro. same for shoes, jerseys, pants, clips...
1986 Pinarello, stored in the garage for 10+, rides like new.

I have a Trek 660 (road bike) I bought in 1984 new and still ride it even though it has over 145,000 miles on it; it fits me like a glove so I haven't seen any need to replace it. I'll keep riding it till something happens to it that makes it not worth it to fix. I have a newer mtb that I bought in 89 that only has about 10,000 miles on it but I didn't like riding it much so now it's on a trainer. I am in the market for a touring bike, but will continue to ride the old road bike when not touring on the other.

I have a Trek 660 (road bike) I bought in 1984 new and still ride it even though it has over 145,000 miles on it; it fits me like a glove so I haven't seen any need to replace it. I'll keep riding it till something happens to it that makes it not worth it to fix. I have a newer mtb that I bought in 89 that only has about 10,000 miles on it but I didn't like riding it much so now it's on a trainer. I am in the market for a touring bike, but will continue to ride the old road bike when not touring on the other.

145,000?

What, did you ride it for a month and then just put it in storage? :D

145,000?

What, did you ride it for a month and then just put it in storage? :D

How did you know I did that?

I had the bike for 23 years during which for the first 5 years of it's life I was racing and training averaging 12,000 miles a year, that equals 60,000 miles; then for the next 5 years I didn't ride it due to burnout after 10 years of racing, so that's 0 miles; then for the next 8 years I averaged 8,000, so that was 64,000; then the next 4 years I only averaged 5,000, so that equals 20,000 miles then last year I did only about 4,000 miles. The total is about 148,000 but I rounded it down to keep it simple. I had all this documented but when we moved a lot of stuff was tossed including those records, but it's close to within + or - 5,000 miles.

Till death do us part..........

I bought a bike in 1994. Loved the bike. It was a Scott 520, went around the world. But, in 05 choose to get rid of it. It had to have over 70000 miles and the frame was warped. Never had an accident or anything. Did three tours on it. It was like loosing an old friend. Does a frame last forever. ? LBS mechanic said my money better be spent on a new frame. Many of it's components were transfered to the new frame. My philosophy , can never have enough bikes.

I can never sell my bikes. My old Schwinn and I have been through way too much, and my ds stumpjumper weighs in at 27.5 lbs... they don't make them like that anymore. I'm still getting to know the used Peugeot I bought off Craigslist (folding bike), and my Specialized Langster and I are best of friends after just 3 days. My unicycles... one of them was my dad's in college, no way I'm selling that. And the other is 6' tall... hard to find anymore.

I'd rather sell off the wife that is pissed off about all the bikes/unicycles in the apartment.

. . . Maybe I don't understand trackstanding. What did you DO?


Maybe he doesn't understand trackstanding. Trackstanding doesn't make your headtube crack.

Maybe he doesn't understand trackstanding. Trackstanding doesn't make your headtube crack.

Maybe; but if you don't do it right you might crack your head instead...but your bike will be fine.

I have a custom Ti frame and figure the frame will last longer than I will. I just upgrade the components periodically. Went from 9-speed to 10-speed and replaced the drivetrain last year. Had to get new pedals to go with the carbon cranks. Replaced the wheels after I was hit by a car. Might buy the new Record skeleton brakes later this year. Or perhaps change the stem and bars for carbon.

I have bought 11 bikes total to this day; I've solded 4 of them, total out 1 of them, gave away 1 of them, and kept 5 of them. Of the five I kepted, 1 is a full suspension that I have loaned to my nephew to use, and the rest I ride for various situations that I designated them for. 1 is a custom sized ti road, another is a suspended hardtail, then there is steel Bianchi road I use for running errands and touring, and lastly I have a Giant OCR touring bike with a 29'er Marzoochi MX comp that is put together to be the ultimate all rounder bike; it'll do road, dirt, tour, and you name it. It is expensive to have all these bikes but what the heck life is short.

Most of my bikes are twenty or twenty-five years old. However, several of them are beginning to show some signs of their age. In another twenty years, I might have to replace them. But, I've seen some sixty year old bikes that are still being used on a daily basis. Compared to those, my 1980ish bikes are still "almost new".

I forgot one so I have to amend my answer. I bought a trek 5000 used. After about two weeks and two rides, it was stripped of several hundred dollars of parts when stored. Missing the parts, someone offered me $300 more for it than I had paid for the complete bike. Sold.

I sold one of my bikes several years ago (Specialized Rockhopper), and despite the fact I still have four other bikes, I've regretting losing it many times. You seem to develop a bond with a bike that is very difficult for a non-biker to understand. I don't plan to ever sell any of my current bikes...I may add to the collection, but the rest are here to stay!

I had a bike frame fail on me from fatigue. It wasn't dramatic though and, as I recall, I was able to make it home. As a rule of thumb though, frames usually seem to last forever.

You will start having components wear out at 20,000 miles. For me, shifters go first. Some components seem seem to go on forever. A high mileage cyclist will put on 2,000 miles per year. So 20,000 miles is 10 years of use. The tech cycle in cycling tends to make bikes obsolescent long before they wear out. Also when you look at replacing components on a bike, unless you have a very good frame, the cost of new components can run close to the cost of a whole new bike.

The thing is that some people get the "itch" for that new stuff. Other people develop affection for their "steeds". I don't think it is rational. But who cares if it is rational? As a recreation, cycling is hard to beat. It is fun and it is good for you. So if you hang onto a somewhat antequated bike, it is no big deal. An old well maintained bike still gives good performance. If riding the current stuff appeals to you, well that is fine too. Bikes are cheap compared to high sports cars.

Bikes are cheap compared to high sports cars.

Most bikes are cheap compared to just about any car. Like taxes, my bike is paid for in the first five months from gasoline savings alone.

I ride 'em til parts can no longer be had.. My second-hand Puch is about 20-30 years old, (nobody seems sure) & still running strong; all the components have been upgraded/replaced except the front wheel.

My '90 Peugeot Success is also still strong & people think it's new (paint is original); am told i may need a new rear wheel soon because of cup wear. (That could have been avoided with more frequent maintenance.)

Once you realize that you are a committed rider, you should ask yourself if you have the bike that fits your needs. Probably not, and thinking about upgrading is in order. When I hit 2,000 miles per year, I figured it was time to get something better. I'm glad I did, and I have upgraded the components on it too. No regrets. bk

Unlike loved ones with blood in them you can even keep a dead bike for ever, they dont really rot and won't even smell on a hot day. I have one with well over 100,000 miles, its dead, it was terminal for many miles before it hung. It now hangs in a place of honor, I spent much of my youth on her, I could never part her out.

The small parts can be replaced keeping the soul intact, but once the frame has cracks and creases it might be best to hang it up.

As opposed to most of the people here, I have changed my bikes at a rate of nearly 1 per year. I've been through 26 bikes total since I started riding in 1977. Some I've broken. Some I've crashed into cars. Some just didn't fit my needs and I either sold them or gave them away. I did have my touring bike from 1983 to 2003 but my new touring bike is far better than the old one.

There is not a single thing on any of the old bikes that I would rather have today. Threaded forks are a pain compared to threadless. New cranksets shift way better than the old ones. Freehubs and cassettes are far better than the old freewheel wheels. Shifters are vastly superior to the old friction downtube shifters or thumbshifters. Brakes, wheels, chains, pedals, clipless shoes are all far better then the old stuff. Front suspension work so much better than the old rigid bikes for mountain biking...better control, more comfortable. Rear suspension is a little complicated and is a pain to set up but once you get it working, you can climb better and descend better than with the old rigid bikes.

I probably won't be running out to buy a carbon fiber bike, mostly because I'm not into race bikes and I'm not quite sure I like being a test pilot when I have to pay for the privilege but I wouldn't rule it out entirely.

It's a bike. Use it. When you get tired of it, get another one. The bike won't care.

Till death do us part..........

You obviously don't appreciate a good bike. Death is no reason to part, have you bike buried with you :p along with your guitars, of course.