Mountain Biking - Hey lightweights (150lbs and under), do you ever break components?

I'm amazed at all the stories of people breaking components. I've been riding hard for years and I never break anything, except bones. I'm a lightweight rider. I'm curious how often lightweight riders break components.

so, a poll is born. Lightweight riders (150lbs and under), how often do you break components?

I've been riding hard for years and I never break anything, except bones . . . .Start racing downhill; you too will start breaking things ;)

I don't wanna jinx myself but no, never busted anything. I bent a derailluer hanger once!

Where do you live, what kind of trails do you ride, how often do you ride?

I think that those factors have much more to do with breaking components than weight.

I live in Maryland, I ride gnarly singletrack, I ride every day.

The point of this poll is a first pass at whether lightweight riders break components. I am interested to see the results. Perhaps the results of the poll will argue for a more targeted poll in the future.

cheers

In college I used to ride with a group of people and there was one guy who broke something on almost every ride. I was riding right along with him and I almost never broke anything. So, it wasn't the trail, or the speed/aggressiveness, and he didn't weigh that much more than me, it was just the way he rode.

I'm not saying that certain trails or more aggressive riding won't result in more breakage, obviously it will, but there are a lot of factors involved.

Where do you live, what kind of trails do you ride, how often do you ride?

I think that those factors have much more to do with breaking components than weight.

But covering all the bases would nullify the poll.

I weigh 120lbs, I break everything. I was just riding along on my Trek 8500 and went off a small ledge. The manufacturer didn't believe me from the crack in the frame. Said I voided my warranty.

I ride gnarly singletrack

One man's gnarly is another man's section-to-rest-before-gnarly-begins.:D

What's your description of gnarly?
At less than 150lbs, you don't need that XLT. Just get an XC or Trance. They'll take your pounding.

BTW, I lied about my weight above...and I don't own a Trek, hehe

I'm not eligable to vote...I'm a fatty.

One man's gnarly is another man's section-to-rest-before-gnarly-begins.:D

What's your description of gnarly?

ribbon thin singletrack covered with roots jutting several inches out of the dirt, rocky sections, sandy sections, sections where the foot-wide trail runs right along the stream, nothing but a big drop on one side.



At less than 150lbs, you don't need that XLT. Just get an XC or Trance. They'll take your pounding.



or maybe the Heckler (he says while stashing pennies ;-)

ribbon thin singletrack covered with roots jutting several inches out of the dirt, rocky sections, sandy sections, sections where the foot-wide trail runs right along the stream, nothing but a big drop on one side.
Sounds like fun.

...or maybe the Heckler (he says while stashing pennies ;-)
Now you're talking!

Back when I was using XC gear for freeride (not that is was called 'freeride' back then), a lot of stuff broke.

These days I'm more likely to use FR stuff for XC. Nothing ever breaks.

I'm 120. I broke my shifter, and bent the deraileur hanger. Also broke the frame on another bike.

i'm 180lbs and i never broked any of my bikes.

my cousin on the other hand, warped his wheel just by sitting on the bike when he is not moving.

I am a very unlucky racer. I break things and have things fall off every race it seems like. Now I am in a good habit of cheking every bolt, screw and anything that can possabley come off befor the race. It also helps not to tuch the bike the night befor the race :o

I'm 150 and have broken handlebars, derailleur hangers, and spokes probably twice a year. I keep telling myself I'm going to build up a nice set of wheels, then find I would rather just be riding. Maybe this winter...

That's very interesting when compared to what you have written about mountain biking experience/riding experience.


I have been riding hard for five years straight, most of those five years on a Bianchi Volpe, more recently on my Iron Horse. I commute daily to work, have done so since 2002, and this allows me to vary where I ride, which means i can add singletrack to my riding route. The rougher stuff is on the weekends.

Over the years I developed most of my riding skills on the volpe, which many would describe as a cross bike. I found that these skills carried over nicely to a standard hardtail-type mtb. I am no racer, but I can handle myself on the trail. Of course, like many on this board, I have ridden on-and-off all my life, starting with a sunburst orange schwinn 5-speed with handle shifter, moving to schwinn mag scrambler (cool bike), then to a schwinn letour IV.

Since you are posting to this thread I assume you are a lightweight and you have something to say about breaking components?

When I ride, often I break wind.

Yes, your posts are there for all to see. They are very interesting, contradictory even, in light of the claims I quoted above.



Bad assumption, although I have already had something to say about the silliness, in a naive kind of way, of your poll.

Clearly you are upset that this poll was not arranged in a way that pleases you.

When I ride, often I break wind.

Hmmmmmm, sounds like a case of the flaming burrito.....

I seem to be quite good at destroying rims and cranks. :D

But covering all the bases would nullify the poll.

I weigh 120lbs, I break everything. I was just riding along on my Trek 8500 and went off a small ledge. The manufacturer didn't believe me from the crack in the frame. Said I voided my warranty.

Man, with all the talk of the frames you have broken, I would've thought you are at least 180lbs. my bad:D

In my younger days I broke a lot of components, but they were not designed for offroad. I don't think I am physically able to break many components these days.:D

Hmmmmmm, sounds like a case of the flaming burrito.....

Let's just say I am working hard for that Chipotle sponsorship next season.

I'm joining the club that says weight has noting to do with component breakage: It's the terrain, the rider's style, the rider's level of agression, and the rider's experience and technical skill.

I have been buying, fixing & replaing parts for 2 boys - both started out in the "under 150" range, and both are now well over that range. The only difference I see now is that there is LESS breakage going on.

I live in Maryland, I ride gnarly singletrack, I ride every day.

The point of this poll is a first pass at whether lightweight riders break components. I am interested to see the results. Perhaps the results of the poll will argue for a more targeted poll in the future.

cheers

What gnarly singletrack do you ride in Maryland? Loch Raven's got some sections that'll do some damage, but only if you're careless. Particularly, the curbs in the parking lot outside the church, which are not friendly to your rims when you've got a flat. So I found.

That said, the only other big damages I've done to my bike (I weigh 150; 155 dripping wet,) aside from broken chains, cassette teeth, and a rounded-off BB spindle, have been incurred when I actually crashed. If you're under 150 pounds, you're well under the weight restrictions that, really, few components actually have, and unless you're very unlucky, things like broken axles or seatposts or handlebars or stems really shouldn't be happening unless you crash or you use your bike for something other than its intended use.

i weigh 70 kilo's and i break things.

by riding hard, an with less skill than i tend to think i have.

I weigh 146-150 depending on how much pizza and ice cream I've even lately, so I guess I qualify.

I have a 1999 Race Face Ti BB with a weight limit on it of 165 (maybe 180?) and it's still in perfect shape. My 20- and 24-spoked Rolfs have never gone out of true. I ride hard and never break anything.

With that said, however, I 've had to replace a few parts whose lives came to an end:

-- My Easton 125 gram carbon handle bar got tiny stress cracks around the bar ends, so I replaced it with a Ti bar. I think I had it for 3 years before that happened.

-- 1999 SID SL self-destructed after 7 years of abuse, but at the time it went, I'd only been road riding with it, so that was strange. Replaced with an '06 SID Race.

-- I had a '99 SRAM 9.0SL RD that wore a pulley down after 7 years. I only had to replace the whole thing because SRAM (*******s!) no longer supplied a pulley.

Other than that, I've only occasionally replaced gears/chains, and any parts I felt could be replaced with something lighter. I ride hard, but I don't take drops or become airborne too often. I had enough bruises, cuts and sprains in 12 years of skateboarding that I prefer to go home after a ride in one piece. And the same goes for my bike.