Noah Scape

Or conversely, the most fragile. I'll start. I can't believe how long those old Carlton brake hoods last!

On the fragile side, I'd have to go with the pulley wheels on the Prestige.

Your turn.

sunsurfandsand

Indestructible: SR Custom quill stem.

Fragile: Campagnolo alloy headset. What was I thinking?

cudak888 

Indestructible:
Campagnolo Gran Sport (second-gen) rear derailer.
Sturmey-Archer AW hub
Schwinn Paramount front fork
Titan aluminum handlebars
Bendix coasterbrakes
Campagnolo NR/SR/N.G.S./Victory/Triomphe brake calipers
Campagnolo Victory or Triomphe downtube shifters
A crank cotter pin you want to remove
Schwinn Varsity/Continental/Racer/Collegiate/Speedster/etc. frame
Campagnolo Nuovo Record seatpost
SR LaPrade seatpost
Numbskull bike owners

Fragile:
White Weinmann brake hoods
Used Brooks saddles
Cinelli 1R fixing bolts
Sturmey-Archer left-hand rear axle nuts (biggest POS in this list, IMHO)
Anything marked "AVA"
Raleigh Heron steel crankarm rigidity
Flat-blade Schwinn/Ashtabula forks (they might be bulletproof from the front, but they'll bend easily from the sides - you'll know it when taking a sharp curve)
Any seatpost binder bolt tightened down for the third time
The paint on any "desirable" Italian roadbike
The chrome on any "desirable" Italian roadbike
Original Raleigh brake cables after 50 years, regardless of rust


-Kurt

luker

well, it seems to me that Silk Clemente tubulars don't hold up as well as they should...

and nuovo record shifters last much, much longer than their level of performance would indicate.

luker

oh, yeah, and titanium axles from anything Campagnolo. They are not long for this world.

dudeona3V

+1 on the Sturmey Archer AW hub and big +1 on the Varsity. My nod for the most indestructible thing ever (not limited to cycling).

dudeona3V

Oh, and as for most fragile: Campy seat binder

Sixty Fiver

Indestructible -

Tange bottom brackets and headsets

Raleigh bicycles... save for those crank arms.

SA AW hubs

Suntour derailers

Carlton brake hoods

Weinmann centre pull brakes

Sansin hubs

Fragile:

Simplex rear derailers from the 70's and 80's

AVA stems

Bluemel fenders

Metal filler caps on AW hubs

Antipodes

Indestructible / thumbs up

*Sturmey Archer AW hubs
*Suzue hub races
*Dia Compe G calipers
*Suntour Power Ratchet shifters
*Suntour derailleurs '73-'80
*Shimano front derailleurs in general
*Shimano Deore DX hubs
*Old Raleighs
*Peugeot UO-8s
*Japanese paint and chrome
*The powdercoat paint on my Apollo Gran Sport
*The Araya rim / Shimano 600 rear hub /Suntour front hub wheelset on my Nishiki International
*the "little" cable crimps at my local shop

Fragile / thumbs down:

*Non-drive side rear Sturmey Archer hub axle nuts
*Suzue hub axle cones
*Suntour front derailleur cable clamp bolts
*Campy NR/SR cranks - look great, but they crack
*Sekine downtube decals
*1970s Reynolds 531 decals
*Italian paint and chrome
*the crappy "big" cable crimps at my local shop

Sixty Fiver

The solution to the issue with the non drive nuts on Sa hubs is to use drive side nuts.

raverson

Fragile: Tubing decals have been known to disintegrate by just looking at them.

WNG

Thumbs Up:
Sedisport chains
SR Laprade seatposts
SR Custom quill stems
Suntour New Winner/Winner Pro freewheels
DT stainless steel spokes
Sugino BBs
Campy Record hubs
Panaracer Technova tires

Thumbs Down:
Simplex plastic derailleurs
Shimano 3 spd hub
Shimano L.A. 6 spd SIS downtube shifters
Modolo stems

nlerner

Thumbs down:
--Campy downtube cable guides (I just wanted to open it up just a bit more so I wouldn't scrape the paint when installing!)
--Simplex plastic downtube shifters (plus the derailleurs as others have noted, particularly the mounting clamp on the FD)
--Sturmey Archer left-side axle nuts (as previously noted)
--Raleigh Clubman paint (though the decals survive nicely)
--Raleigh rubber block pedals (I've had lots of bent spindles)

Indestructible
--Stronglight steel headsets
--Raleigh pattern EA3 rims: even with missing spokes they'll stay true
--Raleigh steel brake levers
--GB alloy brakes

Neal

jgedwa

I have not had this problem. Maybe not ever. What bolts have you had trouble with?

jim

USAZorro

Indestructible:

Schwinn electro-forged frames
Bar con shifters
Campagnolo hubs
Mavic A719 rims
Carlton hoods

Fragile:

Simplex jockey wheels (all kinds - the plastic gets very brittle with age)
MTB click shifters (all kinds)
Nisi Sludi rims
Viscount/Lambert drivetrain components
Cushioned bar tape
Reynolds 531 decals (green on black)
Campagnolo dust caps

Noah Scape

Indestructible: Ashtabula cranks
Fragile: Mafac derlin covered brake levers

SoreFeet

Good:
Mavic Module non anondized rims
Suntour Cyclone deralleurs
Sugino Cranks frequently found at the dumps
SR quills
Sansin Hubs
Varsity frames

Bad:
Campy NR cranks (cracking POS! pretty but junky)
Campy NR derailleurs (sloppy shifting compared to suntour, durable but don't function worth squat)
Huret Derailleurs
Simplex Plastic stuff
Rigida Anodized 700C rims/Malliard Hubs (PIA to find right service parts for. Rims always dented with one flat)

Universal Super 68 brake levers (death clock machining quality)

Rabid Koala

Fragile: French Chrome

Indestructable: Schwinn Chrome

cudak888 

Not true - I've seen a few bent ones.

-Kurt

Antipodes

Well, if my girlfriend's PX-10 is any indication, then I must disagree. Italian Chrome on the other hand....

Noah Scape

I've seen some bent ones too, usually after being run over by a Buick. It would be pretty hard to bend one without a catastrophic event.

cudak888 

The ones I've seen were bent inwards from heavy cranking. Primarily Columbia crankarms.

-Kurt

jgedwa

The person who did this is not a person I would want to meet in a dark alley

nlerner

That must have been one heavy cranker!!

Neal

cudak888 

Then you wouldn't want to meet me. I was successful in bending them farther by simply riding it - goes for all of the three Columbia arms I've seen bent so far. Soft steel.

That said, every time I flip a Columbia, those crankarms get changed out pronto, before they have a chance to bend.

-Kurt