009jim

All bikes previous have had steel rims and down-tube shifters. These seemed to have infinite life.

Current bike, which I've had for about 3 years, has aluminum rims and rapid fire shifters. I've already noticed some significant wear of the rims. Also just read another thread where indexing shifters are said to be prone to getting grit and water in them if you commute in all weather and thus requiring overhaul or replacement.

I love my bike, but should I consider it to have a limited life? I point out that I do all my own maintenance.

Doohickie

Lighter weight components and having big rear cassettes both affect the durability of components. Chains, gears and shifters have become wear items. Aluminum rims? Wear items, just like brake pads. It takes them years to wear out. Replace the wear items as they wear and you're good. If you don't want to replace wear items, go with lower tech. I'm happy enough with 6-7 speeds in the rear, and my chains don't wear out in 1500 miles.

linus

My Tune MIG45 and MAG150 hubs lasted 3 years of abuse. So yeah, it all depends on what level of components....

Sixty Fiver

Depending on riding conditions and the quality of the rims, you might be looking at as little as 10,000 miles and might enjoy 20,000 plus miles when you use rim brakes and hub brakes will further extend the rim / wheel life.

Hub life is also dependent on use and their respective design... we joke that our hubs are just broken in at 30,000 km and because they can be completely rebuilt they could be the last hubs you ever buy.

Get into really high end racing parts and you will often find that their lifespan is far less than middle of the road parts.

jimc101

How far, how often, and in what conditions do you commute? All these factors and many others will influence how long components will last.

When commuting everyday (approx 6-7000km per year), I found that I could get about a year out of a drivetrain, rims would usually be damaged before they wore out.

For rapidfire+ shifters, have been using various different models commuting and off road for the last 15 years or so, and have never had issues with getting grit or water in them, have found them to be extremely reliable, as long as the cables (inner & outer) are replaced when needed.

Burton

Its mostly a North American thing because here bicycles are largely used as recreational vehicles and lightweight builds are the current fad. In countries where the bikes are more utilitarian, weight is very secondary and stainless steel rims, frames and components are common and drivetrains are more robust. Everything needs maintenaince - but most shifters just seize up because the grease dries up - not because the mech wears out. Its easy fixable - but again -North Americans like to 'upgrade'.

Bike Gremlin

I have a 20+ year old MTB. Friction shifters, 6 sprockets in the rear. Steel rims. Indestructable machine. Has been ridden on and off road a lot. I practically inherited it from an older friend who no longer can ride it.

Newer bikes. Well, capitalism, market economy, planed obsoleteness. Everything is made to not last, deliberately. It's marketed as "lighter, faster, better"... "IMPROVED", but it's down to making you buy new stuff and replacing it every couple of years. Nothing is suppoesed to last long. Nothing.

xenologer

while aluminum rim may wear faster than steel rims
also consider that they alow superiour braking power
and they are stiffer and less prone to going out of true

good trade


If you worry about the rapidfires, can always get 'paul thumbies' type devices to mount your DT shifters on your flatbars where the rapidfires used to be
common setup for touring....

acidfast7

most of the people I work with commute daily and get roughly 3 years or about 20-25000km out of a set of aluminum rims on a German trekking bike (until the divets in the rim are worn from the brake pads indicating time for replacement.) they all run hydraulic rim brakes for what it's worth.

as far as shifters go, they usually get tossed with the bike after roughly 10 years or 60000 to 80000km.

most Germans that I work/ride with feel ten years is the serviceable lifespan of a bicycle before fatigue and excessive costs set in.

TiHabanero

Over 15 years of commuting year round in Michigan, rain, snow, ice, lots of rock salt on the roads, etc. never has an aluminum rim failed. Used only friction shifters and never had them fail. Mavic 501 hubs with cartridge bearings failed at the 50,000 mile mark with a broken rear axle, the front is still in use.
I do know indexed shifting of any type has a shorter life span. My sons Rapidfire shifters (only 3 years old) have to be degummed and lubed every 6 months or they simply won't work. The riding club guys run 105 and Ulegra stuff and the longest I have seen the shifters go is 25,000 miles, most are dead by 15-20,000 miles. I have seen one set of Duraace shifters go 50,000 miles, but that is only pair I have seen do it.
Simple, well built stuff lasts and lasts. I think you are on the right track with your thinking. KISS. Keep It Simple.

acidfast7

yeah, but were you past the wear markers on the rim?

CliftonGK1

I've never had issues with shifters and derailleurs going bad on me, and that was with equipment up to 9spd in the rear. The only derailleurs that have died on me have been ones I've banged into rocks on trails. I never used super-lightweight equipment, though. 9spd indexed DA barcons and older Deore LX triggers mostly.

Now that I ride singlespeed for 90% of my riding, the only wear/tear I see to the drivetrain is replacing chains and brake pads. Other than that, sure, rims are wear items because winter road grit wears away the braking surface; but that takes me 8000 or more miles. My current rims (Sun CR18 mirror polish) have over 12,000 miles on them and they're going strong into a 4th winter of commuting.

gerv 

Spray and pray works for a while, but eventually not even that will suffice. I'm surprised you say they might get 15,000 miles.

I wonder how long you get out of friction thumbies. I'd bet it's a longer if the tension adjustment screw doesn't fall out ...

fietsbob

Drum Brake 3 speed, may be the way to go.. leave it to your grandchildren in your last- Will

tjspiel

Aluminum rims provide MUCH better wet weather braking than steel rims do. Even if they do wear more quickly, they're a big improvement. They also seem to be somewhat like clutches. Some people will wear them out constantly while others will never need to replace one.

Also if you have disc brakes, the major source of wear for rims has been removed, - though now you need to worry about replacing rotors.

I wouldn't worry about the shifters much. I ride my bikes year round in all kinds of weather from 100 *F to -20 *F. I ride whether there's rain, snow, sleet or whatever. The shifters are fine though the cables can freeze up.

Anyway I don't have any reliable lifetime estimates for you. I think conditions vary too much for estimates to have much meaning anyway. It is also worth saying that not all indexed shifters are created equally. Some will last longer than others. Some, like Campy's are designed to be rebuildable.

Finally, it should be pointed out that many bikes were discarded or fell into disuse because the owners weren't happy with the vagaries of friction shifting, - even though the shifters still "worked".

ThermionicScott 

On a long enough time frame, everything is a "wear item."