Originally Posted by
Closed Office
And I was on an upper class bike site not long ago. They mentioned that going for the super competitive advantage of an extremely light bike, means you will get one that is not going to last as long. I thought it was decent of them to mention that.
Sounds plausible but simplistic. Weight is not the main determinant of durability. Frame and component materials and construction are more important. A well-built lightweight bike will often last longer (and work better) than a robust looking Wal-Mart boat anchor bike. Most 1970's proletarian French roadsters (e.g. UO-8) are fairly light, ride well, and at 40 years of age still have more life left in them than most of the newborn clunkers being sold to the mass market today.