Originally Posted by
conradpdx
No I don't think the owner of the bikes beat them up. But the main reason I went to a Internal Hub for my main ride was I got sick of constantly fixing and fussing with my RD. They get pretty beat up in cities with high bike populations at the public bike racks. (That and I figured out that I seldom used more than 3 gears in most my riding anyway.) One guy not paying attention while locking up his ride is all it takes for a slower ride home and RD tune up.
I am glad you took care of your bike and only others beat up your parts. Did I say only the owner beat up the parts?
In my shop, it is mostly the owners that beat up their parts or their friends/kids that they lent the bike to. Most of the bikes we sell never get ridden downtown, just in the neighborhoods, organize rides and the local MUPs. These bikes get thrown in the back of the van or pickup with other bikes laying on top of them. The kids just hop off of the bike and lay it on the drivetrain. It doesn't take much to bend a hanger. Then they shift into the wheel and destroy the derailer.
But back on topic, the FD rarely gets damaged beyond repair. There is no hanger that gets bent easily by laying the bike on the drive side. As a matter of fact, I don't recall the last FD that I replaced for a repair. The two a year we sell, I am not sure if it is to replace a broken one, changing the bike from a drop bar to a flat bar or because the person is building up a bike from the frame, but either way, we don't sell many.