Originally Posted by
jralbert
Okay, serious question for the people in this thread who appear to actually know things about things: Does this mean that I should be removing and inspecting my seatpost, stem, bars, crank arms, etc on a semi-regular basis? I mean, my bars have been wrapped and set for literally two years, and that photo of the magic disintegrating bars was terrifying - who knows what awful secrets the bar tape might conceal? I've tended to think of the non-moving parts of the bike as more or less set-and-forget. Dangerously incorrect?
You've really nothing to worry about. Think about all the riders still riding late 90s frames of different composites not only as a bike, but as their rain/winter/beater bike. Anyway if you're really worried just take your knuckles or a wrench and tap all over. If the pitch changes pretty drastically you might investigate further.