Originally Posted by
3alarmer
...for myself, besides the obvious fact that any racing for me is way back in the dimmest recesses of
my selective memory (where I was both fast and sweet
), it's the nature of the material that makes
it very hard to spot a problem that might be progressing (like a ding becoming a crack becoming a face plant),
and the by now obvious instantaneous failure mode.
I just don't got the
cajones for that much excitement in my life any more.
But you realize, of course, that is just one of the many lies that we tell ourselves so that we continue doing our dangerous pastime. I have had a cleat screw brake, welding me to the bike. I have accidentily unclipped, almost wrecking myself. I have had bolts loosen up over time, so the handlebars dislocate in a sprint. These were all steel failures, all could have been caught by preventative maintenance, and I actually think I am better than most at keeping up on my bike maintenance. It we all UT'ed our frames everyday, or did dimensional checks for tube necking, I would agree. But we don't, yet convince ourselves it's safer.