Originally Posted by
PaulH
I've had the same car for 31 years, the same airplane for 30 years, and the same house for 23 years. If something works and is optimal for the job, why replace it? I've had my primary bike for 15 years, so it is my newest vehicle.
Cars, not so long, because cars rust so fast here. We kept one car, a '98 Honda, for 15 years and 300k km. My son tried to jack it up on the jack point to change a flat and the jack punched through the body due to excessive rust. So we retired it. My wife got a new car and he inherited her old car. It's 11 years old and has 280k km so every so slightly newer (but it's a VW diesel that was bought in part for longevity). I've owned the same plane (Beech Sundowner) for 13 years but it's for sale now, no longer fly it enough to justify the costs especially since I retired.
My primary bike is now my secondary bike but is 22 years old (a Marinoni Special). I still ride it regularly, rode it twice this week in fact. I agree that if something works and is optimal, keep it. However I do have a carbon bike as well. I live in a very hilly/low mountain area and these old legs appreciate the light weight, the compact crank, and the stiffness that transfers more energy to the road. That's for most of my rides. But when the mission is a century, my old Marinoni, with its custom-fitted frame, is unbeatable. I will replace my carbon bike soon to get a better fit. The current one's frame is just slightly too big for me and is causing me some issues.