I went on my first multi-day tour when I was 14 in 1958, going with my
best friend of the same age. I rode an old 28" single speed man's CCM bike
while my friend had a brand new Raleigh 3 speed. His bike broke down, we
think the extra touring weight stripped the cone mechanism inside. It might
have been a 'one time' thing, but I also noticed that a couple of school buddies
had mechanical problems with theirs, likely because they used them roughly.