Originally Posted by
memebag
True, but should 10 year old bikes be discarded due to safety concerns? When we buy a new bike, how long can we reasonably expect the fork to remain intact?
When I buy a bike, I expect the fork (and the frame, and most of the parts) to last a long time. More than 10 years, generally, because I take care of my things. I ride the bike hard, and "abuse" it on gravel, in the way it's designed to withstand. I don't hit it with a hammer or crash it or anything.
A used bike is a different story, you don't know it's history, whether it's been truly abused or not.
The key isn't that it's old enough that we should just assume it's no good; the key is that it's had plenty of opportunity to have its structure compromised by some kind of impact.