A Quick Test of Quality
 

I posted this on a forum awhile back and thought I would share it with you good folks.

Lift the rear wheel from ground by picking up the saddle of your bicycle and give the left pedal a hard and quick half-turn spin, then count the number of the turns you will have before a complete stop of the rear wheel; please let us know the number.

I got a 70' or 80's Precision PR6006 made-in-Canada mountain bike and the number I tested was 170. That's perhaps a main reason why I always like this over 30-year old bike. It is eager to go when you ride.

I tested a lot new bikes in the stores, both department stores and a couple of LBS's this way, they are all somewhere between 15 to 120 turns, even for brand names such as Trek, Giant, or Norco.

I trust that this could be the reason why other people here also like the old bikes but they may never notice this hidden difference which might be why old bikes do have the QUALITY.

It tests the bearing resistance, that's all, and the grease and packing and adjustment with older components.
It is fun to show people, though.

More fun with older Campy than others. Not so fun with modern stuff with sealed bearings on bb's and hubs.
However, if the new stuff was more "resistant," you'd not see it on pro-level competition where money depends on winning.

At least that's what I tell myself. I still prefer a Campy ball bearing bottom bracket to all others, and Dura Ace ball bearing hubs.

It's more of a test of physics.
https://www.mansfieldct.org/Schools/...awsinertia.htm

I failed physics, or maybe I got a "D."
Something to do with the redhead who sat in front of me. ( I think she got a "D," too.)

I'm more of a "spin the wheel" guy.

I once told a teacher "I don't care what the boiling point is. You heat it, it boils. So what?"
Likewise, I failed chemistry, too.

Got an "A" in calculus, and shop. Go figure.

More a test of temperature, bearing adjustment and freewheel/freehub drag. Absolutely nothing to do with quality.

And how do you know you always exert the same force each time you test?

Unloaded performance is no indication of either quality or loaded performance.

it's mostly seal drag, give me 5 minutes to pry the seals out of those new sealed bearings, and they will give your 30 year old wheels a run for their money. Your can do the same thing with the cranks, drop the chain off and give the crank arm a spin and see how long is goes. After a few hundred miles, once the edges of the bearing seals wear, there won't be much difference.

Also heavier wheels/tires will have more rotational mass, helping them spin longer.

Only here would such a topic be discussed thus.

Use oil in the bearings. Mechanics have been replacing the grease in hubs for oil for generations before time trials. Remove any seals. (Don't take this seriously if you want your hubs to last in real conditions. :))

New production wheels almost always have the nuts/cones and locknuts too tight. If the shop mechanic didn't adjust them, they would spin very few revolutions. If he adjusted them tight enough to not have any play in 200 miles, they would still be a little tight.

A fair test would have been the number of revolutions your wheel would have made brand new, 30-40 years ago.

Ben

Quick observation- Many new big name brands don't even come close to some from years ago. I laugh when coming across old Campy hubs that spin beautifully but appear to have NEVER been serviced. Grease crusted and nasty looking.

More so with Campy pedals. Whats not to love about them!

Just yesterday at a LBS, I happened to handle a brand new pair of Origin 8 pedals. Horrible bearings. I examined the next half dozen pair new in the packages.... same ROUGH, high friction bearings! Then, I checked out some Crank Bros. eggbeaters. Big draggers. What gives?

Continueing on my rant, had some errands to do and picked up a few groceries from the Wallymart. Smack at the entrance was a display of brand new bikes, clearance / sale from $49 to $79. Adult size bikes. Equipped of course with low-end Shimano shift groups, some with metal mudguards and chain guards. Aluminum frames and rims. The ATB type had suspension forks. Jeez... how in the world do they make money on this China made stuff?

(BTW: I don't know if the best, but I'm a fan of using Finish Line grease for all bike bearings. Seems to have a low viscosity for cold temps.)

There is always quality, some is poor, some is good. Without a controlled perimeter with variables measured, you really don't know what is good and what is poor quality.

In some cases, anything that will function could be considered good quality, even if it looks like.....poor quality.