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Lifespan of a road bike?

Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 8:34 pm
by Jace
Just wondering how many Kay's one would expect a road bike to last for in a reasonable condition? Obviously it depends on a range of factors but just as a ball park?

Does one usually "outgrow" their bike before its retired?

Re: Lifespan of a road bike?

Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 10:06 pm
by mick243
Lots

My roadie is from 1992..... And there are plenty older that have done more k's

Re: Lifespan of a road bike?

Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 10:32 pm
by winstonw
will ultimately depend on time, cost, and ease with which you can get replacement groupset bits.
will also depend on cost of respray vs new bike. I had a professional repaint costed at $700 recently, for a carbon bike.

I don't tend to think carbon bikes would be safe for as long as steelies. My max for a carbon would be about 100,000km, which is 10 years at 200km/week. For a steelie, maybe double that. I'd want to be sure rust wasn't eating away at the steel though. I've seen a few guys in hospital after buying retro steelies that failed due to rust +/- metal fatigue.

the other consideration is you tend to ride less k's and less aggressively as you age. I've never seen a guy on a 40yo restored roadie hammering it down Brisbane's more challenging descents.

Re: Lifespan of a road bike?

Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 10:46 pm
by ironhanglider
Usually longer than the warranty period. Manufacturers don't want to just give stuff away en masse.

Cannondale say they expect only 5-7 years out of a road bike (even though their warranty says for the lifetime of the original owner). That means the middle of the bell curve is probably closer to 10 years. They rejected the claim for a friend's 11 year old bike purely on the basis of age (fatigue is normal wear and tear apparently).

Cheers,

Cameron

Re: Lifespan of a road bike?

Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 10:56 pm
by Marty Moose
Just buy a new one every couple of years :)

Sent from my MB526 using Tapatalk 2

Re: Lifespan of a road bike?

Posted: Fri Aug 16, 2013 5:57 am
by Dimis
If unmolested, a bike is for life.

Re: Lifespan of a road bike?

Posted: Fri Aug 16, 2013 7:21 am
by DoogleDave
I think there are way too many variables to give a ballpark figure that you could rely on being close to correct.

YMMV

Dave

Re: Lifespan of a road bike?

Posted: Fri Aug 16, 2013 7:44 am
by Comedian
Marty Moose wrote:Just buy a new one every couple of years :)

Sent from my MB526 using Tapatalk 2
Depends how often and hard you ride it. And what it's made of. ;)

For a social/occasional bike rider who only rides two or three times a month it would likely last 10 or 20 years. Other people I know who ride a lot - and ride hard tend to replace bikes every couple of years. They also tend to crack carbon frames a lot ... so they may get longer out of a bike if the frame has had a replacement. Even if the bike is still operational people that ride a lot tend to upgrade every few years anyway. In the group I ride with maybe only 1 in ten would have a five year old bike as their regular ride.

Most people will be somewhere in between those two extremes. :)

Re: Lifespan of a road bike?

Posted: Fri Aug 16, 2013 3:09 pm
by foo on patrol
I still have my road bike from 1981 and race wheels that are still in perfect nick. :mrgreen:

Foo

Re: Lifespan of a road bike?

Posted: Fri Aug 16, 2013 3:44 pm
by The 2nd Womble
My recently acquired Concord ( IHAVEACONCORD IHAVEACONCORD IHAVEACONCORD!!!) is an '86, but if my kid wants it when he/she is old enough it'll most likely be just as loving to them :)
Nawww...

Re: Lifespan of a road bike?

Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 9:52 pm
by ProCelebrityGolf
distance travelled is largely irrelevant.

most important is when spouse gives you the green light to consider buying another :)

Re: Lifespan of a road bike?

Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 8:09 am
by The 2nd Womble
ProCelebrityGolf wrote:distance travelled is largely irrelevant.

most important is when spouse gives you the green light to consider buying another :)
You married a "when", I married an "if". You win.

Re: Lifespan of a road bike?

Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 8:10 am
by DaveOZ
I know a bloke that had an ali Cannonade. He road 100,000km on it over 10 years when it developed a crack in the frame. They gave him a new frame under the lifetime warranty.

Re: Lifespan of a road bike?

Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 2:11 pm
by Duck!
How long is a piece of string.... That's what it boils down to.

Re: Lifespan of a road bike?

Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 10:59 am
by jules21
Jace wrote:Just wondering how many Kay's one would expect a road bike to last for in a reasonable condition?
a road bike isn't a uniform entity - it's made up on components, which will last varying distances. tyres and chain - 2-4000km, wheels - 20,000km if treated well and maybe a bearing replacement, cables - 5000km? - it varies. frame may last forever if you're lucky.