When it ain't broke: Your best stories of gear holding up.

[zzy]

I am still using some 9sp 6510 bits from back in 2002. 9sp Shimano stuff just won't die.

[fignon's barber]

I got 26 years of service from a set of Tacx rollers. 20 of those years was when I lived in Michigan and did the majority of my training indoors on them. The last 5 years saw the rails held together by duct tape, before they eventually crumbled. I once calculated that I rode over 100,000 "miles" on them.

[Heisenberg]

I’ve done some really vile things to the pair of Bora 50 Ultra tubular rims I have, including singletrack, drops, and way, way too much gravel at low pressures, along with 20,000km of use. The rims always make it out unscathed.

[d_douglas]

I have a SSM Regal ti saddle that is as comfortable as the day I bought it (used) from a friend about 12 years ago. The bike slid down a wall last year and tore up the back corner, but I think it has 10 more years in it before I retire it. It is such a comfortable saddle.

[soulspinner]

Originally Posted by SoCalSteve

Yeah, but will ever be able to get it out?

Um Um not sure...

[BobC]

Lemond Revmaster spin bike.

Abused for 15+years. Literally have not done a single thing to it. Refuses to die.

**Except I did replace the used, beat up speedplays when one finally locked up & almost sent me flying (now that would have been a story)

[quickfeet]

I'm not a massive fan of Shimano the company, but I have multiple pairs of m959 pedals with tens of thousands of miles on them and they still spin like silk and have never been repacked. Just bought another nos set too. I cannot kill them, they are the only things that have not ever been "upgraded"

[shovelhd]

I had a double rear flat on a group ride once. I had given my second tube to a fellow rider, and I don't carry patches. Instead of making the call of shame, I rode my 58mm generic carbon clincher 8 miles home on the flat. Climbing and descending were "interesting". The edges got a little chewed up, but they're still my main road wheels today.

[Gothard]

Edco competition hubs. Have them since 1990. The front is still in use. The rear retired to the trainer because 8sp. They have the grease port. Of the 3 sets I have, I had to change (1) bearing, 5$.

Mavic Ceramic rims. Look like the day I built them into wheels over 25 years ago.

[El Chaba]

Originally Posted by zzy

I am still using some 9sp 6510 bits from back in 2002. 9sp Shimano stuff just won't die.

This is true that was durable stuff. The same was true for the 9 speed era Campagnolo Record and Chorus parts. IMHO, that era marked the high point for bicycle components in terms of aesthetics, function and durability combined.

[daker13]

Not a bike part, but I was given a Patagonia fleece by my aunt in about '91, I lived in SF at the time and had to go to Pacific Heights to exchange it for another size. I wore it a lot, and while I replaced it in '16, it's really not in that bad shape and I can't get myself to throw it away.

[Tandem Rider]

I have some old Campy NR and SR parts with well over 50k on them, and these are hard miles in all kinds of weather, on all kinds of roads and not roads, and tons of races. I finally just moved on, they wouldn't die. The parts will take much more abuse than any of the frames from that era.

[FastforaSlowGuy]

I️ rode a lot as a kid and was obsessed with all things euro. So I️ used my savings to get a set of hand built wheels: Ultegra hubs laced 3x to some Mavic GL330 rims, glued up with some Vittoria tires. I️ was pretty sure I was going to win the Tour on those wheels. Then I️ got in a NASTY crash and stopped riding. Wheels sat in my parents’ garage from 1993 until 2012. I️ came across them and thought, what the hell, let’s see if they roll. I’m sort of stupid at times, so I️ didn’t even reglue. After the first ride it sort of became a game of how long before the tires gave out. I put well over 1,000 miles on those things before I️ flatted.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[steelbikerider]

Some Dura Ace 7400 7-speed hubs from 1987. They are now 10 speed on their 3rd or 4th set of rims with 10's of 1000s of miles.

A Yakima roof rack still in use from 1986 on its 4th car( I keep cars for awhile too).

A couple of jerseys from mid 1980's that I can still wear and do on throwback Sunday rides.

My Silca pump from 1979 was in daily use until 2-3 years ago. Now it is a backup/travel pump.

[oliver1850]

Originally Posted by Kontact

In the early '90s I was riding around screwing with the shifting on my Cannondale and rode right into a curb. The bike bounced right up over the medium high curb and I ended up stopped with the front wheel on the sidewalk and the rear on the street.

I weighed 140 pounds, the fork was an SR aluminum and the wheel was a 32 hole original Open4 CD rim with 20c tires.

No dings, bends, pinch flat or loss of true. I hit that curb so hard, I was shocked that nothing happened.

Reminds me of a story that the owner of the lbs (who sold me my first good bike) told me. He was bombing down a hill at 30 mph in the Quad Cities with traffic alongside when a brick appeared in his path with nowhere else to go but over it. Hit it dead square and didn't even flat. I can't hit a 1" rock without pinch flatting, and once broke a tubular rim crossing a railroad track that was rough but nothing like hitting a brick.

The bike that he sold me was a Cannondale MTB with Suntour XCD. I had nearly 8,000 miles on it when it was stolen. I'd replaced the chain and cassette, probably wouldn't have needed the cassette if I'd known enough to replace the chain earlier. My '93 M800 is still going strong with the original LX. I don't think I've even replaced the chain on it.