The forum always seems to have threads about parts failing or having issues, which got me thinking. Do bicycles and bicycle components have a higher than average failure rate? This would be compared to other products (sports, automotive, household, etc.).

Would the reason for this be that cyclist crave lightweight, high precision components but they put these parts through a high level of stress?

OR am I over thinking it and STW just enjoys a good moan… ?

(Slow day at the office)

Huge importance placed on low weight – we demand the lightest parts, want them to run smoothly without friction or obstruction, and then we chuck them down rocky, steep, mud drenched mountains.

Surprised the bloody things work at all.

Light, cheap, long lasting

Pick any two.

It’s the internet, it’s very rare for people to shout how long something lasts, when was the last thread started about a mech that has lasted years. People complain and talk about failure, success is dull. You don’t notice things that work, you notice the ones that don’t. Compared to when I started things seem a lot more durable and reliable, perhaps I’ve spent more and moved up the chain to the sweet spot or maybe things are better.

Light, cheap, long lasting

Pick any two.

I’d say of light and long lasting – pick any one.

This is a forum for cyclists who are generally quite far up the diminishing returns curve. The bikes we’re riding aren’t comparable to mondeos. Formula one cars would compare badly in terms of reliability and robustness. Bikes that are the topic of discussion on here typically as near as dammit pieces of competition equipment even if they are configured in angles that are more about fun. We’re talking about bikes that effort has been made to maximise performance, are of novel design and bikes where sales numbers are low and product revision is frequent. We’re paying to beta test prototypes a lot of the time, except the bike that follows will pretty much be a prototype also.

The more expensive the bikes are, the more material has been honed away, the more complicated the intersections between honed materials are. A bike can be stong and light, at a price, but I don’t think it can really be stong, light and long lasting at any price.

Well you *could* get some exotic light alloy that would last a long time but it would cost a fortune. 😯

I don’t think I’d buy a bike with top end components on, well I certainly wouldn’t replace them like for like. Groupsets like XTR are for racers, not general leisure rides like me. Even the lower end groupsets are more than good enough. Like you say, there’s a sweet spot, it’s typically in the middle of the range where the decades of improvements have trickled down.

Well I’m sure a carbon frame from Trek decked out with Shimano, Mavic and Rocksox would last a good time with a bit of maintenance, but it wouldn’t be the sexiest to boast about.

don;t forget mountain biking is a much harsher environment than road biking. My road drivetrain is wearing out after several thousand miles. my mtb stuff never lasts that long.

eg. most of the rear mechs i’ve thrown away have been bent. Road ones last a loooong time.

beta testing prototypes that are often totally the wrong thing to use from an engineering point of view. bearing that rotate only 1/8th of a turn where bushings would be used in automotive application and last 100000miles, bearings that need overhaul for the automotive equivalent of a day driving up the M6 in a rain storm,…

Well I’m sure a carbon frame from Trek decked out with Shimano, Mavic and Rocksox would last a good time with a bit of maintenance, but it wouldn’t be the sexiest to boast about.

OI! I resemble that remark!

Apart from the Mavic bit

to truly find the answer, you need to find out how many “units” they have sold to the ones that fail.
good luck with that!

andytherocketeer – Member

bearings that need overhaul for the automotive equivalent of a day driving up the M6 in a rain storm,…

Rear bearing assemblies for my car weigh pretty much the same as my bike.

The lifespan of bushings in bikes isn’t impressive either- I go through more shock bushings than suspension bearings and the bikes I’ve had with suspension bushings have been the same. You’d have to add significant sealing or shielding to fix that, which brings with it weight but also drag.

This would be compared to other products (sports, automotive, household, etc.)

As “Sporting Equipment” (Best fit IMO) bike kit is probably about on the mark for durability, how long do Running shoes/golf sticks/Surfboards/Cricket bats last if stored and maintained properly…

What you’re talking about is something like ARM (Availability Reliability Maintainability) analysis which is used in some industries, and takes available in service performance data to try and predict failure rates for equipment, it is often used as a way to decide the optimal time to replacement of a bit of kit before it actually fails on demand, or choose one item over another to minimise the risk of unplanned downtime.

Probably not actually appropriate for push bikes though TBH…