Ok my madison shorts have fallen apart in less than 10 months, my endura dexter gloves have died after a year, my five tens are looking to die in the next few months as well (thats just over a year)

Is this a good lifespan for things like this? Lets say im wearing them once a week and wash them afterwards in line with the care labels. Obviously if we rule out crashing etc and just wear and tear through normal usage is this acceptable or would you expect your kit to last a lot longer?

Im just wondering if im being unrealistic wanting a pair of shorts to last 12-18 months.

I’m wearing some sombreo shorts that are 10 years old, my other pair that age lasted the same, gloves 2-3 years of lots of riding. Though gritty crap riding doesn’t help.

My waterproof endura mt500 shorts have been washed a handful of times in 18months. Pretty much take them off dirty and just let the mud dry and then brush it off. Same with am41s. Gloves I buy cheap as I loose or wreck them.

I’d hope for longer for shorts and shoes, but gloves often die within a year IME.

It’s all a bit ‘piece of string’ though.

it depends

IME shorts wear because of dirt/mud and grime on them grated against a seat
Dry dusty rides and it will last for ever
Shoes last a few seasons but I have summer and winter ones
Gloves my endura ones died quickly – may have been a wee bit small
661 are about 4 years old as are my summer mitts and Aldi winter ones

Depends on a lot of things. Shorts in particular may depend how you ride. Gloves on fingers you favour, grips you use and whether you death grip or not.

Personally I try not to wash the stuff after every ride. Washing seems to wear stuff out quicker in my experience, stitching seems to go in particular if over washed. Obviously depends how dirty, but if a little mud and next ride will be muddy, I don’t bother washing them. Gloves disintegrate if washed too often, though I wear through the thumb of every glove I’ve ever owned in about a year regardless.

Five Tens do seem to take a battering. One pair I wrecked though by leaving them in the car and never cleaning them. Baking in summer, freezing in winter. I bring them in the house now and wipe down, but rarely give them a full clean. The current Impacts and Freerider Elements have been lasting a couple of years okay.

njee20 – Member
I’d hope for longer for shorts and shoes, but gloves often die within a year IME.

It’s all a bit ‘piece of string’ though.

This is pretty much my experience too.

Fox DH shorts – last around 5 years for me.
Specialized MTB shoes – 7 years old still going strong.
Specialized MTB mitts – 4 years a pair.
It depends a lot on riding style, I’m smooth and slow, just like Barry White, so my stuff lasts long.

Sombrio shorts do indeed last for absolutely years. Mine are constantly covered in pennine moorland crap, then washed after every ride. But they’re a lot more expensive than pretty much anything else out there. Their jackets are equally as indestructible.

I suppose the old adage of getting what you pay for holds true. I always buy Northwave shoes too, for the same reason. They last for ever. And scrub up really well when you occasionally get round to cleaning them. Everything else I’ve had just falls apart. Northwaves just seem to keep going.

Endura Humvees here – about 5 years old, only the zips are letting them down really.

Someone tried to buy them off me when I said on here I was after a new pair 😯

Sombrio shorts do indeed last for absolutely years.

+1
Shimano or Specialized shoes also seem to last well.

My ancient (15-20 years?) Vaude bike rucsack also seems to be made from granite and refuses to die, despite looking like it should any day.

Kinesis 29er front wheel 15mm through axle… The bearings went after about 5 months.

Hope Pro2 Evo rear hub… The two inner bearings disintegrated in November, I started using it in July.

Giant PXC2 rear wheel undid itself after 100 miles, tried a rebuild but the rim was egged. Eventually I rebuilt it with another rim and after a further month I’m getting horrible clacky bearing noises coming from the hub.

About 5 years ago I made a set of wheels up using XT hubs and the rear hub just kept on undoing itself.

A Buffalo windshirt I’ve had for 20+ years & still wear regularly.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/otFxYR]001 (2)[/url] by jimmyg352, on Flickr

It’s got a little tear in the arm from some barbed wire which hasn’t got any bigger since I did it 15 years ago.
If you buy decent gear it should last, unfortunately it often doesn’t.

Roach shorts 15 years wash after every ride

ground effect shorts 8 years

Decathlon base layers 6 years

fox shorts great fit but less than 3 months

fox top 4 weeks stitching came apart

some of it is luck but there is a shift to a consumer merry go round

as above Buffalo 22 years old still going condition and karrimor polartech powerstretch leggings, stitched up so I look like frankenstien but still the best

I find it very variable.

Gloves – OakleyFactory last best for me.
Baggies – it’s the zips that usually go first. I have Agee pairs that are more than 10 years old.
Lycra shorts – again 3 or 4 years usually unless the pad separates from the short.
Shoes – 2 years for Shimano or Spesh before they start looking very second hand. I do have summer and winter shoes then relegate the 2 year old ones to spare status. Riding 4 or 5 times a week.

Shorts I tend to get between 12-24 months out of depending if I crash badly on them or not, normal mode of failure is to wear/tear the bum or crotch, or the seams start to unstictch and then wear and fray so cant be repaired easily..

Tops last for years and years as long as I don’t crash on them, but jackets I’d be annoyed at less than 2 years.

Gloves I’m lucky to get more than 6-8months out of them before my fingers are poking out or a palm has worn through.

Shoes, well, SPDs last longer, my record is a pair of Scott ones which I retired after 11 years of great service, now on Specialized Tahoes @ 3years and seem about half worn out, but I do have 2 pairs of them an alternate between them while the others dry out. Shoes for flats is another matter, I’m lucky if I get over 12 months riding out of them, shoes fine, soles destroyed is the normal situation.

Still is a piece-of-string question though as it depends on how often and in what conditions you ride

i have a pair of shimano dx shoes that are nearly 10 years old and still look like new despite the use they get
my endure jacket is older and still in good condition
my oakley baggies are of a similar age and get used every day
i had a pair of endura mt500 baggies which i lent to a friend at BPW…he finally managed to kill them in a fall in the car park of all places…only took 8 years for them to die
my oakley factory pilot gloves finally dies last summer after 8 years of service
my camelbak havoc is still going strong after nearly 10 years of service…
i have other kit that is also of similar age that is still being used
you get what you pay for…but i have to admit i am a bit more careful in how i treat my riding kit as i cant always justify the expense of buying new kit regularly

Apart from gloves/liner shorts and to a lesser extent shoes there’s not much that wears out

Still have Cannondale and Oakley jerseys from 1990-something they’re kind of weathered but not worn out. And most importantly they still fit

you get what you pay for…but i have to admit i am a bit more careful in how i treat my riding kit as i cant always justify the expense of buying new kit regularly

Not always. My last pair of S-Works shoes fell apart after 3 years. The elastic and the zip went in my latest Assos bibtights. I think one subconsciously looks after expensive stuff more than cheap, and in general I agree, but it’s not a given.

I have a pair of endura singletrack shorts that are 4 years old. Just change the inner when the older one gets stinky.
Survived various crashes and a very tough. I love ’em.

i had a pair of endura mt500 baggies which i lent to a friend at BPW…he finally managed to kill them in a fall in the car park of all places…only took 8 years for them to die

Bah, my MT500s were on the way out after 8 months, and finally dead by 12/13 months, I wish they would last years as they were great shorts but longevity not good enough for me to spend on them again.

Humvees have been good, but the bum panel is the weakest bit and that’s where they’ve all failed in the end for me through abrasion, so far Singletracks wearing well though…

amedias – to be honest i preferred using the oakley shorts over them and the enduras were used on road mostly but even i was surprised i’d managed to keep them that long as the material always felt quite flimsy when compared to the oakleys

Spoke to madison via facebook and emailed them this morning but as yet I’ve not had any response.

Shimano or Specialized shoes also seem to last well.

hmmm, that doesnt match my experience, my Shimano Am41 shoes tend to last about a year before the sole starts to detach from the upper. Had 3 pairs now , and theyve all been similar.