Some of us buy new bikes off the shelf and upgrade, and some build up bikes over many years, changing bits as they get worn out or we want something different. I'm very much in the latter category, and when fettling my bike over the weekend was surprised to recall that my Sram x9 rear shifter and mech are NINE years old and still working fine. I've obviously rejected the tempted to 'upgrade' to 10 speed, but I was impressed by the longevity of these components that usually come in for a beating.
What has stood the test of time on your bike?
The nut on the top of the saddle 😉
Absolutely 🙂
What is the oldest component on your main bike?
Me.
By about 40.5 years.
Rear hub shell (Hope Pro 2) is from a 2007 Enduro SL 🙂
the frame
Stem is 5 years old, but being replaced imminently!
Either the 2006 Revs or the black and gold M4 rear caliper
Frame n shock
I'm going to take main bike to mean 'mtb' and the one that gets ridden most (though it's a close run thing) in which case, it's the Hope mono mini brakes (the 2007 silver/black version)
On my CX bike, it's the '96 XTR rear mech, still going strong.
The saddle on the bike I use most is from my 1998 Marin East Peak. I also have one of those Muddy Fox bags designed to sit on top of twin stems from 1986 which sits in my rucksack and is used everyday on the commute.
2006 Yeti 575 frame. Not one other part remains from the original build (including rear shock)!
All of it.... 4 month...
Apart from the pedals... which are 2 weeks old.
Either the stem or the seat. Stem is about 6 years old - a Thomson one with no plans to replace it yet. The seat I would guess is older but I don't know. A second-hand flite SLR - the 135g version. I love it.
Frame, original rear mech (XT), rear wheel & front hub all still going strong after 13 years. EVERYTHING else has been replaced.
I've got plenty of bits from the mid to late 90s still going strong and in regular use.
Oldest frame is from 1996, couple of pairs of Hope hubs from 94 and 95, and a lot of early 000's parts mixed in with stuff less than a few months old.
Seatpost and rear wheel is 11 years old (apart from new bearings, axle, freehub and 3 spokes so maybe a bit triggers broom) - EX5.1d on hope XC.
Frame (Heckler), shock (DHX5), seatclamp and front wheel (EX5.1d on hope XC) are 10 years old.
All getting replaced this year hopefully as the whole bike is starting to shake itself apart...............
A 2001 Specialized BG Saddle which I hated on the Sirrus it came with, but oddly turned out to be supremely comfortable on my 2011 full sus.
SDG saddle - 15 yrs?
2003 Shimano 959 SPD's
10 days 😳
8 year old SLR saddle. Can't find anything that doesn't want to ruin me apart from this. Treated it to a recovering a few weeks ago, so looks (nearly) like new again.
1999 Kona Explosif - only original parts left are the V-brake arms and the front and rear mechs.
Hope Minis front and rear. Deinitely original calipers and Lever assemblies - may have swapped hoses at some point, probably original pistons but can't be 100% certain. Still stop me fine. Don' really know how old they are, 2002 maybe 2003 at a guess?
2004 Mazzochi dirt jumper forks, ok a tad heavy
2003 hope M4's and think the shifters are 2001 all on my 2004 Orange patriot and still going strong.
Saint brake calipers.
1998 Chris King headset although the oring top was replaced with a tapered collet style one a few years back.
[s]Probably frame (and shock) stx front shifter, got a pretty old flite saddle knocking about somewhere that outdates everything else I own I think, can't remember which bike the oldest one is currently on tho.[/s]
Just remembered got an [url= 
]STX front shifter[/url] from a 1997 gary fisher montare on my heckler, been meaning to swap it for the only slightly newer (m740) XT one I have in the cupboard.
Parts bin has got even older gear in it, yes I'm a bit of a hoarder 😳
Alloy campag chorus ergo's from the year before they brought out the carbon versions. Early 2000's I think.
Chris King rear hub. It's had a new axle, but that's it in 13yrs.
A 13yr old yellow selle italia tri-matic saddle.
Bought to make a commuter seem less attractive when locked up outside and wasn't at all comfy to start with. I no longer commute, and the saddle has probably done time on all my bikes since then, and whilst never suiting most of them, has now turned out to be my comfiest saddle by far.
Rails are looking badly corroded now.... 🙁
The Fizik Gobi saddle on my MTB goes back to about 2008. The pedals on my road bike are from 2009.
Saddle. Fizik Arione. Bought Used. Can't recall the date stamp on the mould. My Flite Ti is over 20 years old. The rest is a year or less. For the new race bike, the groupset is 2007 Ultegra. And another old Arione.
surprised to recall that my Sram x9 rear shifter and mech are NINE years old and still working fine.
The [i]frame[/i] of my main bike (yeti asr-sl) is nine years old (as is the shock), never mind the rest of the bits!
My 'nice' road bike is also 10 years old (frame, sti's, derailleurs, cranks, seatpost are at least that).
XT cranks came from my 2004 Spec Enduro.
Think my bottle of lube is circa 2001 so will have to go with that.
I have an x-lite heaset spacer that I bought in 1997 that I still use and my GT Fury has the top-cap from a 1999 GT XCR 2000 on it.
The only old significant component I run is the 2009 Lyriks I have, they've still awesome, just put them on the front of a new 456C.
8 Speed 1996 Record Ti Ergo's and rear mech on the road bike. Front mech is slightly newer 9 speed verion that I got NOS a few years ago.
Some proper old stuff above.
Oldest on my main MTB (FS) is The stem top cap that is from about 2004, wheels 2010(and still true), frame 2011.
HT has to be the wheels. I got the front one from ebay in 2009, it has a 20mm cannondale hub so cant be too old. The stem was new in 2009.
My road bike frame is from 1985 as are the cranks, BB and headset. The wheels, gears and brakes were too but they were terrible so I binned them. I barely use the bike so I guess it doesn't count.
Don't really have a main bike but I have lots of kit that's at least ten years old and in regular use. XT M760 cranks and shifters seem to go on forever. I also have a couple of XT mechs of the same vintage that are still going strong.
I'm also about to take my 2003 (I think) Deore discs off my commuter to go on a new build. I bled them once because I thought I should.
A 12 year old Hope Enduro headset. Its been on 3 different bikes and used constantly during that time. Its been greased probably once a year and still runs really smooth.
The only original part on the frame (1996 GT Zaskar) is the Control Tech seatpin, both still going strong.
The Zaskar is a 16" frame in pretty good nick, Ink Blue anodized and may be up for sale soon.
Orange Patriot LT frame - 2000
Hope Hoops Pro3 wheels are the oldest part of my current bike and they're only about 6 years old.
My 2nd main bike is running a Shimano XTR Hollowtech crankset from about 1997 though.
Not with original rings, spider or BB I hasten to add.
Actually, I have 2 bottles and 2 bottle cages from about 1990. But they're not on the main bike, but the 2nd bike at the moment.
Every other component is same age as or newer than the frames.
Sram attack shifters, 10 years old this year
I built up my Cannondale hardtail 10 years ago and, other than the frame still have the forks (Marzocchi Marathon), xt rear mech, avid rollamajig, and front wheel (xt & mavic 717 rim) that just refuse to die no matter how much I neglect them.
A neoprene Lizard Skin chain stay protector.
Must be at least 15 years old... or ti stem bolts. A similar age.
Although most of my components are much newer, I haven't yet built a bike with 100% new stuff.
Maybe for my 40th (a decade away)!
I recently tried to replace the cleats on my SIDIs and found they were seized on. So reverted to my spare pair, some Shimanos that I bought in 1997. Still awesome.
I also have a Kona pertex jacket from the same year, that is still two sizes to big for me and a bum bag that I use occasionally from the same year.
Actually I have a Ging chain device too from 1997, but it's not been on a bike in a long long time.
1998 Stumpjumper M2 (as in oldest of my bikes that was bought new).
Cranks are still original StrongArm (I think).
Everything else replaced as it failed or upgraded. Oldest after-market component - either M959s that went on a couple years after new (so 14 years old) or the Hope Mini (front only) that's maybe 12/13 years old. Still same rotor as well.
CK headset on all my bikes 14 years is the oldest
1998 Middleburn cranks on square taper.... the reason all my bikes since get Middleburn cranks eventually.
Frame, forks, bars and stem on my Orange C16R used as a "road" bike all circa 1996 and still going strong.
I stil use a suntour thumpshifter left pod for my frontshifter, on my spesh camber, works like a charm, it is from about 1993, build like a tank !
[img] http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=277463 [/img]
Nothing against old parts, or reusing old parts but I don't think my OCD would Cope with odd wheels or shifters, next you will be telling me some one has different make/model brakes on front from back or even different grips.
My Wheels - Hope Bulbs with Mavic D521CD rims built around the turn of the century by Wheelpro. Changed a few bearings and the pawls but they've been serious value.
The White Brothers cranks on my main (until the new one arrives) bike, were from a Team Marin that I bought second hand in 1990. I still have that bike, but it's relegated to pub / shopping / pootling duties.
What do I win?
Maybe the cranks? 2007-ish.
On my commuter, which i ride the most, it's mostly from 1991.
I regularly wear an old Berghaus cycle top from circa 1996/7, and a Vaude rucsac of 1997/8 vintage, maybe that counts.
MTB:
Frame - 9 years (FSR XC)
Road:
wheels,both mechs, cranks, levers - 15 years
11 year old Hope M4s still going strong. Except they are 6mm hose and Hope only do 5mm now. Fits though.
Same as Jeb - XC pro front thumb-shifter on my Flux.
And I thought I was a unique little snowflake! 🙂
2004 XT cranks from my old Spesh Enduro
Deore disc brakes from the same.
Raceface Northshore XS sq taper cranks - bought late 2005 - 40+ builds later now running 'dinglespeed' on the Hooker.
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Oh, and I do have a rather nice 1967 Schwinn Speedster cruiser.
Gary Fisher fish shaped valve cap and Klein top cap, circa 1999 🙂
My D521 rims or XT M750 shifter. Both are two components that I love and have had loads of on bikes over the years.
Flite Ti saddle c. 1999.
Nothing comes close for mountain bike bottom comfort.
After that is a ust rear wheel from 2005.
In a way my main bike as I use it every day for commuting (with road tyres, close ratio cassette, mudguards & rack no less) is my 1992 Trek 8000.
It still has the original stem & Deore DX front mech.
Until last year it still had the original XT brake levers - the XT shifters were cut off a couple of years previously but they still must have seen 18 years service.
The bike's been raced, done mud plugging on the local green lanes & weekend trips to the Peak district & now does 2.5k a year commuting. (It was relieved of that duty for a couple of years when I bought an 8 sp Alfine Carrera from H*lfords but that heap of sh!t fell apart. Yes, I know, why would you buy a bike from there. Simple answer it was a bargain. Or would have been had it not fell apart).
Early 90's Ringle bottle cage. In purple, of course.
the LX cranks. Probably 10 years old.
pedals, TIME ATAC bought when they first released them around 96 I think
ca. 1991 Suntour XC Pro cranks, square taper, of course...
my xc bike is built up of parts in the 5 year to 2 month age range, but I do have 1993 bar ends on it!
Circa 93/94 Bontrager Race frame... although the Deore XT thumbies might be a little older.
All in better condition than me, frankly. 😳
That would be the 1992 Use Ti post (yes, with purple anodised cradle) that's attached to a 1992 Merlin frame, you Johny come latelys 😉
All of my bikes have carry over parts from a predecessor, my 2004 Enduro frame now hangs from the living room wall...but it lives on in the form of my Camber, which inherited all the XT bits and Revelation fork, but all of that is no more than four years old.
The oldest component in use is the front hub of my Marin - it's a 2005 vintage Hope Bulb, albeit in imminent need of new bearings. It's closely followed by the front mech on the Marin - a 2006 XT jobby.
Kind of depressing to think that all the components I've bought for their durability back in the mid 2000s are now all long gone.
2001 Marzocchi Z3s. Serviced last year. Work as good as new.
the rider 59 in july
possibly the original xt 4 pot disc brakes? got to be over 10 yrs old
2004 spesh enduro frame. Everything else bolted to it is new(er).
I have an ex Nigel Page Intense Team Deemax Fr wheel circa 2002 that is still going strong and straight.