At what age would a bike be considered “old”

For instance is my 2006 S-Works Enduro “old” yet?

There must be some point a frame becomes almost worthless making the jump to the next frame financially difficult to achieve / harder to justify to the other half etc..

How frequently would you replace your frame then?

bout 6 weeks………… 😉

i’d say from time working in bike shops an alloy hard tail – about 4/5 years.

full Sus (off the shelf frame i.e. specilized epic etc) about 3/4 years

full sus (boutique ie turner, ellsworth, litespeed etc) 5/7 years – they do no matter what ever folk say tend to last longer as bushing/bearings/finish are better and also they tend to not change colour/design/geometry every season.

steel hardtail or steel road – considered ‘old’ about 5+ years – but not considered ‘worn’ as such if originally of good qaulity (generally not included in this is cheaply fabricated stuff) for examply an old rocky mountain blizzard will be considered desirably compared to a similar age steel specilized etc, usually also the geometry of the canadian stuff and also kona’s gives it more value, as it tends to be considered more modern.

it’s pretty tricky – ‘old’ is an odd concept very subjective.

At about the time you decide you really ‘need’ another bike

My GF Sugar1 is 10 years old this year.

I put new forks and shock on it (and wheels and everything else) and it feels better than it did new.

It’s a bit ‘triggers broom’ but I don’t think of it as ‘old’, just in need of some painty TLC.

Ben

Well it seems that some bikes can be a ‘classic’ after 3-4-5 years, so i guess that says a lot.

Yeah, what Ton said. As soon as it’s paid for 😉

Bridges and cars are made of metal and seem to last a bit longer than 5 years iirc… hype/good business practice to get you to buy a new bike… like geometry changing unless you have chganged shape and got longer /shorter in that time what do you need new shape for? Perhaps it is the erosion of then mountains that now requires a new angle?
I have a 25 year old road bike and works fine a 12 year old MTB (wifes now) that is functionaly sound and I would still use for real stuff.
Both current models older than above “limits”.
Plenty of stuff does wear and needs to be replaced every now and then but not very convinced that frames are one of those things ride it till it breaks
PS Luke built up some wheels this week pretty straight forward and not broke them yet …one ride old though but in the Lakes.

The bike I ride most (a custom 853 road frame) was ordered in 1997 and ready for collection in early 1998. Although I replaced the groupset 2 years ago it still uses the same wheels and works just as well as it ever did. My best road bike is 4 years old, still works just fine, and at the end of last year I test rode a Colnago EPS which although a little lighter than mine rode very, very similarly.
I think most bike changing and the definition of old is driven by gottahavethisyear rather than anything else.

It’s old when it’s broke!!!!!!!!!

I’d agree with shoefiti about boutique frames staying ‘new’ for longer, but only because of the fact they rarely have model years in the same way as off the shelf manufacturers, it’s virtually impossible to tell the difference between a 2002 and a 2005 Blur for example.

I would definitely contest the fact they’re better finished though, my Titus was the crappest frame I’ve ever owned in that respect, pivots lasted 3 months, it snapped 4 suspension linkages in a year, the finish was awful. Same with SC frames we’ve sold too, the paint falls off the ‘Trans Blue/Red’ ones in no time!

When it’s; a) rusty, b) sat in a shed covered in spiders webs, c) their’s no oil on anything ’cause it’s all dried up or d) when your dad’s riding it.

2002 and 2005 Blur – different suspension swingarm maybe?

It’s the longer suspension travel on new bikes that makes bikes old.

Oh, I’ve gone for less travel…………

bikes never get old… Only retro

aP: yep, first ones had no mud clearance and v-brake bosses, but a lot of them cracked, so you can’t guarantee that. The first ones said ‘Blur’ down the sides of the top tube, the later ones had a stylised ‘B’ logo on top of the top tube. Worth knowing if you ever buy one second hand! Earlier ones were more prone to snapping seat tubes!

Well I got mine in 2003, quite an early model with the “limited clearance” swingarm. Didn’t break though and never really had a problem with mud clearance either 🙂 Except for the bottom link which did tend to catch the drips.

I agree with snowslave that a bike is only old when it snaps or when it becomes too high maintenance.

My 2002 foes fly is still my most used bike. Closely followed by two 2003 zigzags (HT & FS) and a 2004 fxr 4x that keeps trying to kill me. My newest bike is an 07 predator which gets used the least. Maybe its not old enough yet…

My fly has just had a full refurb – new powder coat / annodise with new stickers all new bearings bushes and shock hardwear allong with a shock service and replacement of older type shock parts for new ones. Cam in at about £260 but the bike rides like new and should easily last another 7 years. Even with me hitting trees regularly.

With hardtails, I don’t think it’s so much “old” as “obsolete”.

I’ve still got my ’95 Orange C16. The only thing that stopped me using it was the lack of good 1″ steerer 80mm travel forks. I tried some 100mm’s on it and it handled like a sack of sh!t. I’d already had a disc mount welded onto it, so that bit was fine.

With full sus it’s slightly different as there’s more to go wrong. I’ve got a 7 year old Turner that’s still fantastic, although there are minor issues with the shock leverage rates which newer versions have addressed. My other halfs first full sus on the other hand (a Giant NRS) lasted about 2 years before the frame had worn sloppy on all the pivots and was effectively scrap.

I’ve just bought an Anthem X1 to replace my ’99 Mount Vision – admittedly only the frame and seatpost were original on the MV, but then the question was about the frame. I still ride my ’92 Eldridge Grade from time to time. The MV is still a perfectly capable bike, so I’m forced to conclude that bike replacement is basically about fashion rather than function.

I’d say 4 years.

Not that that means it’s obsolete, but a bike that’s 4 years old (assuming all old components) will likely be a generation of Shimano out of date, forks will look dated, and there will be various other things that have moved on, OS bars, bolt-thru etc have become far more popular.

That extends to road as well, my 2004 Madone is full Dura Ace 10 speed, carbon bits etc, but looking around a road race the other day, it looks really old!

njee – did you ride the Spring last weekend?

16 years my old marin bolinas ridge was being used by me up untill a few years back then i sold it to my mate who is still using it now (pre v brake period)

My 2003 Titus full suss is going strong. FSR suspension that isn’t obsolete and the frame is superbly made and finished. The only thing I don’t like about is the interrupted seat post design which makes it look like an old Spesh FSR. As I can’t afford to replace it I expect it to carry on for a few years yet.

The Gorrick? Nope, why?

Doing the Southern tomorrow though.

considering how long bikes have been around I don’t think any mountain bike can be considered old.

if 4 years is old as some of you suggest then what does that make my 94 Cinder Cone and what does it make my gran’s 1930’s shop bike?

No, I meant the Spring Road race, just wondering.

i’ve got an orange p7 that i bought new in ’94, although i don’t use it anymore its still perfectly rideable. its just that things move on. its got a 1″ steerer and geom for rigid p7 forks, couple that with a long low flat stem and high saddle and its a pretty different ride to the intense 5.5, and indeed yeti arc, that are sat in my garage.

as for changing kit, for years i’d hang onto bikes til they pretty much broke but over the last 3 or 4 years i’ve turned over stuff annualy. with prices of stuff as they were from merlin etc you could buy new then sell a year later on ebay for not far off the same money, but with recent price hikes its now so much more expensive.

surely it depends on how often it is used, and to what level of ‘hard’ riding?

I rarely see the 2002-2004 Spesh Enduro about even though they sold so many so they must be deemed old and indeed old for a few years now. However I have a 2004 S-works and think it’s great! The travel is a bit on the low side these days for it’s weight and that racey full susses have as much, but the geometry is more suited to going down than up so more fun than a racier bike – up is still fine though.

rarely see the 2002-2004 Spesh Enduro about

Got mine in the garage minus the all the bits it came with. Planning on building it up for the summer.

Aah, sorry! Nah, I just rode a crit on Wednesday night.

So where do all these old bikes go? I’ve only ever sold bikes on, so do people take 2004 S-Works Enduros to the dump? Do they fester in someone’s garage for the rest of eternity? Go abroad? What happens!?

So where do all these old bikes go? I’ve only ever sold bikes on, so do people take 2004 S-Works Enduros to the dump? Do they fester in someone’s garage for the rest of eternity? Go abroad? What happens!?

I only ever buy bikes, then I like them too much to sell them on!

So you still have every bike you’ve ever owned?

You say that like it’s a bad thing…

Admittedly, space is becoming a bit of an issue

My Overbury’s Pioneer must be nearly 20 years old 🙂

My Tinbred is about 6 years old now, but I still think of that as my ‘new’ bike.

do people take 2004 S-Works Enduros to the dump?

They’d be mad if they did.
Fantastic bike. Ok, so it carries a couple of pounds over the latest offerings, but they are still a great ride.
Looks a bit dated now though.
I’ve tried out a few newer bikes but none seem to offer the almost hardtail efficiency of the brain shock. Cant imagine parting company with mine.

do they fester in someone’s garage

I reckon that must happen to a depressingly high proportion of them. Especially Cannondales and high-end Specializeds.