Carbon Road Frame Lifespan

I have an 11 year old Spesh Roubaix that I love. It’s my nice summer bike so has probably only done about 8,000 miles maximum, and has only ever had a few small crashes, nothing major. No obvious cracks or anything like that.  However a lot of the components are showing their age now (as is the rider!!).

A quick Google throws up (as usual) a multitude of answers, varying from replace every five to six years, a lot of answers saying ten years, and some suggesting an almost unlimited lifespan, with the resin being the potential weak spot.

I love the frame and am thinking of just doing a major upgrade ie new wheels, new gears, brakes etc, probably spending something like £1,400. Seems a lot to spend on an 11 year old bike, but on the other hand I could spend two or three times that amount and get a new bike I don’t like as much.

So the question is……is it worth spending that much on an old bike, albeit a much loved bike?

On an 11 year old bike, I’d only really be spending money on upgrading as and when things wore out. I don’t think that there’s much point in getting the latest and greatest for something that old.

Not least because at the moment you could put the money towards getting something new at a discount price.

At 8000 miles it’s barely broken in.

I recently did a similar upgrade on a 25 year old steel bike with well over 80000 miles on it…

If it’s still tidy, no unusual creaks, cracks or damage, i’d go for it.

You want to see the beating that carbon windsurf masts get and they go on forever.

I’ve had my Canyon slx for 10 years now, can’t see me ever buying a new road bike unless it breaks, so I’ll replace everythingas the parts wear out. I’d upgrade if the frame is still sound, buying new would cost far more.

My 2006 Trek OCLV frame and forks still gets ridden regularly. It the basis of my nice weather winter road bike and still rides amazingly well.

Admittedly , it’s been very well loved and looked after over the years.

If was going to spend £1,400 on a road bike I’d want it to have disc brakes 😀

My, similar vintage, Cube is now on turbo duties. 

Personally i wouldnt spend 1.4k doing up a 11 year old bike but id be happy to ride said bike still

Ive got carbon bikes that are 10 years old and i have no issue riding them

Why not just replace parts as they wear with 2nd hand parts that have had low use/little signs of wear?

If the bike fits and you like to ride it then it’s worth upgrading. Mountain bikes have changed so much recently that anything that old would be worthless but road bikes have changed very little (maybe just disc brakes becoming the norm). Decent carbon supposedly has an infinite fatigue life and if it’s still good after this long then I wouldn’t be worrying.

So the question is……is it worth spending that much on an old bike, albeit a much loved bike?

Economically, no. The cash value of the bike is probably about 10% (if that) of what it was worth new. That said, 8000 miles total is not a lot on a carbon road bike, even if the bike itself is 11 years old, I reckon that’d class as pretty light use in fact. Kind of like an old but low-mileage car.

But emotional attachment can often trump logic so on that basis, if you like the bike and can see it being used regularly for another 10 years if it gets a bit of an overhaul then yes, £1400 for a further 10 years (obviously add in a few consumables like chains and brake pads) seems pretty good value for money.

But from a purely logical point of view, you’d be better off putting £1400 into the pot for a new road bike.

Many thanks for the assorted replies. Sounds like it does have a good few years left. It’s my good summer bike so only gets used for sportives and summer road rides. It doesn’t have disc brakes but I’m at the age now where if it’s wet I just ride like a wuss anyway. And yes I do have an emotional attachment to the bike so essentially this thread was me trying to justify to myself spending that money on an 11 year old bike. 

Personally I’d get a new one with disc brakes and bolt through axles.

Thats because I hate rim brakes in the winter on road bikes mostly though – not because I’d worry about the frame strength / durability. 

My 2013 Defy Advanced SL rides every but as well as the day I bought it. It’s also lighter now as it runs a full Dura Ace groupset. 

There are older carbon fibre planes. the Boeing 787 dates from 2009.  It’s not going to break. Sorry you need a better excuse for a new one. 

For your use case, I’d spend on the refresh/upgrade.
I wouldn’t worry about carbon, and road bikes haven’t really changed much in decades.
Ergo, £1400 in 10 years isn’t much really.

I had a similar debate with myself during the summer and started a related thread.

As others have suggested on this thread I’ve ended up operating the ‘keep it running’ strategy, it’s got a mix of 5800 and 6700 bits and just keeps on going, it’s had some new tyres (and TPU tubes), brake pads, bar tape and now a lower headset bearing and is pretty much sorted for when summer rolls round, rear wheel needs some attention perhaps, otherwise it’s all good and I’m resisting unnecessary spending…

I’m probably going to be looking about for the next wheelset and/or replacement rims at some point soon…

Er…

1994 Trek OCLV still going strong, despite two major RTAs

2007 Ridley carbon CX still fine.

2014 Look carbon still perfect

2013 Canyon CF SLR still spot-on (sanded and clear-coated though).

All have been upgraded over their lifetime, and still ridden regularly.

My road bike has components from the 90s. Only goes outside a handfull of times now but does a fajr amount of time on the turbo so gets sweaty. The brake calipers have a lot of corrosion and rust but everything else looks fine. Even the wheels and derailleurs which are 26 or 27 years old.

If was going to spend £1,400 on a road bike I’d want it to have disc brakes

For a summer only road bike? What’s the point?

For £1400 you’d barely get Tiagra level spec on a basic frame. It will also weigh the road bike equivalent of a small moon 😂

I was going down the same path OP, upgrading and generally cossetting a 6 year old (high end) alloy frame. I eventually replaced the frame with a fancier carbon frame but overall I think I would have noticed more benefits keeping the existing but spending my money on expensive wheels.

For your budget you could probably get some very nice wheels AND e.g. get some Ultegra brakes and new cables which will probably beva noticeable improvement over your existing callipers.

I’m running two vintage steel road bikes. one full Dura Ace 7400 and the other Ultegra/600.  Any wear parts have all been replaced, so new chainrings cassettes. Brakes are still great – you don’t need discs on a road bike – you aren’t likely to get better braking performance going from say 105 to DA, but the DA kit is nicer. Could always source lightly used components off ebay if needed. 

Carbon frames aren’t going to ‘age’ as such, nor are many materials if looked after.

I don’t think ‘worth’ really comes into it. I’d venture that no-one on here really buys bikes as an investment and most ‘economic’ bike-buying decisions are actually about rationalising the purchase of a newer, shinier bike… 

On top of that, we’re living in a world where mindlessly buying more and more new ‘stuff’ is becoming increasingly untenable. And it’s not as if carbon fibre isn’t repairable.

I’m still running a ti road bike bought in 2009 and a 2012 or so carbon cross frame – repaired twice – both with occasional upgrades, usually due to component failure, and while I don’t doubt that the latest equivalent would be better in some situations, I’m not racing at elite level and I doub, after the initial dopamine NBD hit, I’d derive any more real pleasure from riding. 

I think mountain bikes are slightly different as geometry and componentry have changed so much, but for road / gravel / CX I’d upgrade the current frame and go ride. 

Have been riding carbon frames since the mid 90’s, still have some old frames decades old that would be fine to ride. Probably age the best of any frame material if looked after, nicely inert. My general view is to ride it until its ridden into something solid…. oh, and still having rim brakes would be a plus for a certain mindset.