(mr mc posting)

old Marz stuff- '99Z3 still in regular use on its third owner, with nothing but regular oil changes (still on orginal seals and bushes!).

old old Shimano stuff; M-C's 1994 Kona's shimano thumbies still work perfectly (and with an 8spd block due to shimano brain-farting and putting 7 indexes on a 7 speed shifter).

1998/99 Camelback Mule still my main riding daysack, had a new bladder or two but thats fair enough.

1998 Diadora Chilis finally just been replaced after hitting a rock and tearing the side (only just kept my little toe).

Old Fox stuff is a different league to new stuff. My 2000 Sidewinders are still going strong modified as short finger gloves (having torn the finger ends), but their newer "replacements" are far more fragile and shed armour (glued not stitched on now cut cost no doubt) and come unstitched in one season.

Put me down as another who bemoans expensive ISIS, and now external BBs not lasting anywhere near as long as the far cheaper old square-taper stuff…

Bit of a codger theme going on, older stuff was better, or at least more durable.

Best of the best:
Hayes 9 brakes.

WHAT? sorry, I've seen too many break, had a few bad sets myself. Those brakes are a lesson in how not to build a reliable brake!

hayes brakes – indestructable, and despite a deliberate attempt to boil them they were faultless! The pads turned a funny colour before the lever even began to creep out!

Hope QR's should be consigned to the great parts bin in the sky, they neither look good or work well.

Shimano QR's rock, but the hub design does seem to eat axels (although better than the freewheels it replced)

Zocchi forks, I still miss my 2001 z1's and z4 air's. But magura stuff feels almost as good 🙂

Surly 1×1

BB7

Hope seatpost QR's have a tiny sweet spot between too loose and the post slips and too tight and you can't get the bugger closed. Find the sweet spot and you're fine. Otherwise, you stuck. Therefore, crap IMHO.

Endura MT500 jerseys – I've got two from circa 1994 and are still used regularly (used one today). Apart from fading a little, these things are bomb-proof

Another vote for: XT shifters (never had to replace them and I run stuff into the ground)
XT cranks
Hope hubs
Magura Louise FR brakes

Those comments above re:Mavic rims probably stem from the skill of the wheelbuilder. I had some terrible problems with early Mavic rims but that was before I started to use Paul Hewitt…

Hayes 9s just keep on working. Only problem has been a slightly sticky piston which was easily fixed.
Fox rp3
mavic 717/xt

Race Face Turbine square taper cranks

Deore rear mechs and old 525 Deore hydraulic discs (7 years hard labour, only ever changed the pads), Orange Sub 5

BurtonAK – yes, fantastic stuff
Nike ACG – the top end jackets and pants are fantastic
Chris King SS hubs
Shimano deore brakes
Embers marino

I can't believe people are getting so long (6-7 years???!!!) out of Time pedals without servicing them! Mine always develop play in less than a year or so. I (briefly!) used Crank Bros as a result which were gash so am going to try Shimano again. First impressions are good as they're much easier to strip down than Time pedals.

Good reliable kit I've had: EA70 handlebars. High roller tyres. 719 rims (I was dinging 717's a bit much). Reba forks.

Surly stainless rings are great. DT Revolution spokes are ace on my own builds. M540 pedals doing very well.

But I disagree on UN52's, they last me about 6 months, and WI freewheels only a year before the teeth are very pointy. I like my PC850 chains although still need to change them every 3 months or so.

Hope QR Seat Clamp (new style) was poo, I broke it because it didn't actually hold onto the post in the first place.

Hope hubs, Chris King headset, XT kit (especially shifters), & my 8 year old Santa Cruz Superlight frame which has coped thousands of miles and still on only its second set of bearings. Not reliable……..Race Face ISIS BB……just what was going on here….

Another vote for Marzocchi MX forks. Running the same set for 4 years now and not had to touch them.

Salsa chainring on the singlespeed – ditto.

Rhyno lite rims – not light at all but incredibly tough. Taken huge hits and huge loads touring and still completely true.

Shimano square taper BB – goes without saying!

Shimano XT anything
Race Face stuff
Shimano brakes
Shimano hubs
Rock Shox Pikes
Schwalbe Nobby Nics

Also, a special mention goes to Shimano 959 pedals (now XTR) simply because I almost forgot to mention them- they're so faultless I forget they exist.

Clothing wise-

Giro E2 helmets
Endura Superlite shorts
Oakley glasses

Shite-

Hope Breaks. No, that's not a typo.
Anything made by pooperstar
DT Swiss rims
Sram tat
Crank brothers stuff
Bontrager wheels and tyres

Well, in contrast to some others here, the most reliable stuff I've got has been my SRAM X9 mech and shifters, both six years old, my RaceFace ISIS Signature BB, six years plus, one set of bearings at eighteen months and two bikes later, still working perfectly. My Hope M4 and M4 Mono's both sets dated '03, both sets work perfectly, both sets bled twice in that time, both on original pads, two pairs of Mavic X3.1 UST rims on Hope XC hubs, one set the hubs are nearly ten years old, the rims and other set six years old. The Answer and XLite carbon bars on two bikes are both six years old. The best gloves I've ever had are my Rocket Race Parts ones, one pair are fourteen years old, another two pairs are eight or nine years old, and my Oakley Factory Pilot gloves are nearly seven years old, but getting pretty ratty now. A pair of Fox gloves wore through the fingers in four months…
Most of my RaceFace riding gear is several years old and still going strong, my Xen lid is going to need replacing as the outer hardshell is starting to delaminate after six years. Ummm, think that's about it.

Never used rock shox forks but from what Ive seen they need re lubing and stripping down pretty often, cant put them on the list surely? I had a set of 98 marzocchi z1 bams still going strong that I sold on a bike recently, and my Z1 freerides barely need touching.

forgot one:

original XT thumb shifters

still see them in use today 20+ years later. The new ones are nowhere near as reliable.

UN72s
Sidi Dominators
XT thumbies
Endura 3/4 bibs

I have a XT rear mech on my pub bike which is now at least 18 years old. It did quite a few years on a MTB before I moved it over.

Being completely un-qualified to comment on 'hardware', I will have to confine myself to clothing…
– Gore jerseys; worn almost every weekend for 3 years & decals not even stressed
– Gore windstopper gilllet; always surprises me how effective it is & doesn't lose ability through washing
– Columbia casual wear – like the style & hard wearing
– Salomon walking boots; last & last & suit my foot shape!

Midddleburn RS7's Square Taper still going strong after 8 years.
Mavic F519 rims now outlasting there second set of hubs.

Hope Xc hubs- untouched and used every week since 2001.
Specialized BG comp saddle- every kind of weather condition and comfy as ever since 2001. Crashed a number of times and not damaged!
Shimano XT rear mech and shifters- reliable since 2003.
Endura Hummvee shorts- nothing else will do.
RaceFace aquanot jacket- kept me dry since 2001!!!!! Died on a downhill run last month- im gutted.
Specialized bg comp spd shoes- fits like a glove and takes a hell of a beating since 2001.
Shimano deore spd pedals- never needed servicing, never gone wrong, never noticed them- they just work! Since…….. er forever.
Shimano neoprene overshoes- cheap(ish), bombproof and have kept my feet in my summer shoes warm and dry through 10 winters!

Oh, and Chris King headset- the only headset you will ever need! Just find the £100 for it, you'll not regret it.

ODI YETI SPEED GRIPS ,cause 10+ years of grip for £6 is just about right.

my '08 epic.

NOT…!

Hope XC Front Hub… been on my bike since 1996, never changed the bearings, used every day for my commute – 3rd or 4th rim by now mind you

(now I've said that it'll break tomorrow… watch this space!!)

Hayes 9's good, Shimano UN72 bb's indestructable, XT rear mechs, Karrimor Goretex paclite from 2001 still going strong, Northwave Oxygen shoes.

Bad: Lumicycle HID light, broke again! 👿

hayes 9's (work well and dont overheat even when pads have gone and still somehow quieter than my avids…)
hope xc
mavic 819
ht2 xt cranks old and new ones (but not the bb or rings)
kmc chains (last well and havnt snapped on me yet, light too)
shimano shifters xt and xtr have never failed
surly and salsa rings and sprockets
xt cassettes (sure they wear out just like the rest but woulndt use anything else)

Race Face – rubbish. Over-hyped. Poor design (cranks).
Royce – bearings died really fast. Overpriced.
SIDI – Nope, sorry. Soles came off after 18 months.
Assos – hmm… Shorts good but the chamois came out after 6 months in all 3 pairs…

Shimano disc brakes – brilliant. They last forever.
Hope – Mono minis – ditto (as long as you don't get carbon levers).
Hope – Hubs – brilliant. Last forever.
King headset (12yrs old is my oldest one).

If I tell you then next ride it will break, so I'm keeping quite.