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Struck me the other day that I have very few bits of kit that have truly lasted over the years.
For me they are a Karrimor Veil pertex jacket which must be about 12 years old, an Endura long sleeve winter jersey bought about the same time and a Topeak Survival Box mini tool kit which must be 9 or 10 years old.
So what kit has stood the passage of time with the rest of you?
I have a North Face placket polartec 200 fleece that I bought in 1992. Still wear it for gardening and DIY.
Nice going CHB, so 17 years to beat at the moment.
Rab Andes duvet jacket, bought in 1986
My Buffalo top - bought in 1991/2, still going strong.
Trek seatpack, mustuv got it around 1990?
Finsbury Park CC wool top, early '80s vintage I believe (sponsored by Beadle Roller Skates) - inherited from a friend's brother-in-law in late 80s and worn ever since.
Amazed I can still get in it!
Karrimor hot ice 45 litre, the purple and black one...must have got it about '92, still use it every day for work.
BeenBag baggy trousers...still worn for winter rides and used under waterproofs for openboating...they must be '91 I think.
Hellyhansen thermal, found on the floor of a shower block in the lakes in '99...after a couple of washes it no longer smelled of the previous owner and, again, is used every week.
I love kit that lasts.
I still have 2 HH Lifa shirts which are still used the sleeves have had to be cut off cos they were buggered but I did buy them in 1986 😕
That Finsbury Park CC top must be getting a bit thread bare, FFS it's pushing 30 years of service!
Bike-wise it's a Shimano 600 (pre-Ultegra) front mech from my first road bike in 1995 which did somewhere in the region of 70000 miles on that bike before being transferred to my CX bike where it's done another 6000 miles. Still going strong.
Clothing wise...not sure.
I've got a purple and orange Ronhill pertex top from about '92 that's still functional (but I don't wear it anymore). Probably a few other bits and pieces hanging around in a chest of drawers somewhere.
I've got a cateye enduro computer from the early 90s that's still going.
Wonder if were going to start to see a trend with the brands that just last and last showing up quite often in this thread?
Pair of Specialized short finger gloves found in a puddle circa '91/2. Modified (well had the thumbs cut down as they began to fray) and still in use. Never washed.
Have some old freebie Great North Swim t-shirts from the late 80's- still in use (dare I say going strong?).
Finally, my old man's road bike, used as a commuter in the 50's. All original spec apart from bar tape, cables, pads and tyres. Derailleur custom mod by a Dutch blacksmith in the early 60's. Still sees occasional use- and even an odd trip on the rough stuff- built like a tank and a joy to ride. Should tighten the spokes before its next trip mind.
there must be alot of 'pre-going-bust-and-going-pants' karrimor kit out there still going strong.
Some old Cook Bros Skewers from 1993
Still lovely..
Another Ronhill pertex jacket (blue, none of that purple nonsense for me) bought about 89-90. First bit of "technical" gear I bought. Still use it
how can you wear clothes that are over 10 years old? 😕
Kool Tool from circa 1997 for me, it resides in my toolbox and sees regular use. Just retired my red DX SPDs from 1999 after continual use.
how can you wear clothes that are over 10 years old?
Why not?
My car is a '90. My SS frame is a 92, quill stem and Manitou Answer forks from about ~92 i think?
don't want to mention my 12 yr old qr's i'm scared they are going to fail! but i didn't like the new (non shimano) ones on my new wheels!
my bikemonkey jersey. Looking a bit tattered now but I think I bought it in about 1998. Still going strong although it can smell bad after a long ride.
I've got a yellow Pace soft shell jacket I bought in 1988/89 which was never showerproof and the elastic waistband gave up it's stretchiness years ago
I've also got a silver & maroon pace racing jacket in vgc which is truly luverly (I think from early nineties)
1991 buffalo mountain shirt here. Wore through the winter.
That Finsbury Park CC top must be getting a bit thread bare, FFS it's pushing 30 years of service!
They don't make 'em like they used to, eh?
Actually "worn ever since" is a bit misleading, it's more like "worn loads and loads as a teenager and then a few times a year since then, when I'm not too portly".
Santini arm warmers. Used regularly since 88. Amazingly still perfect.
Me 🙂
old Lowe Alpine 40l climbing sack (22years), a mini gas stove (20years), old pair of unbranded salopettes for sailing/paddling in (19 years).
I have some right dodgy old kit, shortly to be all renewed for my new job...cant be wearing that 13 year old buoyancy aid any more (honest it works just fine.... 🙂
just had to throw away a mavic 217 rim at the weekend, must be 12 years old. the braking surface finally wore out. front one is still going though!
oh, I also have 1991 Buffalo, a fleece of similar era (mebbe 1992?), and a load of hats / gloves from similar age.
I have a pair of Garmont/Karrimor boots as well (now used for gardening n DIY), bit like Triggers broom with 2x new soles from 1992{(ish)
Macpac Minaret from 1993
.
I soooo need some new kit....
My Courierware courier bag - used pretty much continuously since 1995 and still in great shape and used every week. Like a tardis.
http://courierbags.com/prod_cbdeluxe.itml
cant beat well-made kit.
Gore - bikewear jersey from about '98 - my hope rear xc hub must be circa 2002
My legs. Still going well after forty years (knees could do with a bearing change though)
Hmmm, I have a Karrimor Epic Approach bag that's about 15 years old. Also have a set of Endura Thermastat bibs that are pushing 13, I think. Oh, and a 95 Marin that gets regular outings.
I still have 2 purple anodised chainring bolts, which were on the first bike I built myself in 1990, on my Superlight. They were on my Muddy Fox Courier comp !! The chainring bolts have been on every bike I've built since then, and due to wear and tear, I only have 2 left.
Goretex jacket, bought for me as a present in 1988, still worn regularly, and still as waterproof as ever!
Karrimor seems to be doing well here, stuff I buy now really doesn't seem to cut the mustard in the longevity stakes, maybe the manufacturers realised that they were doing themselves out of business if kit lasts maore than a couple of seasons 😈
Got an original Haston Alpiniste (purple with blue centre zip and leather pocket anchors.
Though Karimor have done few repairs.
Circa 1978.
onza Ho canti brakes think I got them in 93-94 but not to sure of the exact year
how can you wear clothes that are over 10 years old?
Why on earth not??
I've got a pair of endura shorts - kind of like an all in one suit that I need to replace the zip on - other than that they're fine and I was still using them last year, they must be about 12 years old. Also have a grey pace fleece of about the same age.
oldest of all though has to be my old riding jodphurs, I think I got them when I was 15. They don't get much wear these days as I don't ride often (less than once a year) but they're what I wear when I do ride. Gulp, they're 20 years old. How was me being 15 nearly 20 years ago????
Flite Saddle, bought at Bike '95 in London, still on my main bike. Looks tatty as hell but it still the most comfortable saddle i own.
8sp sachs wavey grip shifters. the cheap ones.
came installed on my superv ooooh.. 10 years ago.
still on my main bike and perform faultlessly. brilliantly cheap, simple and effective.
Finsbury Park/Beadle CC, woolen jumpers is'nt it. Ahh the memories.
Remind me what colour is it, I've only got B&W pics.
Thanks MrsF, I hadn't been thinking about how old I was when I bought some of this kit.......Now I feel old and to top it off I'll be putting another notch in the birthday stick next week :o(
sorry! Happy birthday for next week 🙂
Oh yeah, lunge's post has reminded me that I've got a Flite Ti saddle from 2002 on my bike too, that's seen loads of use. The Chris King headset on it is from 02 as well, that's been on 2 bikes, still flawless.
Ta, I'm hoping to get some of those knee bearings that Richie_B mentioned 😀
Biking - 91 Diamondback Topanga, few new bits - regualr use as a commuter
Non biking - Mountain Equipment Ultrafleece. Bought in '96 for doing the Wheelwright Coast to Coast - still sees regular use!
Clothing - 1982 Patagonia midweight thermal top in ever fashionable navy. Still going strong.
Got a 73 Bay Camper van, admittedly it was built 8 years before i was born and i didnt own it until 2001...
...that and the fact its neither going strong nor infact going at all at this precise moment in time.
Pair of Gore bikewear gloves that started out almost fluo green on the back and have ended up khaki. They're 14 years old and have been relegated to really dirty ride duty. I took them back to the shop to 'complain' that they'd only lasted 14 years, but got told to eff off. 😉
MY BIKE!! Kona Fire Mountain from 1994 when I started cycling! Although just ordered today a Cube women's specific hard tails .. whoop whoop can't wait to get it Easter weekend and hack it around Afan!! Roll on
My 531 Raleigh road bike was new in 83. The same year as my Campag wool tights. Both still in use. Got a long sleeved top from 81 buts that seems to have shrunk around the middle.Lots of stuff from earlier that I bought 2nd hand.
I bought some Carrati tights in 87. I've worn them about 3 times. Honestly . It's rarely both cold enough ,and dry enough . At the same time. You wouldnt want to risk em in the wet.
I've a helmet from 87.maybe 88. vetta corsa-lite.
I've just recently lost ,well ,misplaced the first bike specific tool I ever bought . A suntour freewheel remover. '82.Tom Hall's ,Wigan. It'll be down the back o t' chaise long.
5 of my bikes when added together are older than Bruce Forsyth.
On the BF chinny chin chin biv biv biv good game good game scale that's a factor 5.
How many of your bikes do you have to add up .
Although ,depending on the bikes , I can do it in 4.
Didnt he do well.
Didn't start biking until 2003 so nothing very old, however, I still use the original inner tubes from the Giant NRS that I started with, albeit there are more patches than tube now 😀
Flite Saddle, bought at Bike '95 in London, still on my main bike. Looks tatty as hell but it still the most comfortable saddle i own.
Still running an old flight here too. Mine is one of the 1st ones with the kevlar protection on the sides, no idea of age, but it is old!
I also have a 12 year Dura-Ace groupset on my road bike that looks and performs as good as the day it was fitted...
Buffalo Mountain Shirt, approx 1994, Kona Lava Dome 1993, both used every day for commute to work. Bike pretty much all original. The Buff' is without doubt, the best bit of kit I have ever owned, Ever.
One of those Muddy Fox handlebar bags from 1985, the sort that sat on top of the twin stem arrangement popular at that time. Still used every day though now it sits in my rucksack to hold bits and bobs.
And guess who made them for Muddy Fox
Hardware: '90 Rockhopper frame
Software: '92 (?) Team Specialized Jersey, the one with loads of fluoro yellow on it - very tight now, only worn on thin days (i.e. not at all at the moment!)
1982 wool skinshorts, with real life chamois pad. Purple Alpiniste a bit older, brown Atlas sac same age. Trangia same.
Polaris Retroactive jacket.
Fleece liner, windproof outer.. Still use it for winter and night rides.
Bought it in 1995 IIRC
My climbing duvet jacket is doing well. still used although a touch scruffy. I was made for my ex boss at Capel Curig brighams. He took it to Patagonia in 1970 and it wasn't new then. Made for him by Pete Hutchinson before he founded Mountain Equipment. He now has PHD . My Karrimor Haston Vallot rucksack, a simple Alpiniste was bought in early 80. Use a ice axe occasionally that I know was made pre 1950. Still also use my dads Barbour wax cotton m/c trousers. He bought them before parachuting into Suez in 195?
Rebuilding a 20 Dawes. Still in bits. Does that count?
A Helly Hansen Lumber shirt (smock top with dropped tail for sitting at belays) that my dad passed on to me... well, ok, I nicked it from him... he probably bought it about 1979.
2 items of Nike kit still going from the 90s. Not sure of the year, but on one of the first Polaris events I did, had to buy a warmer shirt. Bought the Nike one and still wear it.
Also 2 pairs of Endura MT500 shorts. Still more comfortable than any "modern" shorts. At the time they seemed expensive, but 15 odd years later, I reckon they were great value. (Although I will only ever wear them under baggies these days!)
fiskars cool tool about 10nyears old.
Also I have a cheapo ritchey logic loose ball headset that has done 8 years and god knows how many clumsy filthy offroad miles, still on the original bearings and only regreased about five times in all that time.
Old kit! Where do I begin; rucksack - Berghaus Roc from '87, sleeping bag - North Face Purple Haze '88, Mountain Equipment Pertex fleece also from '88, an MSR stove - about 89/90 ish, two Flites from '98 and these are all still - occasionally used! Stuff that's lying around in the loft and back of the garage and not used - who knows!?
Another Karrimor Vail Fleece going strong from early 90s, and an utterly bomb proof Tenson 'Snowmass Parka' skiing jacket from 1998.
oldest bits of kit i own are some shimano exage mech's/shifters
although the peugot road bike is simpler so possibly older
oldest mtb bit is the front mech, an old skool LX one
Think one of my gear cables may be original, which make it about 6 years old.
I thought I was doing ok with my 1997 Schwinn Homegrown USA, which is still running its 1997 XT front mech and WTB Grease Guard headset.
But I'm going to have to reach into Dad's garage for some real inspiration and say a custom made race/audax bike that's more than 5 years older than me (so getting towards the 40yr old mark) and he still rides it regularly! I think there's more stuff that's even older
jojoA1 . want to sell? loved mine but its now in the dogs bed,
schwinn superstock brian foster ltd edition 24" from around 1999/2000ish, 3rd hand dented and rusty as ****! lol
A 1993 Shimano XT short cage mech - still works but not been on a bike for 2 years - my 95/95 Trek 970 is still going strong - with a 1990 Shimano DX chainset on it and 93 Mavic rings...no longer mine though but it is in the family.
Still using the cool tool that I got when I bought my first proper mountain bike in 1998 - lives in the saddlebag on my CX commuter and sees service every so often (my last broken chain was fixed with it).
Retired my c.1999 Lusso longs after they literally fell apart at the seams on way into work last winter. Suspect they had been washed too hot or something as they were passable until then. Fortunately they were unpadded so had shorts on underneath, otherwise I'd have been strolling into work on the hour at the cuckoo clock, so to speak.
EDIT - Garagedweller - still have a WTB Greaseguard headset in good condition in a box somewhere, just waiting for the right moment to be wheeled out. It's red ano though so clashes with everything. Ace bits of kit.
I'm a hoarder...
1980 Karrimor Mountain Fox sleeping bag
1980 Karrimor Jaguar 4 sac
1982 Karrimor Hot Route sac
1982 Orbit Gold medal tourer (lovely bike)
1987/88 Marin Pine Mountain (fully original)
and loads of other kit from the '80's
Mountain Equipment Redline sleeping bag
Mountain Equipment Lightline sleeping bag
Mountain Equipment Annapurna duvet
etc etc...
I chucked out my old Rohan Superstriders and Scarpa Fitzroy's just the other day...
Ajungilak Nordic Sleeping bag(94) and karrimor vail(96) stillused regulularly.
Snugpak pertex jacket - 18 years
Karrimor waterproof - 16 years, including 1 year of near daily (full days climbing, sailing and generally teaching mini weegies what Outside is) use. An absolutly awesome jacket - cut perfect for cycling, but short front keeps it out of the way of a climbing harness etc. Shame Karrimor went plonk.
My 1996 Kona Kilaeua...gets ridden everyday!
xc-pro shifter from 1988 (a cheat though as I had to machine a new clamp to replace the broken original)
1990 xt seatpost. Still the prettiest/nicest adjustment system ever IMO



