How do you treat your older bike?

[Duxuk]

Do you ride your classic MTB gently, respecting it's age. Or do you ride it like you stole it?
Personally I'm just as likely to chase a Strava PB on my classics as I am on my modern bike. On many segments they're faster anyway, presumably due to less tyre drag.
How well/badly do you treat yours?

 

[tintin40]

Badly. I may service it over xmas. Most likely i will just brush it down and oil the chain. It's not a Trimble so only limited interest for me. As it was replaced by a Trimble BITD.

 

[mattr]

A bit more gently, the wheels are a bit more fragile than anything else i've got, the tyres don't grip as well, the forks aren't as capable. So i can't do what i do on the 29er, without breaking stuff. Or falling off.
Plus i can't just order spares from any shop.

 

[greencat]

My older bikes aren't anything special.

The 25+ year old Brompton has got to the age where everything is breaking. In the last year, it's had two new tyres, a seat sleeve, a spoke, brake lever (the old one simply cracked with fatigue), and a chain tensioner. Tyres apart, there were all originals so not too shabby. It probably needs the rear fold bushing replaced too. It gets oiled and checked over but not much else.

The old mountain bikes tend to get used for hauling wood or shopping. I have a ton of spares to keep them going and I would use them for cross country mountain biking again if my modern bike was broken. They get looked over and oiled up regularly but not much else. I don't proactively swap chains to reduce wear on cogs etc for example.

Since I was mugged for my Cannondale in the early 2000s, I don't really get sentimental about bikes anymore. They are basically tools and it's a case of using the right one for the right job. Although I might if I came across another Dawes Ranger...

 

[Mattydoors]

It’s an interesting question, I own three bikes of various ages and am just starting a build of a 98 P7 to add a fourth. I’m throwing a ridiculous amount of money at it putting all the stuff I wanted to put on my original but couldn’t aford to at the time Paul, Chris King etc. TBH it will probably be treated like a princess and just bought out for rides on dusty trails to pubs when the sun has been out for weeks. My retro road frame with a mix of dura ace and 105 which has been fitted with flat bars! gets treated like utter shite but is like a rocket and I adore it, I affectionately refer to it as The Big Daddy Bomber.

 

[T'boo Ted]

I don't ride as hard as my FS bike, but probably 95% on the rough, 100% on the smooth though, still crack the odd strava from time to time.