How many individual component parts does the average MTB....

[RockiMtn]

but if you generalize, i would consider grips and pedals as pairs as you wouldn't ride with just one and they are bought as such. however, brakes, levers, shifters, mechs i would not consider pairs and as separate items in the count.

spokes & nipples i'm on the fence about counting individually. :?

ok, but assuming a rigid bike could the same not be said for a frameset rather than frame & forks being 2 items, then would you call it a wheelset as 1 item instead of 2 or a # of components. (the spoke / nipple count is a contentious one but i did say it was assuming a hand-built wheel but 64 could easily be classed as 2 if you called it 1 x 64 spokes & 1 x 64 nips.)

I said about a hand built wheel purely because it isn't an outlandish suggestion whereas a handbuilt mech or shifter from kit-form is a bit OTT for the purposes of a mid afternoon pondering.

You need one fork and one frame. Either could be swapped out for another at any point with everything else kept constant. for instance the fork can be rigid or suspension, and can be swapped out at any time, so no i would still consider frame and fork as separate.

thinking about it, i now lean towards nipples and spokes to be one component on the bike, but one set per wheel. i would see them as like the pedals or grips. it's all or nothing. you can't use half the amount (or any other fraction) to have a working wheel.

so it would be
2 x rim
2 x hub (front & rear)
2 x sets of nipples (32 front & 36 rear)
2 x sets of spokes (32 front & 36 rear)
1 x cassette or cog if SS
2 x tyres
2 x inner tubes
2 x rim tape (optional)
2 x valve caps (optional)

 

[oldave]

"i now lean towards nipples and spokes to be one component on the bike, but one set per wheel. i would see them as like the pedals or grips. it's all or nothing. you can't use half the amount (or any other fraction) to have a working wheel."

Well, yes one can. Not necessarily a good idea, but can build a wheel from a hub and a rim that do not have the same number of spoke holes.

As to the Q, somewhere between more than 1 and less than a 1000 I reckon.

 

[RockiMtn]

Well, yes one can. Not necessarily a good idea, but can build a wheel from a hub and a rim that do not have the same number of spoke holes.

better question is if you can ride with just one pedal???

 

[oldave]

Well, yes one can. Not necessarily a good idea, but can build a wheel from a hub and a rim that do not have the same number of spoke holes.

better question is if you can ride with just one pedal???

On a fixed, yes of course. In the early '60s my late '40s Rudge had cowhorns and a fixed on which I used to ride stood on one pedal, both legs same side of the frame!

 

[matthew71]

missed one

if you say a 'component part' is an item bought off the shelf e.g a headset is a component part made up of parts, not a collection of 30+ bits (assuming its a loose ball headset)

If i was to build a bike from the ground up I think my shopping list would be the following (for a rigid bike with hand built 32h wheels)

2 x tyres
2 x tubes
2 x rims
64 x spoke nipples
64 x spokes
2 x hubs
2 x QR's

1 x frame
1 x fork
1 x seatpost
1 x handlebar
1 x stem
1 x headset
1 x bottom bracket

1 x cassette
1 x rear mech
1 x front mech
1 x chain
2 x brakesets
2 x brake levers
2 x shifters
4 x cables
8 x lengths of cable outer (on my bike anyway!)
16 x ferrules
4 x cable crimps
1 x crankset & rings (as they are usually bought as a set)

1 x saddle
2 x grips
2 x pedals

so unless i've forgotten something, you are looking at a minimum of 193 (less if you count the outer cable as one entity.

edit: +1 for a seatpost binder.

2 x Rim Tape

canti hanger ?

 

[Woz]

It would impress me no end if you listed the Meantime Between Failure of each component too.

 

[chefmiguel]

More than 1, less than a billion?

 

[jonnymcenroe]

Re:

if you say a 'component part' is an item bought off the shelf e.g a headset is a component part made up of parts, not a collection of 30+ bits (assuming its a loose ball headset)

If i was to build a bike from the ground up I think my shopping list would be the following (for a rigid bike with hand built 32h wheels)

2 x tyres
2 x tubes
2 x rims
64 x spoke nipples
64 x spokes
2 x hubs
2 x QR's

1 x frame
1 x fork
1 x seatpost
1 x handlebar
1 x stem
1 x headset
1 x bottom bracket

1 x cassette
1 x rear mech
1 x front mech
1 x chain
2 x brakesets
2 x brake levers
2 x shifters
4 x cables
8 x lengths of cable outer (on my bike anyway!)
16 x ferrules
4 x cable crimps
1 x crankset & rings (as they are usually bought as a set)

1 x saddle
2 x grips
2 x pedals

so unless i've forgotten something, you are looking at a minimum of 193 (less if you count the outer cable as one entity.

edit: +1 for a seatpost binder.

194!