How much do you trust an old bike

[greencat]

I don't either. But sometimes when your mates say let's go, I do. Not likely to repeat the experience though.

 

[greencat]

My 25 year old retro gets light duties, not least as it's an SS. Not worried about the frame, but stressed aluminium lightweight parts will have a lifetime (ask an aeronautical engineer, btw I'm not one but once had the conversation that scared me...).

Anything more involved and its modern twin gets wheeled out, which pretty much has the ability to fall off a cliff and remain in one piece.

Yes, the scariest example I had was my Brompton's brake levers which are basically folded aluminium. Admittedly, they were 30 years old, but even so it was mildly terrifying when the right one began to shear off rather than close when I put the brakes on going downhill once.

 

[Frankenorange]

Never trust an old bike. They take all your money and then go and live with someone else.

 

[Imlach]

Old steel frames, fine

Old carbon, bonded mix stuff, alu, don't trust because I'm fat

Old componentry, needs regular inspection, especially stuff like stems, cranks and bars, prefer retromod myself

 

[hamster]

I agree, keep an eye on highly stressed alloy parts. Frankly though, Shimano and the big guys (like 3T, Cinelli, ITM etc.) knew their stuff and had the experience to engineer it to last. Boutique CNC bits I avoid. Keep it clean and check frame junctions, cranks, stems and bars for cracks. Steel stuff has a theoretically infinite fatigue life and is of little concern to me. There's no more reason my 1995 P7 will break today than the day it was new.

Personally I'm not concerned about Carbon Fibre, I race on a 25 year old boat with composite structure and a carbon mast. However, any sign of bruising, loss of clearcoat or delamination rings immediate warning bells.

 

[froze]

I have a 1977 Raleigh Competition GS, if I wanted to, I could easily trust this bike to do a credit card tour across the USA with minimal problems other than standard maintenance!

I have a low end 1997 Giant Rincon with XT derailleurs which were not supposed to be on the bike new but that's the way it came from the factory. Anyway, those XT components are junk, I've taken it to several bike shops and they can't figure it out, internet said that era of XT had a lot of issues, that bike I would not trust riding across the USA unless I put on new derailleurs. The first era of clutch XT derailleurs were also problematic. I bashed that bike around quite a bit, but the derailleur issue was something it always did, I just rode it in spite of the problem.

Whether or not you can trust an older bike depends entirely on how well it has been maintained and how good the components are. All my bikes, from 77 on up I would trust to ride across the US except for the current condition Giant.

If that Scott has been lightly used, it should have no problems riding it off-road, at least till you put some miles of bashing on it. But keep it maintained and it could last a long time.

 

[trailwright]

Very timely thread as just last week I took my 31 year old GT Avalanche out, which was also the first fully rigid ride I've done on a mountain bike since the early 90's. Like the OP it really focuses the mind and was a fair old workout, but it took me back to when this was the norm for us mountain bikers. I've fitted Smokes as well and I had forgotten just how damn good these tyres are.

I think that it's quite obvious that early bikes aren't going to be as fast or necessarily comfortable as modern stuff, but if that's accepted, the use of the bike is purely then for the pleasure of recreating the purity of a former time which can't be bad.

The durability of equipment of course depends on its former life and what material the component /frame is made from. I would think that NOS or very close to that will be as good as the day it was thrashed round the trails in the 80s or 90s. Just a case of applying a bit of common sense here. There's always a risk of failure, even with modern stuff I guess. I tank at full speed down road descent on my 33 year old Specialized Allez Epic with bonded frame and original aluminium forks and try not to think about that sudden snap!

 

[maximbell]

Very timely thread as just last week I took my 31 year old GT Avalanche out, which was also the first fully rigid ride I've done on a mountain bike since the early 90's. Like the OP it really focuses the mind and was a fair old workout, but it took me back to when this was the norm for us mountain bikers. I've fitted Smokes as well and I had forgotten just how damn good these tyres are.

I think that it's quite obvious that early bikes aren't going to be as fast or necessarily comfortable as modern stuff, but if that's accepted, the use of the bike is purely then for the pleasure of recreating the purity of a former time which can't be bad.

The durability of equipment of course depends on its former life and what material the component /frame is made from. I would think that NOS or very close to that will be as good as the day it was thrashed round the trails in the 80s or 90s. Just a case of applying a bit of common sense here. There's always a risk of failure, even with modern stuff I guess. I tank at full speed down road descent on my 33 year old Specialized Allez Epic with bonded frame and original aluminium forks and try not to think about that sudden snap!

Agree, I also ride my 2006 bike so far and it suits me absolutely.

 

[ovlov440]

Interesting reading all the replies, thanks everyone for the input. I think steel or ti is the way to go, maybe as a hardtail as a small concession to my comfort and my wrists longevity! If you are in Swinley keep an eye out for me, I'll me the one with Mint Sauce in tow....

 

[Seca Blue]

As I have know I've mentioned loads, I still ride the same bike I've had for 35 odd years. Riding with one of the boys to school - out it comes, going for a proper ride on the weekend (or before work if I can be arsed), out it comes. I've never had any concerns about it's durability and the only thing that's ever spoilt a ride is the single bolt seat post clamp that went ping a few years ago.