In a message dated 7/20/01 9:34:55 AM Eastern Daylight Time, tom_s_dalton@yahoo.com writes:
> A new bike every five years? That sounds good to me.
> Even at 100 miles a week, that's over 25,000 miles.
> Though most bikes wouldn't be dead at that point, they
> are hardly good-as-new either.
An odd sentiment to express on this list ! My experience has shown me that some 25+ year old bikes are in many respects BETTER than any bike I can currently purchase new.
I ride both new and older bikes, and I really prefer my early '70s Raleigh Competition to my Ti-mobile. Also, I fully expect my Ti-bike to last longer than 5 years and still be just as good as new. Why would it change ? Do you thing it will "fatigue" or wear through or something like that ? The decals are getting shredded, but I think that's actually a Good Thing, considering the vendor. I'm just afraid that if/when its carbon fiber fork fails, from wear or a crash or the epoxy unbinding or whatever, that I won't be able to buy a functional replacement. I am suffering a bit of this type of pain in trying to replace the crash-damaged fork on my Competition - the only thing I have been able to find is a fork marked "TangeOL" that I pulled from an old Nishiki Custom Sport, and it doesn't quite feel right. At least I'm back riding the Competition again.
Still searching for a 240 - 242 mm steerer fork suitable for use on a really early Raleigh Competition which originally came with Huret Jubilee's and Huret dropouts. Just getting by with "TangeOL" in the meantime...
Glenn Jordan - Durham, NC