Comments on: At What Point Do You Replace Your Bike?

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:51:58 +0000

Whenever my wife isn’t looking

By: PushingWind

PushingWind — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 20:25:22 +0000

GhostRider is right by saying “slap a bigass ring on there!” I had a 1996 Gary Fisher Wahoo frankenstein bike with 1.25″ slick tires. An XT rear cassette with a 56t up front. Monster legs were built pushing that thing around Denver. I could sustain 25 with moderate effort, once you got going that is. A little minor grind on the rear chainstay for clearance was all it took. Sadly, frank died 2 years later with a cracked rear chainstay. On to the next frank bike.

By: Greg Raisman

Greg Raisman — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:43:38 +0000

“when is your breaking point having to buy a new bike?”

Well… can I get away with it? Will my wife be mad at me? If so, for how long?

By: Dominic Dougherty

Dominic Dougherty — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 05:07:59 +0000

Sure thing Ghost, I’ve got a 52 Columbia that an old man sold me out of his barn… so that I could have some good times cruising along the beach with my girlfriend… You’ve got 3 20 year old bikes to create memories on… what about the poor guy that doesn’t even have 1 20 year old bike? Pass along the fun!

By: Ghost Rider

Ghost Rider — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 05:04:42 +0000

Dominic, SOME bikes fatigue and eventually become worthless…you know, bikes with aluminum frames or poorly-made “bike-like objects” sold by the big box stores.

On the other hand, I’ve got three bikes in my stable that are each well over 20 years old (a ’71 Astra, an ’83 Bianchi — with about 20K miles on it — and an ’84 Trek) and are in perfectly functional condition…with a little care, a steel bike lasts forever! That old business about bikes losing their strength over time is a myth.

By: Dominic Dougherty

Dominic Dougherty — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 04:53:47 +0000

30 dollars to replace the freewheel?! Hell, I can go to Walmart and get a brand new bike for that!… or something along those lines. Bikes fatigue and eventually become worthless, but the memories become priceless. Take pictures, sell the bike. Go get yourself some brand new memories.

By: Ghost Rider

Ghost Rider — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 00:33:08 +0000

I don’t think you really need to replace the whole bike in a case like that…merely dialing in things like stem length and saddle height can help fit an old bike to a new purpose, and you can always change out the gearing to get more speed — slap a bigass ring on there!!

By: Ben C

Ben C — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 00:31:25 +0000

Replace the bike if you are not using the right equipment for your purpose. I use a converted mountain bike for commuting in the streets of Fullerton/Anaheim. I can’t get any more speed than 35MPH when I am going down Brea Blvd. I pedaling as fast as I can and I have run out of gears.

By: RL

RL — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 23:28:56 +0000

I recently fell inlove with this bike…
http://www.nirve.com/cruisers.asp?cat=cobranded&cid=550.23

I may just turn my 925 to make it look like that….

By: Mike Myers

Mike Myers — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 23:26:25 +0000

I haven’t “replaced” a bike yet. I’ve added to the collection several times. Seriously, I’m going to replace my grocery getter next year when the Gary Fisher Simple City comes out. I’m using an Ibex flat bar road bike for that purpose, and it’s been great, but the Simple City has the cool basket and all.

According to the email I got from Gary Fisher, the Simple City will be in shops in March 2008, barring any unforeseen problems.

I would only replace a bike if it was wrecked beyond belief—-or if a comparable bike I preferred became available.