How long do you keep your bikes?
Discussion
Just wondered what your thoughts were on how long to keep a bike? I've bought and sold a couple after 3 years due to suitability but I've got a 2012 Supersix that I bought new and is still my good weather bike. It's 10 SPD 105 and takes a max of 25mm (bit tight). I don't think I can justify a change this year but in the back of my mind, Im not sure whether to keep replacing bits or just change up for discs, wider tyres and 11 spd with Di2 compatibility.
"Best" bike was bought in 2014. It's a 2011 model and I feel like I should probably change it this year, but it's still going strong and fits me like a glove.
I had my commuting bike from 2012 to 2016 when I stupidly sold it - should have kept it and upgraded it. Instead I bought a GT Grade Carbon which was stolen after two months. To replace that I bought a Supersix Evo which I got bored with and sold in eight months. Replaced that with another Grade, alloy this time, which has lasted me four months without being sold so far. In the meantime I've also had a Triban 5 (sold after four months), a Carrera Phil McKraken (stolen after a year) and a Boardman MTB Pro (still with me after six months, ridden three times).
Three feels like the magic number for bikes, but I am starting to wonder why I invested in a mountain bike I never use.
I had my commuting bike from 2012 to 2016 when I stupidly sold it - should have kept it and upgraded it. Instead I bought a GT Grade Carbon which was stolen after two months. To replace that I bought a Supersix Evo which I got bored with and sold in eight months. Replaced that with another Grade, alloy this time, which has lasted me four months without being sold so far. In the meantime I've also had a Triban 5 (sold after four months), a Carrera Phil McKraken (stolen after a year) and a Boardman MTB Pro (still with me after six months, ridden three times).
Three feels like the magic number for bikes, but I am starting to wonder why I invested in a mountain bike I never use.
I built an One one Whippet a few years ago, then decided to get a carbon full sus to treat myself which is absolutely lovely to ride. Then I broke it a bit & went back to the Whippet temporarily for the first time in about a year.
Well, the hardtail, the narrow bars, the little 26" wheels, it was like getting into a sports car after a comfy old Jag & I decided I'd never sell it. I don't need the three or four hundred quid it's worth & it's too much fun to wave goodbye to it.
Well, the hardtail, the narrow bars, the little 26" wheels, it was like getting into a sports car after a comfy old Jag & I decided I'd never sell it. I don't need the three or four hundred quid it's worth & it's too much fun to wave goodbye to it.
frisbee said:
I've still got my first road bike in the garage, 1990 Ultegra, threaded fork, 7 speed and downtube shifters. Its fairly dead now and as the frame isn't anything special + being a threaded 1 inch JIS fork and 125mm rear dropouts mean it isn't worth refreshing it.
What is the frame tubing? With Ultegra I’d expect it must have been pretty top spec for its time?125mm can be made wider to accept modern rear wheels. I’ve got a 1990 Reynolds 653 frame with Shimano 105 from 10 years later. The frame was ‘cold set’ to accept 130mm.
It’s still a fantastic bike.
I usually keep mine as long as they are working as desired. I had a Scott gambler fr10 for 5 years from 2009. It started to become old in that the weight was 44lb and new bikes were doing the same and you could do more on them with less weight. I broke it up and sold for parts. I now have two bikes a 2014 GT fury worldcup and a 2015 GT force x pro. I take the DH bike to Morzine every year but mainly ride the Force x at home. I can’t see me selling the force x as it’s got the “new” wheel size but the fury I may sell if I need space but it’s probably worth nothing now 4 years later.
I sold one once.
Even though it was bent, and it rode like a clown's bicycle, I still regretted getting rid of it. It was the bike I "broke my neck" on (it was a fractured C6 and C7 vertebrae, not actually a snapped neck
).
I sold to a bloke in a van who knocked the door to ask if it was for sale. He took it even though the frame, the handlebars, and a pedal crank were bent out of shape. Wanted it for the rest of the components I presume. £30.
I've got another bike that's bent after a van crashed into me/it. I'm waiting for a new frame to transfer the bits over from it. That broken aluminium frame'll go in a skip.
Another bike that's u/s after a derailleur went into the spokes and bent the steel dropout/hanger. That needs straightening.
Another frame that's slightly too big for me and has a stuck seat post. If I can't release the post I don't know what to do with it.
But I can't imagine selling another bike. Ever. I can picture myself buying one, but not selling. Broken or worn out components go into the metal skip at the tip, and broken frames too. But if there's even a glimmer of hope of getting a bike back on the road again, then I'l keep it indefinitely.
Even though it was bent, and it rode like a clown's bicycle, I still regretted getting rid of it. It was the bike I "broke my neck" on (it was a fractured C6 and C7 vertebrae, not actually a snapped neck
).I sold to a bloke in a van who knocked the door to ask if it was for sale. He took it even though the frame, the handlebars, and a pedal crank were bent out of shape. Wanted it for the rest of the components I presume. £30.
I've got another bike that's bent after a van crashed into me/it. I'm waiting for a new frame to transfer the bits over from it. That broken aluminium frame'll go in a skip.
Another bike that's u/s after a derailleur went into the spokes and bent the steel dropout/hanger. That needs straightening.
Another frame that's slightly too big for me and has a stuck seat post. If I can't release the post I don't know what to do with it.
But I can't imagine selling another bike. Ever. I can picture myself buying one, but not selling. Broken or worn out components go into the metal skip at the tip, and broken frames too. But if there's even a glimmer of hope of getting a bike back on the road again, then I'l keep it indefinitely.
Had my first bike around 18 months (Cube Peoloton, upgraded to 105 5800). Sold that to fund the current bike.
Had my current bike 12 months now, and can't really see me changing it (the frame anyway, it's already on wheelset number 2 and a new groupset)
The only thing I'd change it is for a S-Works (I currently have a specialized)
Had my current bike 12 months now, and can't really see me changing it (the frame anyway, it's already on wheelset number 2 and a new groupset)
The only thing I'd change it is for a S-Works (I currently have a specialized)
I only got back into cycling 6 years ago, started off with a few months on an old steel beater fitted with 10 speed 105, I still have it now, had it powder coated and use it as my commuter / winter.
Shortly after I bought a Specialized Tarmac, had that around 2 years then upgraded to a Tarmac SL4 Expert, bit of a waste of money really as whilst Tarmac's are ok bikes they're not particularly exciting.
Whilst I still had the SL4 I bought a Colnago Master and did a neo-retro build with Campag, polished H Plus Son Archetypes etc. Really love that bike, still have it.
I then bought an aluminium Dream, nice direct ride but also quite harsh, still have that.
The SL4 wasn't being ridden so I popped it up for sale and sold it to a guy in the local club.
I then bought a Colnago CLX3.0 which I still have.
Shortly after I bought a Specialized Tarmac, had that around 2 years then upgraded to a Tarmac SL4 Expert, bit of a waste of money really as whilst Tarmac's are ok bikes they're not particularly exciting.
Whilst I still had the SL4 I bought a Colnago Master and did a neo-retro build with Campag, polished H Plus Son Archetypes etc. Really love that bike, still have it.
I then bought an aluminium Dream, nice direct ride but also quite harsh, still have that.
The SL4 wasn't being ridden so I popped it up for sale and sold it to a guy in the local club.
I then bought a Colnago CLX3.0 which I still have.
A spate of thefts in my area in the very 1990's when I was about 15 so saw me going fairly quickly through:-
- falcon pro street flyer BMX
- Raleigh 531 Volant with shimano 500ex
- Orbit America 531 with shimano 105
- Orange Clockwork deore dx
- Dawes The Edge XT
I then found beer, girls pizza moved to London and didn't cycle from 1993 to 2014. Due to the thefts I now only own the Dawes which isn't nearly as special I don't think as the orange or the orbit, but I still use for light trails with my young kids.
in 2014 I bought a 2010 specialized allez with tiagra and got the cycling bug again. I still have that bike following a recent renovation powder coating it and putting a mixture of sram parts on it plus mudguards and a rack, I commute on it most days now and ride club rides on it.
in early 2016 I bought a Colnago CLX3.0 the same as matt_n's. I crashed it late in the same year commuting on it and had to have the carbon down tube patched, but it rides fine and I removed the 10sp 105 it came with and replaced with cheap used 10sp sram red.
in late 2016 I bought a 2008 Kona Dew hybrid for £56 on gumtree as a kind of bangernomics experiment to use on the commute leaving it chainup at a station in Croydon. Onces I'd tuned it up a bit it actually rode OK, but I got bored of having one hand position so I converted to drop bars with the 105 I took off the colnago and use it for commuting now when the weather's really bad as it has 32mm marathon plus tyres on it. The gears ghost shift a bit and I'm avoiding getting stuck into fixing it, probably needs a new rear mech I think.
I can't sell the Kona because it's worthless. The Colnago is crashed carbon so not really a seller either. The Specialized is a bit personalised and probably hard to sell too.
Short answer, I've had my Dawes mtb for about 27 years and rendered the rest of my bikes unsaleable so the answer is keep them forever unless they get nicked.
- falcon pro street flyer BMX
- Raleigh 531 Volant with shimano 500ex
- Orbit America 531 with shimano 105
- Orange Clockwork deore dx
- Dawes The Edge XT
I then found beer, girls pizza moved to London and didn't cycle from 1993 to 2014. Due to the thefts I now only own the Dawes which isn't nearly as special I don't think as the orange or the orbit, but I still use for light trails with my young kids.
in 2014 I bought a 2010 specialized allez with tiagra and got the cycling bug again. I still have that bike following a recent renovation powder coating it and putting a mixture of sram parts on it plus mudguards and a rack, I commute on it most days now and ride club rides on it.
in early 2016 I bought a Colnago CLX3.0 the same as matt_n's. I crashed it late in the same year commuting on it and had to have the carbon down tube patched, but it rides fine and I removed the 10sp 105 it came with and replaced with cheap used 10sp sram red.
in late 2016 I bought a 2008 Kona Dew hybrid for £56 on gumtree as a kind of bangernomics experiment to use on the commute leaving it chainup at a station in Croydon. Onces I'd tuned it up a bit it actually rode OK, but I got bored of having one hand position so I converted to drop bars with the 105 I took off the colnago and use it for commuting now when the weather's really bad as it has 32mm marathon plus tyres on it. The gears ghost shift a bit and I'm avoiding getting stuck into fixing it, probably needs a new rear mech I think.
I can't sell the Kona because it's worthless. The Colnago is crashed carbon so not really a seller either. The Specialized is a bit personalised and probably hard to sell too.
Short answer, I've had my Dawes mtb for about 27 years and rendered the rest of my bikes unsaleable so the answer is keep them forever unless they get nicked.
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff