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What parts have been on your bike the longest?

cjcrashesalot

cjcrashesalot

Monkey
May 15, 2005
345
13
WA
I got to thinking today, considering the abuse these bikes go through, I've had some parts that I've transferred from frame to frame that are still doing great. I'd say these components deserve a nod, especially since there seems to be more complaining than praising in the bike world lately. My longest running parts are:

2005 Juicy 5's - bought new, have been on 3 bikes with minimal maintenance.

2005 Marzocchi 20mm front hub - bought new, on its 2nd fork and the bearings are still tight and smooth

2005 Azonic A frame pedals - I just keep replacing pins and they just keep working.

2006 Truvativ Holzfeller cranks - Some are not fans of Truvativ cranks, but these things have taken such a beating and are still rock solid. On their second frame (cracked the first).

How about you all?
 
Fool

Fool

The Thing cannot be described
Sep 10, 2001
2,782
1,495
Brooklyn
The brake on my DJ bike is a Hayes HFX from my 2002 DHR. It works as well now as it did then. (see what i did there)
 
HAB

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,581
2,008
Seattle
I've got a billion year old WTB SST seat on my XC bike. That's probably the winner.
 
Biffff

Biffff

Monkey
Jan 10, 2006
913
0
All the gear on my Demo is either new or a year old, but my freeride/trail bike is 3 years old, and has some 4 year old gear on it. It gets used a lot and pretty hard.
I've got 4 year old Juicy Carbons on my Freeride/trail bike.
I have a 4 year old rear Hadley hub on the same bike, and just rebuilt it with new bearings .
I have a 3 year old 66 RC2X on the same bike...just needed oil changes.
I just replaced the 4 year old RF Diabolus cranks with the original BB....They are still perfect, I just wanted something lighter.
The Thomson stem and post on the bike are 3 years old and like new.
The DHX coil shock is 4 years old and been rebuilt once!
XO shifter and RD are 3 years old and work perfectly.
Either I'm pretty easy on gear or I'm lucky, because I put a lot of hours on my bikes, and I try to ride them as fast as I possibly can.
 
Runner

Runner

Monkey
Sep 21, 2007
377
0
CT
--Front wheel off my 05 Stinky, No name hub but the S-Type rims just last forever.
--My SDG Bel Air I-Beam seat is also great, even though I didn't have fantastic luck with the seatpost.
--Thomson X4 Stem, of course.
--Even though they don't have unbelievable power, my Hayes 9's have been especially dependable. I replaced them with Elixir CRs which feel way way better however.
--I have no doubt that I will be able to add my Saint cranks to this list in a few years, they are so simple and seemingly unbreakable.
 
IH8Rice

IH8Rice

I'm Mr. Negative! I Fail!
Aug 2, 2008
24,524
494
Im over here now
-Hadley 20mm on Mavic 321. its over 7 years old and still spins smoooth.
-Hayes Mag DH purple ones-7 years old and still work good
 
bullcrew

bullcrew

3 Dude Approved
Dec 8, 2004
8,912
2,574
I'm dude playing dude pretending to b another dude
My BB, Ti headset, Wheelset (aside of 6 rear rims), post, thats about it and frame but I go through stuff and try new stuff alot so this season Im going to run a set up and like usuall dial it in perfect and keep it instead of get it there and sell it because Im bored with it...

My hubs took a major beating 2.5 years never changed the bearings just maintained them and my fsa platinum pro ISIS bb as well as my middleburns got the crap kicked out of em and kept going strong...
 
ska todd

ska todd

Turbo Monkey
Oct 10, 2001
1,776
0
On my current DH bikes...a Thomson post that is easily 6 yrs old and some DT hubs that are maybe 5+.

-ska todd
 
F

freeridefool

Monkey
Jun 17, 2006
647
0
medford, or
Im still using the original race face 100mm bb that came stock on my dh comp in 03. Im hoping to ditch it soon as im concocting a way to set up my first gen saints on my dh comp.

And my sun ringle' hubs that came stock on my dh comp also. I have never rebuilt them only new hoops twice. They still spin better than the pro2's on my xc'ish bike and my azonic outlaws on my dj bike.

Hooray for old parts that still work like they were new!
 
chillindrdude

chillindrdude

Turbo Monkey
Jan 18, 2002
1,852
23
Northern VA, a peckerwood with too many guns
surprisingly my FSA Afterburners cranks circa 2003 are still going strong. they've started creaking, but i think it's a BB issue than anything else. i have them on my 4X bike, so they've seen their fair share of bashes.

i'm also still using my ODI lock on clamps from 5 yrs ago.
 
Jeremy R

Jeremy R

<b>x</b>
Nov 15, 2001
9,698
1,053
behind you with a snap pop
I have a pair of Easton Flatboys that I have had since a little after they first came out. I can't kill 'em. Gouges all over them. The pedals are wobblier than Tara Reid on prom night, but they are still going strong.
 
SuspectDevice

SuspectDevice

Turbo Monkey
Aug 23, 2002
4,171
380
Roanoke, VA
Across my DH/DS/Road/BMX/Cross bikes there is a lot of "old stuff"

I have a few King headsets that are at least 12 years old(one that's 15), Shimano road hubs with 250,000+ miles on them, XTR and Durace Deraileurs that are 18 years old, the ubiquitous decade+ old Thomsons, 2 pair of 13 year old profiles and a pair of 12 and 18 year old XTR cranks... The list is pretty endless.
Anything that is well designed, well manufactured and well maintained, unless it's a consumable, should last indefinitely. Rims, especially rim brakes are excluded from this. Planned obsolesence shouldn't count in this regard, as I have plenty of old Manitou(answer-era), Hayes(until the death of Mag's) and 26.0 and 26.4 1" quill road stuff that is a decade+ old and would be functional if I had time to source and fabricate the appropriate missing pieces. Good design is timeless, novelty and hype have taken precedence over quality and serviceability in most corners of our conspicuous-consumption based economy.

Bicycle parts are simple little machines- frankly planned obsolescence should be a crime, and 80% of the bike industry is guilty.

Loose Balls and Kaizen - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:PDCA-Two-Cycles.svg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f4/PDCA-Two-Cycles.svg/450px-PDCA-Two-Cycles.svg.png"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/f/f4/PDCA-Two-Cycles.svg/450px-PDCA-Two-Cycles.svg.png- The limits of perfection and the lowest-common denominator

Cup and cone bearing hubs are things of pure beauty, beauty in that you can always adjust them perfectly- shimano and campy ones last forever. They are even considerably cheaper than the lowest-equivalent sealed bearing hubs. Shimano hubs are made the same way they have been since the 50's- the best quality metalworking available in the world and a passion for kaizen.

Both Shimano and Campy are companies that have never compromised on the profit v. value perspective- their hubs are the legacy of a time when things had to be as good as possible with the utmost durability- forging machines, pure billet and NC lathes didn't exist on every corner and weren't easily exportable to the next-cheapest market.

In Shimano's case it's been more than a century of doing their damnedest to create a corporate structure where the struggle for continuous improvement hasn't been profitability, it's been better efficiency of manufacture and constant optimization of the product.

Are marginal weight savings and marketability really worth avoiding products that are the climax of decades of struggle for refinement? For the most part, the reason non- component manufacturers hub designs don't rely on races and cups is that they can't do it as well. Any optimally performing machine requires regular service and maintenance. There is no truly perfect- just the eternal struggle.

All products are good enough, but only these products that are so old-fashioned have so much tangible and intangible value- they are a legacy of what many of us believe to be a better time in the world. Their ability to be nearly perfect and last forever at such a reasonable price is a value proposition that speaks to many people, myself included

accept Kaizen into your life.
shed non-experiential apprehension
transcend consumerism

or something like that.
 
Patan-DH

Patan-DH

Monkey
Jun 9, 2007
458
0
Patagonia
cjcrashesalot said:
2005 Azonic A frame pedals - I just keep replacing pins and they just keep working.
Click to expand...
Man i still have the A-frames too, Those things are virtually indestuctable.
The axles are so strong , i ripped the pedals of 2 set of crankarms so far. I will post pictures of my pedals tomorrow..

 
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S

stringbean

Chimp
Aug 30, 2008
68
0
a pair of saint cranks, been meaning to replace them for a while but if they aint broke, they dont need fixin. also my hadly/729 wheelset, one or 2 dings, tightened a few spokes a few month ago for the first time since i've had them, hub serviced once. both have been going around 3 years now i think
 
Racebike

Racebike

Monkey
Jul 28, 2008
463
4
Sweden
I have a Campag. Record Ti seat post that has survived quite a few DH-bikes.

I'm on SDG I-beam now, but that old post is still with me.

Also, a first gen X.0 shifter that is still going strong. :)
 
Sandwich

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,082
6,000
borcester rhymes
atomlab us-spec aircorp pedals...replaced bearings last year and repainted...awesome pedals! i guess they started sucking after they shipped production to taiwan...Mine are 01-02era
 
manhattanprjkt83

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,646
1,217
Nilbog
good thread...

e.13 reduction cups (been on multiple bikes)
First Gen Saint Cranks (5th Season)
First Gen Saint Brakes (4th Season)
All my thompson stuff, i forgot it existed it is so solid...
 
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manhattanprjkt83

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,646
1,217
Nilbog
w00dy said:
My main DH bike has one avid BB7 caliper from 2000.
Click to expand...
long live BB7's I was just talking about how solid those things are with Justin on a ride last weekend.

You actually came up, go on eBay and get your set of respectable levers eg they xtr's you will thank yourself ;)
 
norbar

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,369
1,605
Warsaw :/
Old husselfelt cranks that went from an old dh bike to my current dirtbike. Still going strong. They are 03 or 04 I think.

But if we also count in xc I have a working 1996 deore lx (zomg limited ed) front derail, xt or lx cantilever rear brake and 96 stx-rc real derail.
 
ZoRo

ZoRo

Turbo Monkey
Sep 28, 2004
1,224
11
MTL
SuspectDevice said:
beauty in that you can always adjust them perfectly- shimano and campy ones last forever. They are even considerably cheaper than the lowest-equivalent sealed bearing hubs. Shimano hubs are made the same way they have been since the 50's- the best quality metalworking available in the world and a passion for kaizen.

Both Shimano and Campy are companies that have never compromised on the profit v. value perspective- their hubs are the legacy of a time when things had to be as good as possible with the utmost durability- forging machines, pure billet and NC lathes didn't exist on every corner and weren't easily exportable to the next-cheapest market.

In Shimano's case it's been more than a century of doing their damnedest to create a corporate structure where the struggle for continuous improvement hasn't been profitability, it's been better efficiency of manufacture and constant optimization of the product.

Are marginal weight savings and marketability really worth avoiding products that are the climax of decades of struggle for refinement? For the most part, the reason non- component manufacturers hub designs don't rely on races and cups is that they can't do it as well. Any optimally performing machine requires regular service and maintenance. There is no truly perfect- just the eternal struggle.

All products are good enough, but only these products that are so old-fashioned have so much tangible and intangible value- they are a legacy of what many of us believe to be a better time in the world. Their ability to be nearly perfect and last forever at such a reasonable price is a value proposition that speaks to many people, myself included
Click to expand...
Thank you! I have the same feeling towards Shimano hubs ++ they are rebuildable forever. You can always find cones, hub shells, etc...

I have a 15 year old 105sc hubset. Still going strong baby!
 
dhr-racer

dhr-racer

Monkey
Jan 24, 2007
410
0
A, A
ringle zuzu pedals are going on 4 years, still like new!

my hayes mags, the orange anniversary ones, i bought them used a few years ago and they are still rockin, this year they have moved down from the dh bike to my jumper
 
w00dy

w00dy

In heaven there is no beer
Jun 18, 2004
3,417
51
that's why we drink it here
manhattanprjkt83 said:
long live BB7's I was just talking about how solid those things are with Justin on a ride last weekend.

You actually came up, go on eBay and get your set of respectable levers eg they xtr's you will thank yourself ;)
Click to expand...
I'll spend money on levers when the nice ones do a single thing my free ones don't. They could use a coat of spray paint though.
 
Percy

Percy

Monkey
May 2, 2005
426
0
Christchurch NZ
9 year old Hope Bulb hubs, have been laced up as DH wheels, heavy duty trail bike wheels, and now my "XC" wheel set, still mint, still rocking the original bearings and Ti freehub.:thumb:

And my unknown age Hope Enduro 4's, they weren't new when I acquired them about 5-6 years ago, and they have been abused attempting to slow down my pie eatin ass since then!:think:
Had one new lever blade, new seals, about 3 litres of brake fluid, and I dont know how many pads. They still stop me just fine, and I prefer them to the Juicy 7's on the ASX, Juicy's just seem..............meh in comparison.

Of course the bike is a '98 frame with '02 forks, so nothing is exactly new anyway!:shocked:
 
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