Life Expectancy of Bike Equipment



Banlioch

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Apr 28, 2005
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I am a bit new to this, but I have been looking at buying a used 1995 Trek 5200 with Shimano 600 components. It has new tires, a new seat, and new chain. I am not very familiar with this line of gears and shifters. Should I worry about 10 year old components or should they be ok to get me going? Will I be looking forward to replacing the group in the near future? Thanks for your help.
 
Banlioch said:
I am a bit new to this, but I have been looking at buying a used 1995 Trek 5200 with Shimano 600 components. It has new tires, a new seat, and new chain. I am not very familiar with this line of gears and shifters. Should I worry about 10 year old components or should they be ok to get me going? Will I be looking forward to replacing the group in the near future? Thanks for your help.
How long is a rope? Honestly, there is no way to know.If the bike is near mint it may have been a garage hanger and the stuff could be like new, with lots of life. It could have also been rode hard and put away wet and could be trash just looking for a place to go TU. I have no problem buying older frames and building them with newer parts. Older complete bikes can be ok depending on condition and price, but I generally avoid them....Shifters are the expensive part. And the 8 speed stuff is essentially out of print except for low end Sora or special order,STR-500s
 
Banlioch said:
I am a bit new to this, but I have been looking at buying a used 1995 Trek 5200 with Shimano 600 components. It has new tires, a new seat, and new chain. I am not very familiar with this line of gears and shifters. Should I worry about 10 year old components or should they be ok to get me going? Will I be looking forward to replacing the group in the near future? Thanks for your help.
My recomendation would be to try and buy a bike that would be slightly newer. There are many factors when looking at bikes. However, one factor is that the newer bikes(low and high end) are made with updated technology and equipment. Not to say that the older bikes are not good. To some; they can't be beat. You might be able to get that Trek for a good price and it's in great condition; I don't know. Components do last a long time with proper maintenance and they actually wear together nicely. However, if and when the time comes(it always does); you will be looking at replacing all the worn components(mainly the drivetrain). Trying to upgrade that bike to a 9spd or 10spd at that point would be very costly. Which now brings us back to the begining of maybe starting out buying a 9spd level outfitted bike. I realize that it's a vicious cycle (sorry, no pun intended :) ) but it's kind of like buying a computer. The closer you buy to the top; the only thing you're really buying is time. Hopefully that "time" will be you out riding and enjoying whatever you end up deciding to do!
 
If the price is right and the bike fits I would buy it and not worry; get the bike set up correctly and ride. Shimano 600 was pretty good stuff in its day and should last quite a long time if maintained properly. Once you've gained some experience with that bike you will have a better idea of what you want when the time comes to move into something newer. A shop with a good inventory or eBay should be able to set you up with any parts you may need, and I don't expect you will need much if the bike has been well kept.
 
Thank you for all of the advice. I am going to look into it a bit more in order to see exactly how much it has been ridden. It seems as though its been used a bit. I should probably get a newer bike and save myself the hassle of upgrading.
 
Banlioch said:
Thank you for all of the advice. I am going to look into it a bit more in order to see exactly how much it has been ridden. It seems as though its been used a bit. I should probably get a newer bike and save myself the hassle of upgrading.

I personally make it a point everytime to buy a NEW frame , and pick up used componets(ie. record/chorus).... since they are bomb-proof designs.... and componentry in general does have a limited life span(except maybe Record hubs/seatposts/break calipers). Its fine is a component or two takes a **** after 1000's of miles , but NOT your fame :(

I personally dont like buying a used frame, that who knows did "X" amount of jumps on it, possibly crashed it , etc. etc. The only bike that I'd consider buying used is a quality Titanium frame- and the owner took "good enough- or very good care of it".
 
Adam-from-SLO said:
I personally make it a point everytime to buy a NEW frame , and pick up used componets(ie. record/chorus).... since they are bomb-proof designs.... and componentry in general does have a limited life span(except maybe Record hubs/seatposts/break calipers). Its fine is a component or two takes a **** after 1000's of miles , but NOT your fame :(

I personally dont like buying a used frame, that who knows did "X" amount of jumps on it, possibly crashed it , etc. etc. The only bike that I'd consider buying used is a quality Titanium frame- and the owner took "good enough- or very good care of it".
That's just dumb and backwards,but whatever spins your beanie.FWIW, Ti also breaks. I only have one new frame, and all the others have ben used.No lemons, and ALOT of money saved.
 
most parts of a bike will wear to some extent, from chains to chainrings, to the springs in front and rear mechs STI levers etc. Frames, bars and stems, if made from high grade alloys or carbon will tend to take on an unknown quantity wrt fatigue/potential for failure as life goes on.

For example, I once rode an aluminum frame until it started creaking very badly, only to find that the downtube had sheared 2/3 of the way around underneath the cable guide barze ons.

I would also be very cagey about riding my current bike if - say- it was stolen and recovered a week later. You just could never know what kind of stress it had been put through, and the unknown quantity could prove dangerous in a lot of riding situations.

that said i am sure there are many bargains out there - and that many of the less extreme bikes (in terms of light weight engineering) woudl present no problems - it really is something to think about on a case by case basis, th emore you know about the history of the bike the better.
 
robkit said:
I would also be very cagey about riding my current bike if - say- it was stolen and recovered a week later. You just could never know what kind of stress it had been put through, and the unknown quantity could prove dangerous in a lot of riding situations.
.... :rolleyes: .....
 
If you can get a good deal on it, it may be the thing to do. Be sure and look at what you could get in a new bike for the same price you would be paying for the used one. It may pay off in the long run. Most people with that type of bike would take care of it. I have an old bike with 600 components that has about 6000 miles on it. My daughter still rides it sometimes. (I keep telling her if she commits I'll get her a new one) Took very good care of it when I was riding it though.
 
Banlioch said:
I am a bit new to this, but I have been looking at buying a used 1995 Trek 5200 with Shimano 600 components. It has new tires, a new seat, and new chain. I am not very familiar with this line of gears and shifters. Should I worry about 10 year old components or should they be ok to get me going? Will I be looking forward to replacing the group in the near future? Thanks for your help.

Bro...save yourself the trouble and go buy a new bike. You'll thank yourself for it. Check out ebay and see what's available. There are so many affordable new bikes with great components available. You should have no problem staying in budget.

Tailwinds,
Vector7
 
boudreaux said:
That's just dumb and backwards,but whatever spins your beanie.FWIW, Ti also breaks. I only have one new frame, and all the others have ben used.No lemons, and ALOT of money saved.

I guess Ti. breaks, but I am only 155 pounds. ALUMINUM BREAKS (ie. frames, screws, seatposts, rims, handlebars).... I've seen it time and time again. Everything will break... if you give it time. How much do you weigh ?

Sure, you can buy used Everything.... and save more $$. I'd rather buy a New Frame(say $1K on Sale, retail $1800), and get most of the components slightly used , for half the groupo price = say Chorus 10spd for $500 , so you'll have only spent $1700 or so to build up a SWEET bike.

Not many New complete bikes come with Campy....... from what I've seen. If you WANT shimano.... it should not be a problem. :eek:
 
Banlioch said:
I am a bit new to this, but I have been looking at buying a used 1995 Trek 5200 with Shimano 600 components. It has new tires, a new

I think the price would be a big factor. Isn't that a carbon frame? I'm guessing there's no transferabiity of warranty. Something that old and carbon would worry me. I have broken a few seatposts using a torque wrench and wonder how well they understood that stuff 10 years ago and also its long term viability and also it's need to be treated carefully versus other frame materials.

Boudreaux is right on when preferring old frames to old components. I've rescued a few bikes from the dump before and the frames (and cranks) rarely have problems. It's always the moving parts.

You may want to start familiarizing yourself with the costs of components to do your own price analysis and see how much you can rebuild the bike for in case of needing to replace the parts.