Hey guys, in your experience do frames and parts have a life expectancy? Like you should replace your tires after 5k miles or your chain after xx amount of miles. What about carbon fiber frames and older Shimano (2003 Ultegra) components, can I expect these to last a while?
Frames last until they break. That could be never, or 6 months.
Tires wear out and should be replaced. If the cords are showing in one section they're done. (usually the cords first show where they are overlapped during manyfacture). Ideally you'd replace tires about 500 miles before the cords show but its hard to know when that is. Also replace if the rubber is hard or there is significant damage to the tire. Tire life varies- light racing tires wear faster than heavy touring tires.
Chains also wear out. They should be replace when they have elongated .75%.
Derailleurs also wear out but it takes a long time. If you're asking this question it isn't going to happen to you.
Well I guess my major concern is the life expectancy I can expect on the used bike I just purchased. It's a 2003 Trek 5500 with an OCLV carbon frame and full shimano ultegra components with around 6k miles on it.
You'll probably get years of riding out of the bike. By which point one of two things will have happened: 1.)You will become an experienced cyclist and want a new bike that is better, or 2.)You give up cycling, and sell the bike off or deposit it in a corner to collect dust.
Derailleurs also wear out but it takes a long time. If you're asking this question it isn't going to happen to you.
As a mountain biker - turned roadie, I often point out to my mountain biking buddies the douchey comments roadies make. There's another example. ^
To the OP's question...
As some have eluded, there are lots of factors involved. Most notable is mileage as opposed to age. But, you can't discount weight, weather in which is was ridden, fitness (power), etc.
I've only had one derailleur wear out on me - a 14-year-old Shimano XT rear... Shifters will eventually fail. They seem to break - as opposed to the derailleurs that just seem to get tougher and tougher to tune.
Two guys in my club ride old (15+ years) carbon frame sets. One's a Trek, the other a Calfee. Both have tens of thousands of miles on them. Both show NO sign of wear beyond typical scuffs and cracks.
Changing tires is different than changing the whole rim I assume...some rims or wheels (whichever they're called) are pretty pricey. I was hoping to hear I could get plenty of years of life out of the bike if I maintain it properly. I'd really like to learn how to do my own maintenance.
Well I guess my major concern is the life expectancy I can expect on the used bike I just purchased. It's a 2003 Trek 5500 with an OCLV carbon frame and full shimano ultegra components with around 6k miles on it.
6k miles is not many. Many riders do more miles than that each year. Don't be too concerned about most of the components.
Tires and chains wear out and need to be replaced. Tires last in the 1,500 to 3,000 mile range depending on the tire. Rear tires wear out much quick than front tires. Chains last in the 2-3,000 range, maybe longer if you treat them right. As long as you change the chain before it wears out everything else will last a long time. I worn chain will wear out your chain rings and cassette pretty quickly - so keep on top of the chain.
The frame will likely last forever unless you crash it. Some frames do break from extended use, but it's not that common. Expect 100,000 miles out of a frame, again, unless you crash it.
Changing tires is different than changing the whole rim I assume...some rims or wheels (whichever they're called) are pretty pricey. I was hoping to hear I could get plenty of years of life out of the bike if I maintain it properly. I'd really like to learn how to do my own maintenance.
You can. I have a 2010 carbon Addict SL with all the pricey parts... and still ride my 1996 Klein at least once a week. You could ride that Trek for years and years if you take care of it.
Performance Bike typically has a great price on a complete (mostly) SpinDoctor took kit. That, a cheap work stand and a book - you're doing your own maintenance. Check out Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance. Park Tool's website has great tutorial videos. But, for a beginner, I think a book like Zinn's would be very helpful.
Some components are easier to work on than others. Adjusting derailleurs and brakes, swapping a chain or cassette, would be a great place to start. So many cyclists are intimidated by these - especially the rear derailleur. Once you understand how it works, you'll laugh at how easy it is to dial it in.
Truing wheels, rebuilding hubs... leave those to the pros for now.
6000 miles is a drop in the bucket, but I'd check the chain and replace it if elongated since you have no idea how the previous owner maintained the bike. You may have to change the cassette or the most worn cogs on the cassette if they are too worn and cause a new chain to skip. Actually, I'd check over everything on a used bike to make sure everything is cool.
I have a steel bike that I got in 1984 and still ride. The only components that I replaced due to breakage and wear are the front derailleur, bottom bracket (dried up from not maintaining it), and freewheel (the teeth were too worn). Three out of the four cables on it are actually still the original cables!
As a mountain biker - turned roadie, I often point out to my mountain biking buddies the douchey comments roadies make. There's another example. ^
To the OP's question...
As some have eluded, there are lots of factors involved. Most notable is mileage as opposed to age. But, you can't discount weight, weather in which is was ridden, fitness (power), etc.
I've only had one derailleur wear out on me - a 14-year-old Shimano XT rear... Shifters will eventually fail. They seem to break - as opposed to the derailleurs that just seem to get tougher and tougher to tune.
Two guys in my club ride old (15+ years) carbon frame sets. One's a Trek, the other a Calfee. Both have tens of thousands of miles on them. Both show NO sign of wear beyond typical scuffs and cracks.
Funny, this is kind of a douchey comment as well. Maybe since you "turned roadie" you became a little douchey? Or maybe you were always a little douchey as a "mountain biker"? Well you know what the say, "If he's riding a GT, then...."
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You're looking in the mirror and the skeleton's none but you.
I too have 5 vintage lugged steel road bikes, and one of them was built in 84 and has over 150,000 miles on the frame and the original components (not the rims but the hubs do); and all of them, including the high milage one are still going strong. I also have a newer 07 Mercian which is lugged steel, and it too is going strong but it has the least number of miles of all my bikes at about 4500 miles, so it's going to be a long time before I can comment on it's durability; I'm sure the frame will last forever it's the modern components I question.
Tires do not typically last 5k miles unless their the heavy tires like a Specialized Armadillo All Condition or a Schwabe Marathon and a few other touring intended tire; most last about 3,500 miles.
Chains depend on the bike and the rider and the upkeep. Older vintage bikes used wider chains, those chains will last between 12 to 15,000 miles; however the newer thin jewerly chains will last according to forum reports about 3,500 miles, my 07 Mercian has gone past that a bit and still test out good. But I keep my chains clean and oiled with either Chain L or Finish Line Teflon Dry (I also like Speed Skate Lube but I can't find a retailer for it anymore). The Chain L stuff is great and only requires wiping the chain down after every ride and reapply the lube every 1000 miles, but I solvent clean and reapply it about 500 because I'm kind of paranoid about 1000 mile claims. With Finish Line I wipe down after every ride then solvent clean the chain after about 200 miles and reapply. Which works best? I honestly don't know yet since I've only been using the Chain L on two of my bikes that got new (vintage wide) chains last spring and neither have more then 3200, but so far their still looking very good.
A steel or TI frame should last well over 100K, there have been documented proof of a few riders going as far as 1 million miles on steel. I had a mentally handicapped brother in law that only had a bike for transportation, a 81 Schwinn World Sport he bought new that he put over 500,000 on it before he died 2 years ago.
My nicer road bike is a '99 LeMond Buenos Aires. So, steel frame, carbon fork. Those are both doing fine. It's got a fair number of new parts now, though. Almost all the wear parts in the drivetrain, (granny ring is original ) shifters, handlebars (that was because I never liked the old ones) rims, seatpost due to a loss in shipping, saddle for the same reason as the bars.
On the other hand, I've got the same bottom bracket, hubs, spokes, front derailleur and headset that I did when it was new. I don't keep particularly good records, so I can't tell you how many miles it took to wear out what it did. There are some 0 mile years and I think I've hit 6000 a couple times, though not on that bike exclusively.
Expect to replace tires, chains and cassettes relatively frequently. Chain rings take longer, rims are something that you either won't believe anyone really wears out or you'll replace frequently depending on your weather conditions. Good maintenance will make everything last longer, to varying degrees.
I've actually killed a frame. But I think most fall victim to changing standards and people's lust for something newer. For example, if either my frame or my fork has a problem, I'll likely have to replace both because the headset standard has changed since 1999. And not all new cranks will go on my bike. The frame I killed needed a differently sized hub from what's current. I think neither of these apply to your bike yet, but sooner or later they will.
You can wear tires until the fabric casing starts to be visible. Keep an eye on your chain and replace it as needed; I tend to get three or four chains' wear out of a cassette, and I didn't believe rings ever actually wore out until I did it. (Maybe three or four cassettes' wear?)
) shifters, handlebars (that was because I never liked the old ones) rims, seatpost due to a loss in shipping, saddle for the same reason as the bars.
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