Did I get my money's worth out of these components?
- Thread starter tyred
- Start date
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I did a century ride on this on Easter Monday although it was beginning to skip in certain gears. It was fine up until that that but now it's reached that stage, wear seems to have accelerated very rapidly and had it had got to the point of finding the few gears which still worked so it was time to call an end.
They belong to my old Townsend MTB. I had resurrected it using a chain and a freewheel block cannabalised from other skip bikes last year. Last summer I acquired a pretty nice set of 26" wheels I intended to fit to it but with cassette hubs so I had no use for the freewheel block. The chainset was showing a fair bit of wear in the middle ring to begin with so I decided I would ride it to destruction before fitting my new wheels, chain and chainset. Replacement rear mech robbed from another skip bike as I think the jockey wheels in the current one may just possibly be a little worn.
It took around 3,000 miles to do that - as I say, they block and chain were robbed from other bikes so can't say much how many miles they had done in the first place.
All components basic Shimano from early 1990s.
Chain maintenance involved throwing some oil over it if it got noisy. It never seen serious off-road use but did get used in all weathers and often along dusty gravel paths.
They belong to my old Townsend MTB. I had resurrected it using a chain and a freewheel block cannabalised from other skip bikes last year. Last summer I acquired a pretty nice set of 26" wheels I intended to fit to it but with cassette hubs so I had no use for the freewheel block. The chainset was showing a fair bit of wear in the middle ring to begin with so I decided I would ride it to destruction before fitting my new wheels, chain and chainset. Replacement rear mech robbed from another skip bike as I think the jockey wheels in the current one may just possibly be a little worn.
It took around 3,000 miles to do that - as I say, they block and chain were robbed from other bikes so can't say much how many miles they had done in the first place.
All components basic Shimano from early 1990s.
Chain maintenance involved throwing some oil over it if it got noisy. It never seen serious off-road use but did get used in all weathers and often along dusty gravel paths.
Cycleops
Legendary Member
- Location
- Accra, Ghana
Not in Yorkshire by any chance are you ? 
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.SkipdiverJohn
Deplorable Brexiteer
- Location
- London
Not in Yorkshire by any chance are you ?
No, he's not. And neither am I, yet I wholeheartedly approve of @tyred 's "ride it to destruction" regime in order to get the maximum life out of the parts. The fact they may have come out of a skip doesn't matter. If you make them last long enough, it gives you time to pick up another free/dirt cheap donor bike by the time the current mechanicals give up the ghost.
I run my local hack bikes in exactly the same way and my cycling activity is so cheap its virtually free. And even though I'm no tree-hugger and couldn't give a monkeys about global warming and all the other eco causes, I don't like to see serviceable stuff thrown away and wasted.
davidphilips
Phil Pip
- Location
- Onabike
LOL, You have certainly got a lot of use from them, perhaps only way you could still get some more moneys worth if you could gather some more and sell for scrap metal?
Ming the Merciless
There is no mercy
- Location
- Inside my skull
Nope, another 20 years left in them yet.
davidphilips
Phil Pip
- Location
- Onabike
Very true, also not safe for any one useing parts like these or even any one cycling with them.
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
Shudders. The state of that bike. Even my MTB's aren't allowed to run like that. Bike abuser. 
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
Don't be daft.
