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** Declaration - I am not going to buy a new bike **
** Probably **
Incident this weekend brought these kind of thoughts to the fore. Quite literally Just Riding Along, and my rear wheel seized. Like, just stopped dead. Initial investigations suggested that the bearings might have collapsed, or the axle's knackered, or something else (not looked at it properly yet, so we'll see). A four mile walk home followed.
Anyway, said wheel is a 26", QR, 19mm rimmed, 9spd, on a 3x9, straight head tubed, 130mm QR forked, very 'traditional' XC oriented Genesis Altitude, albeit 853 tubed, bike. All pretty old fashioned, but it all works (or will do when the back wheel is fixed or replaced). And it's all 'good' stuff - SRAM X0, Middleburn, Thompson, Gravity Dropper, BB7 ( 🙂 ) etc, and it's still a better bike than I am a rider. And it gets used about three times a year.
But then, but then, a quick Google finds something like the Calibre Bossnut Evo for £899, which is just mental, especially when a decent replacement wheel, should I need it, will cost me the thick end of £100... So, thoughts start of stripping the current bike, selling the constituent parts (cos I assume someone will want them) and buying something new but bargainous. Thoughts, I must add, I have not yet voiced to The Committee...
It's not obselete until you can't get spares. By all means upgrade if you want to - I'm an advocate of big wheels and modern stuff - but otherwise keep maintaining it. New bearings will cost a few quid.
Having said that - new bikes are way better than older ones. I'd get a 29er though unless you are a rowdy technical rider.
You can pick up a "decent" rear wheel (something with a hope hub) on the classifieds for about £60. Stick with what you have.
Is this really about it being obsolete though?
The bike is clearly not beyond economic repair as it works fine and just needs a new wheel or hub. So for a lot less less than £100 you can have a perfectly good bike to hack around on. But if this is really about having a better or more modern bike, then get one. But don't confuse this with being the right economic choice.
The current bike isn't worth much in terms of £ but it might be worth more to you to just hang on to it as a 2nd bike.
When you stop riding it
I’ve got one that’s 26 years old and is still running as a commuter.
There’s not much from the past few decades that’s actually obsolete.
Whether it’s worth keeping or selling is down to you, though.
Sounds like you'd like a new bike, and want people to tell you it's ok to buy a new bike.
I think you should buy a new bike 🙂
I'd invest in some maintenance or classes.
If you want to drop £900 for 3 rides a year that's up to you. I expect the Calibre will feel a disappointment in various ways, the Genesis is a nice, quality bike.
I confess I am biased, I hate to see cycling equipment become just more consumerist fodder subject to generalisations like this.
new bikes are way better than older ones
What hub is it? You may be able to repair.
Al - bigger wheels are provably better when riding over bumps - and developments have reduced the disadvantages for most people to the point where the advantages outweigh them.
My opinions come from direct experience on my local trails. I was on 26 exclusively until 2015 so I'm hardly marketing man's dream.
If this is a stealth ad I'll start the bidding at £100 😉
If you're only using it 3 times a year then just fix the back wheel. The bike will probably outlive you (and me) at that rate of usage.
What hub is it? You may be able to repair.
It's an XT hub (M775 from memory, might be M785), it'll very probably be repairable. I'm more idly musing about the point at which it becomes not worth it, and to move it on.
If this is a stealth ad I’ll start the bidding at £100
If the bidding keeps going, this may become a stealth ad 😉
Buy a lightly-used wheel? Enjoy yr bike
Buy a new or lightly-used bike. Enjoy yr bike.
It's only over when you say it's over? 🤣
It’s an XT hub (M775 from memory, might be M785), it’ll very probably be repairable.
FWIW the only time I've ever had a hub lock up was a Deore (which happens to be currently in service on the aforementioned commuter). I must have failed to do the cones and locknuts up tight enough, because one of the cones had migrated and locked the bearing solid.
Of course, that's not the only possible cause, but it gives hope that potentially nothing at all may be broken 🙂
Cheers Bez. Looks like I can get a whole axle assembly off eBay for about £30 if needs be anyway.
No such thing as an obsolete bike.
It's all fixable, and the older it is, the more fixable it is.
I’d agree with all of the above. If you want a new bike go get one, but a bike only becomes obsolete when you decide it’s obsolete 😀
I’m in a similar place with my 26” 3x9 equipped Cotic Bfe but I will ‘manage’ for a little while more 😛
Even if you had to replace the wheel, SH 26er wheels can be had for buttons.
Cheers Bez. Looks like I can get a whole axle assembly off eBay for about £30 if needs be anyway.
If it's compatible, you should be able to get a Deore hub for half that; use it as a donor and have a free spare freehub. I forget my XT model numbers right now, but newer ones won't take transplants so easily. Back in the days when everything was bog standard steel axles it was easy 🙂
The calibre bossnut, while undoubtedly a decent (and decent value) bike, isn’t 853.
Id repair the one you have.
You’ll be able to get a hope rear wheel for £100 ish, that will last for years. Shiny shiny isn’t always better.
My commuter is 32 years old and my rigid SS is 19 years old. they're both lovely, and far from obsolete.
I wouldn't be spending much money on a bike I'd only use 3 times a year.
Why does it only get used 3 times a year?
My bike is 18 years old, I had to ride on Sunday with virtually no brakes after a rear pad disintegrated and a new one would be nice, but I'll keep riding it til it's impossible to maintain. While I might not be as fast downhill as all those with modern bikes, trundling carefully, half expecting something to snap, it's going to hurt a lot less if I fall off.
But don't kid yourself. If you started spending time reading and writing to a hifi forum and reading the magazines, as if by magic you will rapidly convince yourself you need to buy a new amp and speakers.
I was in a similar situation with my Ti456. Needs a new BB, headset and rear hub bearings need changing. Rims are probably going to need replacing sooner rather than later and the fork crown is showing signs of corrosion under the paint. Almost everything on the bike was second hand, including the frame. I was keen to ride more challenging trails ie the Golfie etc and hopefully get something a bit more comfortable on longer rides. I tried a new Bird Zero 29, and although it was more than I wanted to spend I was comfortable knowing it would be good for a good few years and I knew I would have to spend a fair bit to keep my old bike going. The 456 will get a bit of tlc and be a spare for family rides hopefully for a few more years.
Not only is your bike fixable… but it is far cheaper to fix than a newer bike would be. Grab a bargain new 26" rear wheel… and ride the bike more regularly to justify the (small) outlay.
What everyone else said: Older decent bikes are awesome - they're not worth much but cost nothing to fix, and are still as great to ride as they were at the time, plus you're not as bothered about superficial damage. I've seen older £4k bikes in good nick go for £200 on eBay.. if I was looking for a bike I'd definitely go that way..
Why not repair the wheel on the cheap and buy the bossnut?
You'll provbably need a new cup and perhaps freehub - former beyone most shops.
Molgrips, you've already moved back to "probably", and accepted that it's only your opinion.
But your original statement was as fact.
Nothing obsolete about a 135 QR rear hub. Massive amount of options from cheap to expensive and many new bikes are still sold with them. Also massive amount of 26 rims available.
The only part of your bike that has very limited choices new are the forks if they were ever to get to an non repairable state and you wanted new rather than used.
You’ll provbably need a new cup and perhaps freehub – former beyone most shops.
I replaced the freehub last year and it's barely been used since. I'm not saying there's a correlation or anything 😉
Yep... Keep the one you've got for a second bike and buy a new shiny one.
You'll be amazed at how different a more modern bike can feel, and it'll just make you want to ride more.
Personally I’d be inclined to replace the hub if it isn’t out of adjustment c&c as Bez suggests or a knackered freehub. A new M775 hub will provost about £30 off the Internet and while a bit of patience is needed, swapping a hub in an existing wheel isn’t a job that would be beyond most I think, and it’s a step towards being able to maintain your wheels better.
135qr certainly isn’t dead. Granted it’s nit showing up in too many frames these days, but Shimano seem to have one in their Microspline launch so they obviously think it’s worthwhile!
The Calibre is a cheap FS bike. It’s much better than should be expected for the money and was quite a shock to many, but while it’s got (mostly) current standards covered, it's unable to hide the weight and feel that comes with budget builds. Not dissing budget builds at all, but even an out of date collection of nicer bits is going to feel quite different (and I’m not particularly a Genesis fan). Especially with the light use, I’d keep what you have. There’s a whole heap more maintenance jobs on a FS bike that would make the necessary repairs to your current bike seem easy.
I have an M756 on my 26" hardtail from approx 2011 and had a problem with it a few months back with it becoming over-tightened. Luckily I caught it before any damage was done, but I think it's a known issue with xt hubs from that period. The problem is caused by (or at least partly the result of) there not being a locking nut on the freehub side. My solution was to use loctite to stop it tightening (forget the number, 243 I think, but the one that is tolerant of a bit of grease and sticks quite hard but can be removed if needed). It's been fine since.
Plenty of rose-tinted glasses/weird old git stuff on here.
Modern mtbs are massively better than older stuff in every way - geometry, shifting, suspension, brakes. I really can't see how you could objectively argue that this isn't the case.
JP
In general, I wouldn’t. I quite agree that modern mtb’s have developed a very long way even in the last couple of years.
What I’m less certain about is buying a cheaply specc’d modern-ish MTB to replace a nicely specc’d older bike that is only really suffering from needing a rear wheel rebuilt and will apparently be ridden three times a year or so. A cheaply built FS does not sound like a purchase I’d recommend in that case. If avoiding simple maintenance wasn’t the driver and it was going to get more use I’d be happy to recommend.
I had a very nice 26" Titanium hard tail with XT drive train, good wheels and componentry. It was short and steep (70deg headtube I think). That bike became obsolete after I bought a 29" Trek Stache which is longer and slacker. After riding the Trek, the Titanium hardfail felt dangerous, every deep rut it felt like the front would dig in and push me over the bars.
Geometry has moved on considerably and that made my Ti hardtail obsolete to me since I did not enjoy it anymore.
Plenty of rose-tinted glasses/weird old git stuff on here.
Modern mtbs are massively better than older stuff in every way – geometry, shifting, suspension, brakes. I really can’t see how you could objectively argue that this isn’t the case.
They are not better but that doesn't make an old MTBs obsolete from a maintenance point of view which is the point you seem to have completely missed.
A bike will almost never be technologically obsolete. However it may become obsolete to your needs/wants.
Ex.1: good summer road bike gets displaced by something better and is relegated to winter road bike. If it gets relegated again then it's off to the charity bike scheme.
Ex.2: hard tail gets relegated to shwalbe marathon tyres and dodging about duties.
Why does it only get used 3 times a year?
Cos I tend to ride the roadie a lot more these days.
I have an M756 on my 26″ hardtail from approx 2011 and had a problem with it a few months back with it becoming over-tightened. ... The problem is caused by (or at least partly the result of) there not being a locking nut on the freehub side.
Ah, okay, this rings a bell actually from when I had the axle out to change the freehub, I've got a vague memory of something seeming a bit odd when I was putting it back together. Something to bear in mind though, cheers.
I had one of those frames. I definitely regret selling it. It was a great all rounder.
I'd say it would only not be worth keeping if the frame or fork died. Everything else is still easily available.
I had one of those frames. I definitely regret selling it. It was a great all rounder.
I loved mine and would jump at a modernised version. Mine died after I dropped it, after hitting a tree, and bent the rear mech hanger for the third time. (My one criticism of these frames was that they didn't have a replaceable mech hanger.) At the time I was only using it as a wet weather bike anyway, having not long bought a Boardman Team FS. And, if I'm honest the Boardman was more competent in pretty much every way but just didn't feel as good as the Genesis.
I killed it three years ago, and it was over 8 years old then.
Plenty of rose-tinted glasses/weird old git stuff on here.
I know right. Before 29" slack geometry I literally used to go over the handlebars every time I touched the brakes, which is crazy right because today's brakes are like 10,000 times better than old ones
I tried a 2018 bike recently, it was unrideable