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I'm still using a dakine bag from about 15+ years ago, and it's still going strong. It's been through the wash countless times and comes out looking like new.
Whats your hardiest bit of kit?
I rode to work yesterday with my laptop in a pannier from 1992. It doesn't get used much though.
My Ti King Cage is from 2008 and still going strong on my main MTB. Never dropped a bottle.
I really struggle to throw jackets away, i just stop using them while there's still a tiny bit of life in them left. Then occasionally they're the perfect jacket for an occasion.
I think my time pedals are likely to outlive the human race...
Probably longest lasting kit is an original buff when they first launched.
I did find (and start using) and old Freestyle GoreTex cycling jacket (whatever happened to Freestyle) that will be from the mid 90s.
They're not currently on a bike, but I own a pair of fully functioning M540* pedals that are at least 20 years old probably more, and still function perfectly despite never having been serviced
*I know right, get me with my fancy pants axle spindles...
Most of it I guess given the ever decreasing frequency of use
Don't know about gear but I've a tub of copper slip that's probably well over a decade old and will be likely passed down to future grandkids
A Muddy Fox handlebar pouch from 1985. Designed to fit the twin clamp triangular stems of the time. It was only recently I saw on the label inside that it was made by Karrimor. A reminder of two once great brands now like a shit act without a single original member managed by the great Mike Ashley
XT seatpost and SPDs, 1990.
I own a pair of fully functioning M540* pedals that are at least 20 years old
I've got a pair about the same age. Shimano SPD's are impossible to kill. You could drive over them in a tank and they'd still work
I've got a Sombrio softshell that must be 15 years old. Still in good nick too, despite spending most of those years absolutely caked in Lancashire moorland filth
Two rohloff hubs. A sturmey archer hub that is already 60 years old controlled by a lever that is 85 years old
Several sets of M520 and M540 pedals.
Given the lack of moving parts, and further lack of new bikes to put them on, I've got a couple of sets of KCNC titanium QR's that have moved form bike to bike to bike, and will probably never die.
I put a 1/8th steel 44t chainring on my fixed-gear commuter last winter, I don't think it's practicable to do enough miles to wear it out!
I think my time pedals are likely to outlive the human race…
Oddly I killed every pair I had fairly quickly, the only thing that lasted less time were:
a) Time cleats
b) eggbeaters (and their cleats)
I was out on Wednesday wearing my Endura Roubaix long tights and my Gore (used to be) waterproof jacket that I bought from Tim and Judith at Sideways Cycles in 2001.
nothing
A sturmey archer hub that is already 60 years old controlled by a lever that is 85 years old
😲
wins
Steel dialed bikes prince Albert frame.
No doubt i will never break it.
Chances are that i will run out of parts for it first
My old man mountain rack is a chunky bit of kit. Way over engineered for what I use it for now.
Hmmmm,I have an old Wrenchforce bike/work stand that seems pretty bombproof.....shame they stopped making them.
On my gravel bike is a Shimano 600 front mech. The precursor to Ultegra. It was on my first road bike which I bought in about 1996 and when I sold the frame, I ended up with a pile of parts off it, some of which I sold, some of which just stayed in the parts bin. Anyway, it's been used on various framesets over the years and it's on my current gravel bike - I could easily have bought a new front mech many times over during bike builds but this one is beginning to have sentimental value or at least is appealing to a stubborn "how long can it actually live for?!" mindset within me!
I know that front mechs aren't exactly complicated but it's done over 100,000 miles of road and gravel over 25 years and never missed a beat.
Oh and I have a Kahuna courier bag which I won at Enduro6 in about 2002 which is still in daily use.
I think my time pedals are likely to outlive the human race…
I was thinking of the Time Atac Freeride pedals which are now on my gravel bike.
Must be 15+ years old now. Never needed touching.
Noone in the history of cycling has ever worn out a set of bog-standard Shimano SPD pedals. Period.
Any Ground effect merino clothing, must be nigh on 30 years old.
Still using a few bits I bought in 2001- Oakleys, camelback, the bike itself, and just stuck a new old stock XT front mech from 2000 on, like the one it came with. Had to chuck some pearl izumi baggies and t-shirts out that also came in 2001, nothing wrong other than looking a bit tired but couldn't close my cycling gear drawer
Park Heavy Duty Tyre levers
I'll add my old Shimano 600 groupset from late 80's. Still going strong.
5 10 impact shoes. Way way over engineered for what I ride.
I’ve got a pair about the same age. Shimano SPD’s are impossible to kill.
I smacked one into a rock on Rooley Moor back in the mid 90s. Couldn’t clip in anymore, fixed it with a big screwdriver and hammer in my dad's shed. I still have those pedals and they still work.
Pace Winteractive smock/jacket.
Chris King headset.
All my stems.
Ye olde Dakine kit was bomb proof wasn’t it? My ski gloves are so old the logo is two words “Da Kine” and they’re still solid.
I have a Saint hollowtech bottom bracket on my singlespeed. In July, it will be 12 years old, and it's never missed a beat - despite lots of gurning up Welsh mountains and the South Downs.
It'll probably fare better, in a nuclear war, than cockroaches.
A pair of endura single track shirts that I bought from these classifieds in 2010. They split at the seam shortly after, we're sewn up and are still going strong. They've faded out of use and now back in to try and kill them off - having none of it.
My early 90's Silca Pista track pump I suspect will withstand nuclear armageddon.
I have a Timbuk2 messenger back that is c1990, still used most days.
My 1992 Lava Dome will also outlast me.
Pretty much everything I own other than chains and brake pads. Maybe the odd tyre or two 🤣
Got some 520 pedals that have spanned 4.ikes in 10 years. No maintenance and still perfect. A (500g? 50oz?) tub of SRAM Butter that I'll hand down to my daughter.
My 2006 Kona Coiler with a set of Totems? Ok it doesn't get ridden any more and spends its time living in the garage roof but I'm pretty certain it would continue living through a nuclear war.
It looks like it was put together in some sort of cold war soviet facility and I reckon it would live forever.
Camelbak 'The Don' thats easily 15 years old. I don't really use it anymore because I've got better packs but there's nothing wrong with it.
I can't name a single thing that I've bought in the last 5 years that I'd have any faith in lasting. Other than another set of 520s...
My ebike lasted 18 months before it needed a new motor. Clothes I buy fall apart. Parts wear out in months rather than years. Even .... I used to replace them once I'd put a huge gash in them. Now they only seem to last a few months before the side knobs rip off and the centre tread shreds itself.
Wouldn't be so bad if they weren't at least £50 a time to replace!
Wow, this thread has made me angrier than I needed to be
Like tjagain... Rohloff hub on the Shand, and the Sturmer archer hub on the Brompton.
Heirlooms.
Don’t know about gear but I’ve a tub of copper slip that’s probably well over a decade old and will be likely passed down to future grandkids
Pah, 25 years and counting!
I've got a tin of the stuff I bought in 1991, used to slap some on spark plug threads when I was learning how to service a car and nothing much else. Still almost completely full. Got a rare bit of use out of it the other weekend screwing some titanium bolts into my brompton
A Fox long sleved shirt from 1990 I think. A pair of Pearl Izumi winter gloves from the same era, which are still my uber-cold weather gloves of choice.
CK headset from 2008 is still spotless apart from changing an O ring thingy in it BITD when they were causing wear to steerer tubes.
I seem to be rather good at destroying Time ATAC pedals though, I've been through four sets since 1990. Genuinely worn out, not just in need of replacement bushes/ bearings.
My tub of copper grease is a mere stripling, purchased early this century. Now about 1/2 full.
I've got a Berghaus convertible windproof jakcet/gilet that must be from early 2000's. Still a really useful, versatile garment, I'm going to be gutted when the zips fail.
Don’t know about gear but I’ve a tub of copper slip that’s probably well over a decade old and will be likely passed down to future grandkids
I've got a tube of Finish Line teflon grease like that.
Easily 20 years old, very occasionally I'll get a dab of grease out for pedal threads and it's like a never ending tube.
Noone in the history of cycling has ever worn out a set of bog-standard Shimano SPD pedals. Period.
I have.
I wore the indents out of the cleat attachment point. Even new cleats just didn't work.
Twice.
I forgot all about my Chris King headset, when posting about my Saint bottom bracket.
I suppose that speak volumes about how they are simply indestructible, and quietly get on with their job.
Sturmey archer 3 speed.
vmgscot I still use a Freestyle gortex jacket going strong from the 90's. Mine's dark blue with the rollaway hood. It just gets used for road duties but still looks in great condition.
Plenty that don't get used often. Bought on a whim and rarely used. Things like waterproof shorts.
Now, for kit that is well used and is probably over engineered, I'd go with most stems and most Shimano pedals. Thankfully so, as a failure of either would probably result in a crash.
I'd like a new pair of mtb spd shoes to replace my venerable and rather smelly Shimano ME5s. But they just keep on going and I hate throwing things away that still have life in them.
I’ve got a pair about the same age. Shimano SPD’s are impossible to kill. You could drive over them in a tank and they’d still work
You can wear the top plates to the point where they no longer hold onto the cleats - hello Peak grit - at which point they are either junk or you buy some replacement plates from SJS or use a cheapo donor pedal to rebuild them, at which point it's questionable whether they're still the same pedal.
I’ve got a few Dakine hydration bags that are still going strong, the wife’s Shimano DX SPD pedals will last so long they’ll be found by archeologists. My Mk1 Burgtec Penthouse Flats are still spinning well on my brother’s BMX and I have an Endura Event Jacket that’s about 18 years old and still good for general day to day stuff (apart from being hood free)
4litres bidon of finish line cross country lube I bought about 20 years ago now
And one of these
... a Timbuk2 messenger back that is c1990, still used most days.
I'm with Kelvin on the Pace Winteractive smock,
and my 23 year old Buffalo smock, both perfect for Bavarian winters
Plenty that don’t get used often. Bought on a whim and rarely used. Things like waterproof shorts.
Trousers are lasting a while as they only come out on the coldest shittiest days when no one sensible would be riding anyway, like a winter away trip and the weather is rubbish.
But shorts get trashed.
Maybe it's because they only get used in dryer weather but I've some Humvees made from something like cordura that must be 10 years old now? Whereas winter Altura attack shorts last a winter or two at most depending on how many pairs are in rotation. Grit just seems to eat them at the seams.
I was going to say my 12 + year old slightly baggy Altrura tights (old fashioned, no bib, no chamois, hoops for the feet). But I over cooked a corner on the road bike today and had big spill and shredded the knee so maybe not.
One of my Chris King hub sets is now 20+ years old and is as good as the day I bought it. Standards, not degradation will eventually kill it.
The hubs on my commuter are now 4 years and 34000+ km in and still feel utterly indistinguishable from when they were new. Well, they’ve worn in a bit and actually feel even better. No bits, no bearings, no seals, just an occasional clean and relube.
I ****ing love CK - this is how engineering should be done.
My POC Enduro shorts seem pretty bombproof.
I was going to say my old M636 (DX) pedals but I went to fit them to my MTB for an upcoming BPW trip last night and the right one felt a bit grumbly.
I'll find out later if they're actually going to out live me or end up finally being retired. I'm not the first owner, I'd estimate they're coming up on 30 years old, still arguably the toughest SPD's ever made...
Was thinking about this yesterday when I dug out my crown race setter. Gets used once a year or so, is a solid metal tube, is alloy (so no rust) and has no moving parts. Obsolescence (or a change in standards) is its' only danger. About 20 years old and counting.
Park headset press. BB ream. Headset facing tool. Floor pump I’ve had since the late 70’s.
But - The Mrs. (By far the most valuable bit). Maybe even the cat.
Don’t know about gear but I’ve a tub of copper slip that’s probably well over a decade old
I have a tub of Castrol Graphite Grease that I bought from Northern Autos in Skipton sometime around the mid-80s that is still in my maintenance box. I can’t remember what I bought it for or why - but as I was a not so well off teenager it was probably because it was cheap at the time. I used to use it to grease the cup and cone bearings on my clunker.
I’ve a Polaris pertex smock that I bought before Lister and I went to Whistler in 1995. The bum bag packaway elastic straps have succumbed to time but everything else looks like new.
I’ve also got a manitou sweatshirt that I bought sometime in 1994. It’s my go-to working in cold conditions top and has kept me warm and under numerous vehicles.
I have a 36h Paris-Roubaix rim built using plain gauge spokes into a Mavic 571 hub, all put together by Pete Matthews. I expect that to outlive civilisation itself.
Why can't they make bottom brackets and frame bearings last as long as pair of Shimano pedals?
A whole lot of stuff that I definitely needed when I bought it, but have barely or never ever used.
And a bunch of DT240S hubs, which are old enough to have kids and have survived the bike industry's best efforts to murder them in their sleep. One of them pre-dates bolt-throughs. Also I suppose my XTR M970 cranks. And I have 4 sets of 2010 Formula The One brakes which I'll keep using for as long as they keep going, though that's getting a little bit triggers broomey, I've killed a couple of other sets and harvested their organs
I had a chris king headset but since it was doing its damnedest to outlast the forks that it was supposed to be holding by grinding through the steerer tube, I got rid. No doubt it's still in service somewhere, eating someone else's fork steerer.
It's the bits of gear that get used nearly every ride that are the real heroes. My Endura bright blue cycling jacket has been used for regular rides for about 10 years up until time away from riding. Since then it's been nabbed by my wife for thousands of miles worth of running. Before then it was used daily on the commute to my old job, in all weathers. The caked in mud riding off road at the weekend.
It'd then be unceremoniously lobbed in the wash, left to dry and sprayed with nikwax and it was good to go again. It's showing a few signs of wear, and mud stains that won't come out, but it's still more than serviceable after thousands of hours of use.
It was expensive at the time, same as my Dakine bag, but they've both been exceptional.
My Surface Snugflex hoodie must be fifteen years old by now and still looks amazing apart from a broken zip pull. Think I'm going to end up being buried in it.
@kelvin - I came in to post that
Pace Winteractive smock/jacket.
I bought mine in the - I think - Hathersage store in around 1994 maybe. Don' t use it for riding but it's in my bag for post ride warmups.