Bike Manufacturers Are Making Bikes Less Repairable

How to make your life super easy if shopping for a bike:

- 1 1/8 steerer tube, or maybe tapered

- Threadless a-head headset in any common SHIS type. Threaded ones won’t last as long.

- QR or common thru-axle

- Any common BB standard (threadless ones are actually fine but require a well made frame, and you’d be surprised how many expensive frames are not well made)

- Always a round seat post and get 27.2mm if you can. Bigger if you care about dropper posts

- Rim brakes are fine unless you are doing serious off road. If going disc, hydraulics offer great performance for the price.

- Flat bar shifting components are much more interchangeable and better value that drop bar!

- If going drop bar, consider older 2x11 speed mechanical equipment. It’s much cheaper and it was competitive at a pro level not so long ago.

- External cable routing!

- Aluminium is uncool, but it represents a sweet spot in terms of weigh/cost/durability

- Tyre volume, not frame material, is the most important factor in comfort

- Never buy a bike that doesn’t fit you

These tips won’t get you the best bike (in terms of absolute performance) but it will be reliable, easy to fix and good value.

I.. appreciate the effort but even as an owner of three bikes, and doing maintenance myself most of the time, I barely understand half of this list. I imagine most casual bicycle riders would be in the same boat?

No idea what SHIS, QR, BB, dropper post or flat bar mean. Is this racing bike lingo?

You know more than I do about bikes. I've assembled one (except for fork/handlebars) myself and have ridden various styles.

My only objection is brakes. If it can fit your budget, mechanical disc is worth the lower maintenance, adjustment, weather resistance over rim brakes. Disc in general have the fringe benefit of being able to swap tire sizes for different purposes.

Hydraulic disc are smoother and somewhat more effective, at the expense of money and ease of maintenance.

-Rim brakes means ever so slightly bent rim = SOL.

-There are some decent internal cable routing setups. The newest fad (through-headset), though...

-Comfort has a ton of variables, of which tyre volume/pressure/type/details(inserts/etc) are a major part of, but not the be-all-end-all. Grips, handlebars, saddles, pedals, crank length, etc, etc, etc, etc...

SHIS is standard headset identification

QR is quick release (as in wheels)

BB is bottom bracket

Dropper post is an MTB thing and so are flat bars!

I wouldn't recommend anyone get quick release, thru-axle is so much better. Disc brakes too, it's such a huge upgrade. I'd also say a dropper post if you're doing anything off-road, or maybe even on-road, they're awesome!

Rim breaks are fine for most people. your wheel has to be very very visually out of true to cause problems and thats only a $20 fix at the local bike shop. A little cathunk in the hands during braking never hurt anyone. Source: rode $40 bikes through college. Most of the comfort stuff is not applicable unless you are spending hours and hours in the saddle. You aren’t going to notice the crank arms are too short or your reach is too long commuting 30 mins to work.

Rim breaks are pretty maintenance free. I just replaced the pads only thing ive done to them in 5 years with this bike. $15 and 2 mins of work.

Hey guys, follow these 12 SUPER easy tips!

- Industry jargon

- Industry jargon

- Etc etc

Rim brakes/pull-brakes/v-brakes are great even for serious off roading, though you may want to upgrade to long caliper pads, which make a world of difference. Disc brakes aren't helpful until you're doing serious downhill. Why everyone has disc brakes these days when they don't need them is a great question.

Truing a wheel is something that for 100 years avid cyclists (riding multiple times per week) could do with nothing but a single $3 truing wrench. If you were very poor like me in college you did it by pushing the rim brakes to one side or another and then truing against the rim hitting the pad. We used to do this on the trail, ride mates amiably sitting by why the whacked wheel gets put into "enough" true.

Nowadays of course I have the whole kit, the Park truing stand, various truing wrenchs... and that's it. Oh right I use painter's tape to mark problematical spokes. I've built three sets of fabulous wheels that take a lot of abuse but let me still set personal records at (say) TdT.

Now we get to the flame wars. I've been endurance cycling 50 years, since I was 14 or so. I completely understand the arguments for disc brakes for tandems and touring setups. What the disc brake people are not telling you is that the hand fatigue problem was solved by $40 Avid Single Digit rim brakes 25 years ago. I have a set on my mt bike that are truly single digit sufficient for most rough descents up to say 3000' and maybe an hour. Probably you need to do some exercises if you're doing those and having fatigue. I have been at Moab doing an insane gonzo abusive descent and noticing that hmm might be having safety issues soon with my forearms, and hmm, I need to get this descent done... but that was before the Avid brakes. My 20 yo Specialized frame FrankenBike with Avid SD brakes is not being replaced in I guess forever because it is gonzo abusive ready and it just works.

Edit: Oh if anyone has a nice set of used Avid SD brakes I'd really like to replace the way too sensitive Paul sidepull brakes on my gravel bike. I put the dumbest pads possible on them and they're still too sensitive. I'd happily trade if I could fully refurb the functionality of the Avid brakeset.

Maybe it's a bias due to my rim bikes being historically lower quality. My rims get out of true more than my discs, and cheap-style rim brakes are harder to adjust to even braking.

I've never owned high quality rim brakes, that could be the issue.

Back in the day, even on a low-end steel Miyata mountain bike, I had to have QR wheel and QR seat post keyed locks because of theft. They consisted of an epoxy-coated offset plate with a hole at each end and a miniature luggage lock. In general IMO, it's not worth having an expensive bike because it's just going to get ripped-off and likely lacks significant benefit over a middle-market one. (A friend of mine had a $8k USD road bike stolen in downtown Mountain View right in front of every passerby in the busiest area where cops pass every 10 minutes.) Also, the only time I ever forgot to lock my (undersized jacked up with very long seat post and handlebar extensions) Miyata in the rack at home (apartments) in Davis CA was the very time it was stolen.

For dry climates: wax lube. Wet lube is only for rainy climates and attracts dust like mad. Chain guard is a must for non-leisure riding.

And if you don't like changing tires very often and don't mind the extra free exercise of added rolling resistance, kevlar armor bands are a must have with green snot slime. Still have to carry a vulcanizing patch kit, levers, and a pump because goatheads are pure evil.

Rim/v-brakes just need proper adjustment, replacement pads when worn, and clean rims. They're also much easier to control with finesse than disc brakes which tend to lock and require brake fluid and pads service. In rain though, I'd want disc brakes because rim/v-brakes can fade rapidly depending on material and coating of the rim.

Unlocked QR wheels and seats get stolen and vandalized. QR should generally only be used where transportation space is limited or for stationary security, but otherwise prefer permanently-installed ones at the expense of having to carry a wrench with the tire patch kit.

I don’t have many hard rules I follow about specific standards or parts when I shop for a bike, but I do have one guideline I adhere to:

I only buy bikes with online tech manuals containing exploded diagrams, dimensions, part numbers, and torque specs.

I look through the parts and verify that either the manufacturer has spares available on their web store or that they’re common parts available anywhere. I also look up older models and make sure the manufacturer still has manuals and parts for them too so I have confidence I will still be able to get parts in 5 years or so.

I can't think of a reason QR is better other than price. I actually find it easier to mount and unmount the wheels with thru-axle. They're not really permanently installed though, so they can be stolen if you know how to take them off.

Hydraulic brakes have far better power and better power modulation. I think that matters a lot in terms of usability and confidence to a beginner. Especially in rainy weather.

Anything can be stolen given unreasonable dedication, but that's not the point. The point is to deter by making it not worth messing with. Unlocked QR wheels will be stolen or vandalized in most major US cities in an instant.

Shockingly bad advice.

Threaded headsets are fine, "threadless" bottom brackets are mostly trash and almost entirely non-user serviceable, drop bars and their levers are fine and sometimes better, 2x10 is even cheaper than 2x11 (what's up Tiagra), AL was never uncool except for forks, mostly agree with the rest

> - Any common BB standard (threadless ones are actually fine but require a well made frame, and you’d be surprised how many expensive frames are not well made)

I confirm. High-end bicycle here, "only" 8 years old. Full carbon (frame and wheels).

Bottom bracket is now a bit noisy. I went to a shop only doing that brand and...

"Oh but it's a threadless BB, the company doesn't make that anymore. And because it's a carbon frame, it's too complicated/risky to change it. We suggest you buy a new bicycle".

That'd be on a five digits bicycle supposed to be of the absolute best quality. And, well, it definitely has one of these not well made expensive frame.

P.S: had to google the acronyms you used but I suggest everybody here to listen: GP knows what he's talking about.

> "threadless" bottom brackets are mostly trash and almost entirely non-user serviceable,

Yup I confirm. I'm never buying that again.

> "threadless" bottom brackets are mostly trash and almost entirely non-user serviceable

Are you including Shimano pressfit BBs here? Never had problems replacing it, not even needed special tools.

> Why everyone has disc brakes these days when they don't need them is a great question.

The reason I've got disc brakes is because of how precise and pleasant the feeling and feedback in the brake lever is. It's pure bliss.

I know it's totally overkill but the to me there's no comparison in how pleasant the brake lever is, so I don't mind paying a bit more.

If you're not considering a bearing press as a special tool (or you didn't use one) then we exist in different worlds.

I used to ride a lot in the mountains. Even on roads my disk brakes were blue from heat, rim brakes would simply die or make me die - no, thanks. Rim brakes are perfectly fine for city bikes, many road bikes and light offroad, but not for any long braking - that is not limited to downhill.

Check the rims too, when you change the pads there is a chance your rims are very thin and at some point you need to replace it. Not cheap. Mechanical disk brakes are indeed quite good at cost-performance ratio, even if the hydraulic ones are nicer but significantly more expensive.

Yea, wow, I know you can go infinitely deep on any topic, but bicycle nerds are a species all their own!

Here's how I bought my bicycle, as a total casual: Went to craigslist, typed in "bicycle", bought the one that looked to be in good shape for $50. It's lasted me 15 years and the only maintenance I've ever had to do on it was change tire tubes. I don't even know much about it. It says "Specialized Crossroads" on it, I guess that's the brand name.

carbon rims

enough said

AFAIK you can extract the bearings from the bottom bracket with generic tools. So they should've been at least able to regrease or replace those. You can also find custom made bottom brackets online for 2-400€ if it comes down to that. But for an 8yo model from a big manufacturer you can find mass produced ones for a reasonable price. Maybe they just really wanted you to buy a new bike from them.

I used the Ratio conversion to bring both my old 10 and newer 11 speed SRAM drop bar shifters to 12 speed spec.

Highly recommend!

https://bikepacking.com/gear/ratio-1x12-upgrade-kit-review/

Rim doesn't mean they aren't hydraulic. I have hydraulic rim brakes and agree they give you much more power than cabled ones.

What make and model is it?

When I was in college, I'd pop the QR front wheel off and chain lock it through the rear wheel+frame+rack. Only took an extra 10 seconds or so, and took less time than it'd take to lock two chains to make sure everything was secured to the rack.

Rim brakes suck in the rain. This matters a lot for commuter bikes.

I've never heard of the hand fatigue thing. I agree that it sounds like BS.

Hand fatigue is a real issue if doing big off road touring, but that’s not most people.

Yes rim brakes are worse in the rain, but they’re not that bad! I wonder if people who say this have tried a modern dual pivot road caliper or decent v-brakes. They have easily enough stopping power for commuting in rain.

What's "MTB?"

MTB mountain bike.

mountain bikes have a "flat" handlebar that is mostly straight from end to end.

They also have dropper posts - this basically converts a bicycle seat into an office chair. A handlebar lever you can pull will let the seat move up and down hydraulically and when you release it it stays in that position.

People use it to pedal normally with the seat up, but on tricky trails you can drop the seat down out of your way.

back to handlebars, drop bars are what road bikes have. They are the curled handlebars that look like a C from the side. If you lean forward, you can grab them by the "drops" and aerodynamically pedal harder.

Threaded headsets work, but it’s an inferior design to threadless. There are no advantages to them at all - except maybe aesthetics!

The only modern bikes with threaded tend to be low end anyway. Best to avoid!

I suggest you find a new shop with better mechanics

Thanks. The presence of the T makes it non-obvious.

I did look up "dropper" posts. Hadn't heard of those before.

I have a Trek 920 that people covet when I ride around. I replaced all the drive components a few years ago, since they were original from the early '90s. After it threw a chain and almost caused me serious injury I noticed hey, there's a bunch of teeth missing from these gears!

I learned a lot doing the overhaul... especially that you need a bunch of bike-specific tools!

I'm pretty sure my old Schwinn Continental is still in my parents' storage space, too...

I had a bike with the new di2 electronic shifters. It was amazing! you could shift and it would always get it right, even while pedaling!

Its a cheap mavic rim I could probably get it second hand built already pretty cheap. Plenty of meat on the rim as there is a wear indicator to make it easy. I don’t think its very common to wear through a rim unless you do nothing but mountain descents for years and years.

Everything sucks in the rain. They still work alright they just take a single rotation to squeegie water off the rim then they grab stronger than the tire can hold the road.