With money tight and riders demanding tougher gear, the cycling industry is shifting its focus to durability and practicality. From stronger wheels to rebuildable derailleurs, brands are stepping up to create products that last—and keep cyclists coming back for more.
125,000 miles? That doesn’t seem right. If that’s true that bike has one hell of a story
Yes, 125,000 miles. I was car-free for about 20 years, and I’m recently back to not owning a car. My partner has a car, but we are a very car-lite household. I was averaging More than 13,000 miles per year, in part because my commute was 25 miles each way and in part because I do randonneuring (long distance, unsupported cycling with time limits) and lots of bike touring. As a result, I have an intimate understanding of rates at which bike bits wear out and how to maximize value and longevity.
20 years makes sense. I was trying the math on it and was getting crazy numbers
You can go reeealllly far on a bike if you aren’t in a big hurry. I have thousands of miles on my low end Trek 820 and the OG derailleurs are still going strong. The frame will probably outlast me and maybe even my grandkids.
The fact that it was lasting 125,000 miles wasn’t the surprising part. It was more someone knowing they had put that kind of milage on a bike that was hard to believe. With 20 years of daily commuting, it makes sense
I have absolutely no idea how many miles are actually on my unpowered bike because I never fit it with a computer or odometers. All my maintenance is pretty much, “Yeah, I guess it’s worn enough to replace.”
I’m probably going to need new cassettes in the next year or so, on my third chain with them now.