[leaderthiever]

I purchased a Moda Bolero in early 2013 and have cycled about 1700 miles on it since. I had a first service after a couple of months and then took my bike for a full service the other day. I was a bit shocked by the number of things that needed to be replaced! e.g. Chain, Cassette, Wheel bearings for both front and rear wheels, Front gear mech (crack in the original).

There is still a problem with the rear wheel bearing and my LBS have loaned me a new wheel whilst they try and work out what the problem is.

Is this normal wear and tear for this kind of mileage?

Thanks

Tim

Topic

[Yorkshie Whippet]

Ok first things first. The
Ok first things first. The bike is classed as winter because it can take mudguards, presumably with good sized tyres. Not that componenty will last forever and day.

I take it you are using Microshift components, of which I have sod all experiance with so can not comment. But it could be simply that Microshift parts are not as good as the major three.The front mech sounds a bit dodgy as does the rear wheel. New bearings depend on how hard you hit pot holes.

The worse case scenario is that the shop have just taken you for a ride and replaced bits that maybe worn but not knackered. Ala motorplaces that offer free brake check and tell you that the brand new parts on the brand new car were knackered and dangerous, so were replaced.

[surly_by_name]

At 2700km I would expect to
At 2700km I would expect to have to adjust my shift cables as they will have stretched. But I would be very surprised to have to change anything.

The only reason the bearings would go in your wheels would be if the seals were unfit for purpose.

A “crack” in the front mech sounds like a warranty issue. I don’t understand how you crack a front mech.

Save yourself some money by riding your chain and cassette for another 7.5k. You will have to replace them all (and chainrings) in the end but if your chain has already stretched to the point that you need to buy a new cassette and if your shifting isn’t suffering then (provided you are using the chain and cassette together and you aren’t swapping in another wheel/cassette from time to time or using same wheel/cassette on another bike) I’d ride it into the ground.

[leaderthiever]

Thanks for all your comments
Thanks for all your comments and advice. I’ve just come back from a walking holiday on the Isle of Wight but did manage to get a “free” day to cycle round the island. It was a lot hillier than I had originally thought! There are blue signs to indicate the round the island route but we managed to miss one and added a few more miles to the journey. An added complication occurred after my younger, fitter, lighter and better bike cycling buddy (aka Jim the brother in law) was saying how good his new tyres were. My reply was “I think you have a puncture”!

Back to the thread…

I am 6ft tall and 82 kg so could do with losing a few kg. I cycle to work twice a week (26 miles per day) with paniers, adding to the weight. There is one hill on the way to work, just over 1.5 miles in length, 77ft to 540ft high. Coming home there is a 3.4 mile climb of 335 feet.

Living in England, there is always lots of rain, pot holes and country lanes with muck on. I’ve done a few long distance trips (Padstow to Bath, Bath to Usk then Cardiff) which have involved being “Sustraned” e.g. going down bumpy tracks more suitable to Otters!

The bike is stored indoors. I haven’t been very good at cleaning the bike but would just use elbow grease, bucket and washing up liquid, plus a chain cleaner. I certainly didn’t clean the bike everytime I went for a ride over winter.

My shock was the number of components that needed replacing in one go! The bike is marketed as a winter bike so I would expect the components to be a bit sturdier than they have prooved. Having said that I am happy with the Moda Bolero and enjoy riding on it whenever I can. Going to do my first 60 mile Sportive this year as well.

[CanAmSteve]

Heavy rider? Lots of hills?
Heavy rider? Lots of hills? Ride in the rain? Aggressively? All make a big difference in component life. Compare it to car mileage – 10K miles on the motorway is probably less wearing than 1000 miles in the city. I recently read the instructions with some Campy components and they warned that riders over 80 kgs needed to be extra cautious. 80 kgs is 176 lb!

So a small, cautious rider in flat country who only rides in dry weather is going to see a lot more life from components than a heavy rider in attack mode on the hills in the rain.

For the most part, it’s easy enough to tell when bits are knackered. A chain life tool is £5 (or you can just measure). Bearings (incl. BB) should be obvious by feel. Cassettes chainrings and brake pads you can eyeball.

Most bikes never get ridden far enough to wear anything out (I bet). So you might decide in subsequent purchases to get a bike that matches your riding style and needs. That’s the benefit of experience.

[domofarmfrites]

It depends….
I would expect
It depends….

I would expect more than 1700miles out of those parts. Only perhaps a chain may need replacing if you ride in sand or grit a lot (I know its a road bike, but you never know!). The problem is that I have found quite a few parts wear or break quicker that expected, and a lot tend to be non-Shimano/Campag/SRAM parts in the drivechain. Most generic seatposts tend to be ok on road bikes, but moving parts seem to be dodgier. Perhaps it is because they are built in large factories in the Far East on behalf of other manufacturers and therefore do not have the same QC as the big named companies who make their own kit, and also they do not have to worry about their own reputation as their name is not on the kit.
But other things come into it too – is the bike stored inside? Is it ridden through the winter? Is it properly cleaned? I also think a problem is that with parts like cartridge BBs and bearings that you often cannot service them and so they are often left to look after themselves. If they develop play then they are not serviced but rather they are left to run until they fall apart which may be a very quick process.

[Ghedebrav]

I put a lot of power through
I put a lot of power through my cranks, which is why (apparently) I’ve gone through two bottom brackets in as many years.

Otherwise, as everyone else has said, it depends on the type of riding you do, the type of surfaces and conditions you ride in/on, the components themselves and how they are maintained & cleaned.

[Flying Scot]

bikebot wrote:Flying Scot

bikebot wrote:

Flying Scot wrote:

Reading the above comments, to clarify my duty, I do a lot of climbing in all weathers, but also keep the drive train very clean.

Serious point, how are you cleaning it? You’re not using a jet wash by any chance?

No, absolutely not, but you’re talking 25 to 40 year old kit here, with no seals whatsoever.

[edd23]

Front brake pads would need
Front brake pads would need replacing, indexing fine tuned, bolts re torqued, brake and gear cables adjusted after a bit of stretching, not much else…

[pauldmorgan]

Brake pads, that’d be about
Brake pads, that’d be about it at 3000km.

Chain a bit later on (depending upon how clean you keep it) and cassette if you don’t replace your chain (aiming for about three chains to each cassette).

Tyres should last about 5000km unless they’re race tyres – I’ve had double that with some brands.

Bottom brackets are a bit in the firing line – £20 disposable part every year or so. Wheel bearings hopefully last longer than your rims but you might be unlucky.

Cables (in and out) and bar tape once a year because you’re worth it.

This is all my experience with upper-mid groupsets (105 / Force). Cheaper stuff is… Cheap.

[pauldmorgan]

Brake pads, that’d be about
Brake pads, that’d be about it at 3000km.

Chain a bit later on (depending upon how clean you keep it) and cassette if you don’t replace your chain (aiming for about three chains to each cassette).

Tyres should last about 5000km unless they’re race tyres – I’ve had double that with some brands.

Bottom brackets are a bit in the firing line – £20 disposable part every year or so. Wheel bearings hopefully last longer than your rims but you might be unlucky.

Cables (in and out) and bar tape once a year because you’re worth it.

This is all my experience with upper-mid groupsets (105 / Force). Cheaper stuff is… Cheap.

[bikebot]

Flying Scot wrote:Reading the

Flying Scot wrote:

Reading the above comments, to clarify my duty, I do a lot of climbing in all weathers, but also keep the drive train very clean.

Serious point, how are you cleaning it? You’re not using a jet wash by any chance?

[bikebot]

Alan Tullett wrote:I had a

Alan Tullett wrote:

I had a spare wheel because it was locked to a gate but the rest of the bike was stolen.

Oh damn, that was a nice story until it got to that part 🙁

Well, as the weather is so bad today I’m actually swapping my own chain and rear cassette as they’ve reached that time. I think I need a new knee as well, but I don’t have the right tools to do that myself.

[Alan Tullett]

bikebot wrote:Alan Tullett

bikebot wrote:

Alan Tullett wrote:

but now I’ve got a tool for the cassette because my daughter wanted to take an old wheel apart for a photography project!

It’s OK, I’m sure your wife doesn’t read this site, you can be honest here :))

My wife knows very well about my cycling and fantasy cycling obsession! It was a Photography GCSE project on the theme of order and she decided to take a spare wheel apart and put all the pieces on a blanket to take some photos. For this I had to buy a tool to take the cassette off (already had a spoke tool) and I might as well buy a chain tool now and do the job myself next time. Changed my chainset from a cottered one to a cotterless one in the mid-70s but that was the last time I did a significant job on a bike. It was quite fun to take a wheel apart even though we’ve never bothered to put it back together again. I had a spare wheel because it was locked to a gate but the rest of the bike was stolen.

[bikebot]

Alan Tullett wrote: but now

Alan Tullett wrote:

but now I’ve got a tool for the cassette because my daughter wanted to take an old wheel apart for a photography project!

It’s OK, I’m sure your wife doesn’t read this site, you can be honest here :))

[Alan Tullett]

Well I have an 8 speed
Well I have an 8 speed cassette and I’ve changed the chain once and cassette once in about 14000 miles. The chain needs a change soon and to be honest apart from something caused by a silly accident I’ve only spent money on tyres and inner tubes. I let the LBS do the chain and cassette the first time as I was lacking in experience but now I’ve got a tool for the cassette because my daughter wanted to take an old wheel apart for a photography project! Just need to get a chain tool to do the chain myself next time and the cassette later when it needs it.

I’ve got a Specialized Secteur Triple 2011. A bit heavy but reliable. I did a lot of miles in the wet winter weather and to be honest I’m not the most assiduous cleaner of a bike but that is a little deliberate to make it less appealing to the numerous bike thieves in Cambridge.

[Author]

Replies