Older Bikes - What to look for?

Here are some tips on what to look for in an older bike.
On this channel we show marketing free, real information about the bikes that you ride.
www.luescherteknik.com.au
www.insidecarbonbikes.com
#insidecarbonbikes

[@wysmolek]

Damn, the more I watch your channel the more I'm worried about my almost 10 years old felt road bike. Maybe it's time to convince the wife that in our best interest is to buy me a new bike :)

[@powdamunki]

That’s a 2010 madone. That’s my bike. Raoul has scared me off the road like jaws kept me from going in the water!

[@budesmatpicu3992]

This channel should be named "How I killed second hand carbon bike market"... and Raoul should get some medal for that, because seeing this, quite a few bones, maybe even lives could have been saved.

[@hujnbg]

and new

[@aaron___6014]

If it was an issue, then yes

[@eeul]

I love how deeply interested you are in the things you cover on your channel, makes it quite enjoyable to learn from you!

[@flasher2001z]

Thanks so much for the awesome info. Love the channel!

[@seanromero6041]

Just found your content, it's fantastic man keep it up!

[@Swimmer47]

I had a Cervelo T1 track bike and found a crack in the steerer tube. This was disturbing considering the amount of torque I was placing on the steerer whenever I dropped into the sprinter’s lane in the velodrome. I had noticed that the frontend seemed unstable. Here’s the clincher: I asked Cervelo about their steerer tube assemblies and they said it was a common occurrence with their bikes.

[@LuescherTeknik]

Glad you found the problem before it became a catastrophic failure. Amazing response from Cervelo!

[@quincemothman]

I'm still riding my Mercian ( King of Mercia ) after 37 years. The frame was built in 1980 with Reynolds 531 db tubing. The things I've replaced over the years are = New wheels built with the Campag hubs from the old ones, new chain-set with new 5 speed block, clipless pedals, new brakes, different saddles. The frame is still excellent and though it is a bit heavier than my carbon Cannondale Synapse, is still a wonderful bike to ride though I have to say I'm small in stature and light in weight so I suppose my bikes don't suffer the same stresses as they would if I was a heavier and more aggressive rider. Thanks for the video.

[@davidburgess741]

Steel frames are almost immortal! Got 1978 Dave Moulton but with subtle mods to run 10 speed cassette. Friction shifters work great with 1973 Campagnolo derailleur. Ramped and profiled teeth on the cassette make it shift like a modern bike. I found a way to get this to work with 6 speed frame spacing and milled the crank spider to work with modern chain. Have wheels with freewheel and they work also.

[@PInk77W1]

Rust never sleeps

[@rollinrat4850]

I still ride several steel frames that are more than 25 years old. My oldest are a custom Ron Cooper from 1979 and a Miyata touring/cross frame. Only one of my frames has failed from poor brazing. I got it in trade after this Euro pro raced it on the CX circuit for several winters in the '80s. It failed from fatigue and it was plenty rusty, Columbus SL. This bike saw lots of hard abuse and mud. Even more after I got it. It didn't cost me anything besides a few hours of my machining time so I was willing to thrash it. I'll ride fat tire steel road bikes on dirt trails, I used to do it on tubulars way back when. I think 'cross bikes are really fun on our local big mountain xc type trails. I'm not a heavy rider either. I ride as smooth as I can and don't bash into obstacles, but I might 'gently' hop them. I look at rougher terrain as a challenge. My trails have a good amount of rocks. I believe that 'underbiking' and exploring is extra fun! Rust away or not, (there ARE preventative measures) steel will generally give you some warning before catastrophically breaking. Ive bent and damaged several forks from exceeding what they were designed to do. I accordioned a top tube and down tube running into a car. But these forks didn't cause me to crash and the fork nor head tube didn't separate from the rest of the frame. Steel if real. You can see the quality of welds with your eyes before it's painted. I'm now riding friends with the guys who built my 'newer' frames and I'm learning to do it myself. I don't need to cut up my frames to be positive I have a good one either! Knowing your builder personally, shaking his hand and having a little recourse makes a big difference! That's something worth waiting over a year to get! And YOU GET EXACTLY what you want.

[@taichihead42]

Steel is real.

[@Craigwdlr]

Awesome!

[@andrewmacgregor6496]

Great video. So what can be repaired and what can't? I assume there are some general rules of thumb?

[@andreprice6628]

Well done, it is so good to talk about bicycle frame fatigue. I have a aluminium frame bike that is about seven years old. I will check it.

[@danielhertercasagrande1686]

I dont worry to much about frames but more on forks

[@Bella-jm6re]

Me too my Bianchi Infinito C2C........whats in a name:-)

[@Bella-jm6re]

It says nanotech...that means no Flaws, voids or wrinkles i hope;-)

[@dr10501]

A lot of older frames don't have tapered steerer tubes either, so that could potentially make the steerer more likely to fail at the crown

[@aaron___6014]

I have a Reynolds ouzo pro fork that feels soft or flexible when I push the down on the handlebars. Is that normal? I removed it from the frame and secured it in a vice (safely) and I didn't feel any flex.

[@17cream]

Great video, without access to an expert to assess a frame, is visual inspection sufficient?

[@aceboogie8986]

I watch these kind of videos every once in a while just to keep proving to myself that the bike industry basically created carbon bikes because the aluminium steel and titanium bikes were to reliable and people were not buying enough its really sad to see people spend this kind of money to get ripped off its truly insane

[@rizkiyoist]

I think it is more about what the market ask for. Rarely I heard someone says, "I want to upgrade my bike to a stronger one even though it is a bit heavier", no, most people would prefer 100g less weight, even if it would compromise a couple of years of the bike life where they likely already bought a new one long before then. It is an expensive hobby and totally one of the worst investment wise.

[@TheNickbb10]

Could you make a video on carbon forks w/ alloy steerer tube? I have a specialized allez with that type of fork, interested to hear your thoughts on the design, common failures etc.

[@fernandocycling9662]

Hi there!!! I would do the same question. I have an Allez Sprint Comp 2017, Carbon fork and seat post. He could tell us how to identify if there is something wrong with the fork...to avoid accident . Hope he give a reply. Safe ride to you.

[@zygmuntthecacaokakistocrat6589]

What’s your opinion on adhesive lifespan in tube to lug frames?

[@danfuerthgillis4483]

I have not seen a video of you discussing Road Conditions and vibrations through the carbon frame and forks. How much vibration and bumps can these forks take through the resin and carbon layers. Is there a chance that these cracks develop over time based on road conditions? North American roads ( Canada a big one) are just nasty for Carbon bikes, so Carbon bikes here don't last too long.

[@davidrock3959]

Interesting 👍

[@paulschmidtke425]

Totally agree with you about carbon , Ally , titanium but not steel ,steel is real

[@yorvo]

The "bubling" effect happens also to aluminium?

[@Ultegra10SPD]

So did they warranty that? Should they have if claimed? -U10

[@kayp8949]

I have a question: When(in terms of time/km) should i think about replacing a frame? I race my bike on classics and crits.

[@stefhirsch6922]

It depends on your size/weight, crashes, luck, quality of the bike, how light the frame/bike is for it’s quality and your riding style. Some riders are rough and others smooth. A smooth 220lb/100kg rider is going to brake less stuff than a rough 140lb/64kg rider. A decent frame should last a minimum of 25,000mi/40,000km. I’ve got a few road bikes with 50,000 miles/80,000km and another with 90,000+ miles/145,000+ km which is still going strong that I haven’t babied. Also standing up to pedal stresses your frame far more than staying seated. Every 2000 miles/3200km or so I’d clean the bike and look it over at the joints, cable stops, holes for the water bottle cages…. Also if the bike suddenly feels more flexible or a new creak develops I recommend that you investigate it and figure out what it is.

[@SinnerSince1962]

Makes me wonder if I ever want a CF frame or fork. Having to constantly be worried about integrity of the ride below me is scary.

[@TheAnon232]

I agree. I’ll stick with metals: steel, aluminum, and titanium.

[@KurtVogel88]

Hey Raoul, came here from Shane's channel. Do you think aluminum frames are suitable for indoor trainer use or do aluminum frames fatigue too quickly when used on trainers?

[@stefhirsch6922]

Some aluminum frames work great for indoor trainers. The main thing about how an indoor trainer stresses a bike frame is the rear triangle - especially the seatstays. Lots of “high performance” road frames have stupidly skinny seatstays with big chainstays with the idea that the thin light wimpy seatstays will allow a smoother ride. If the seatstays look questionably wimpy then they likely are. If the bike is going to be exclusively used for indoor trainer than a failure is less of a concern because you won’t have cars + speed when it goes bad. If the seatstays seem bigger diameter than normal than you’re fine.

[@TheSkinnybiker]

I ride a Colnago C-40. I haven't had any issues and it's the only carbon bike I've ever owned. Kind of scary riding these carbon bikes.

[@besselfunctions]

In the USA the median age of cars has increased every year since at least the early 90s as their quality improves. Bicycles however, hard to say.

[@littlegoobie]

thanks to import cars taking over the domestic market.

[@rollinrat4850]

Ive ridden, raced and wrenched on bicycles for over 50 years. I'm a retired machinist and mechanical inspector. I helped build carbon structures for satellites and aerospace. Ive built surgical devices as well. Nobody's fooling me! I wrench in a high end bike shop for fun in my retirement now. I see all the issues, warranties, recalls and QC problems in the modern bike industry. In just 6 years in the bike biz, I've seen dozens of plastic frames relegated to the dumpster. In my 50+ years of cycling experience, I've seen less than a dozen metal frames that couldn't be repaired. I don't think that's a coincidence.

[@IronHorsey3]

What are you calling "plastic?" Your comment is valuable with your professional and more recent hands on experience. Still riding my 1996 Trek 5200 and it never sees ☔️ the rain. Over the years, I treat it well and did replace the fork with a Ritchey Comp with aluminum steerer. It is going great, no frame issues thankfully. I look for them.

[@rollinrat4850]

@@IronHorsey3 If your bike is old enough to have been US produced, you are quite fortunate. There is only one reason, most bikes are produced in Asia now. It's got nothing to do with lowering prices for consumers, this should be obvious by now, but it's not. I can obtain and afford the highest end bikes and get them at cost thru my company. There's only one brand I'd ever consider. I don't dream about any of this stuff. I'm willing to pay full price for custom built frames from guys I know and ride with. US or Japanese built metal is mostly what I ride. Ive repaired and assembled all my bikes, frame up since I was a broke kid. Ive built custom wheels in my small garage business for over 30 years. I'm learning to braze, weld and build frames on my own. In my opinion DIY has the greatest potential for the best value because nobody else can possibly give a shit like the end user! Plastic bike junk is also known as 'carpet fiber'. I'm being purposely sarcastic. Many unknowing consumers never consider the failure mode of carbon as it relates to everyday, real world cyclists. They just pay attention and are impressed by marketing BS, often known as, lies. Ive seen lots of plastic frames fail from merely falling over or innocent little get offs that might just scratch the paint on a metal bike. We also regularly replace plastic forks suffering from the 'ring of death'. A very serious, very real safety issue, that can often be easily avoided by maintenance and inspection. No sarcasm here! I couldn't be more serious about this issue. It can be a ticking time bomb...... Ironically, as I've said, I've seen 'plastic' fail often under every day average cyclists. Far more often than good quality metal bikes. I can recognize quslity in carbon layups. Ive cut up broken plastic bike junk. I'm not impressed by all sorts of quality issues in the bike industry! Almost all my bikes are more than 15 years old, all ridden offroad, even my roadies. I'm not always particularly nice to my bikes. But I care for them. They are tools to be used. Wrenching on bikes daily, I get my hands dirty on thousands of bikes every year. I also deal with numerous warranties, recalls and all sorts of engineering, design, QC and assembly issues. These effect every single aspect of bicycles. The larger bike industry often ashames me, but incidentally, it JOB SECURITY! Consider that 'high end' overpriced plastic production bikes are often 'renowned' for their light weight. Everything on race bikes are compromised for light weight. They're also designed for pro racers. Weird physiologically gifted 'humans', dedicating their lives to their sport. These individuals are more skilled on a bike than most folks will ever know. These folks rarely weigh over 80 kilos if they're to be competitive. They get free bikes every year, break them regularly in crashes and get em replaced. These riders are accustomed to and expect to crash. They also have paid mechanics to take care of them.

[@rollinrat4850]

@FITNESSOVER45 Learn about the 'ring of death' on carbon fork steerers. We find this on a regular basis, especially on neglected bikes. The 'ring of death' is an indentation in the steerer tube where the bearing upper race sits. It's a literal time bomb! The way to avoid it is to keep your headset perfectly adjusted, make sure your head tube is properly prepped, faced and reamed for perfect function. The fork's crown race seat must be milled for proper function. On older metal bikes various frame prep steps was a normal procedure when assembling a bike properly and it's a common sense practice. Now with modern plastic frames, you simply can't do these things, nor 'cold set' a new frame slightly out of alignment. Also overhaul your headset on a very regular basis so you can inspect the steerer tube. Dont ignore those hidden bearings until they separate and fall apart. Loose, worn out or poorly adjusted headsets are what often causes the problem. This is ALL a VERY serious issue! Also your stem bolts must be clamping fully on the expander plug inserted into the steerer tube. You can get longer expander plugs and or it might be an issue with various stem and spacer arrangements. Never use more than 50mm of spacers on a carbon steerer. But if you are, you're privdnky riding the wrong frame. These issues can cause too much load on the steerer and SERIOUS potential failure. ANYTHING connected to the front of a bicycle is a potential safety issue. Remember also that carbon has a catastrophic failure mode, it cracks or literally falls apart. Opposed to steel, which generally simply dents or bends in a hard impact. I've run head on into large obstacles (like cars and trees and my steel forks only bent. Marketing BS tells us carbon is ultra strong and it certainly 'can be'. But they never discuss failure modes, poor assembly, maintenance, not to mention their own compromised, greedy manufacturing. The things I've personally built with carbon were insanely expensive due to real engineering, proper manufacturing and QUALITY ASSURANCE. Human life and or huge amounts of capital relied upon professional procedure. Ironically HUMANS also rely on supposedly safe bikes. I've cut apart damaged carbon bike components, frames and forks. I see voids, poor lay ups and loose ends very often. QC is an overpriced, inconvenient joke in the larger bike industry and it doesn't matter what your widget cost! I worked in a carbon only fab shop building satellite and aerospace components. All through my career, Ive helped build some of the highest quality hardware on this planet. Nobody's fooling me! I Don't know about that particular Cinelli model. Back in the day ('70s-'90s) Cinelli was one of the finer bikes you could get. Hand built, lugged and brazed. Dave Stoler in the classic '70s cycling movie 'Breaking Away' rode a Cinelli or perhaps a Masi. I forget. Greg Lemond's first race bike was a Cinelli I think. Early as a road racer and tourist, I rode high end British made Reynolds 531 frames. I had one Columbus SL cyclocross frame built by an Euro pro racer. This frame was raced hard on the Euro 'cross circuit before I got it. I set it up as a fixed gear 'cross bike and hammered it on rocky singletrack near my home until it finally cracked at the headtube lug. More fun than should be legal! For the last several decades, I want to use a builder I know personally, who's local to me. In my opinion, as a source inspector and pro bike mechanic, this is ultra important. The larger production bike industry (made in Asia) simply ashames me. They take no pride in their work, but they'll surely take your freakin money! QC is practically non existent and it's very obvious to a professional eye. I can buy a custom steel frame (made to my exact spec) for less than a high end production plastic frame that's compromised for profit in numerous aspects. My metal frames have lasted decades after lots of off-road abuse, 'underbiking' and plenty of crashes. I've ridden steel road racing bikes off-road since before most people ever heard of an MTB. I'm not particularly nice to my bikes and I love to explore a new dirt road or trail. I don't race much any longer and I'm not stupid enough to be a weight weenie. Nor do I obsess over watts or aerodynamic gains. I just want to ride all day or longer and enjoy myself. I'm not in any particular hurry, but rides with buddies often get competitive. We try to cause each other suffering to see who will start whining first. Ive wrenched on a few modern Cinelli fixies and road bikes. They have flashy paint jobs and the TIG welding isn't very impressive. it's very obvious they're no longer the handmade, made in Italy masterpieces they once were. Most of the Cinellis I've seen recently are obviously made in Asia. Compromised for profit with a flashy paint job to attract the 'suckers born every minute'. That name seems to impress people though! Our UPS driver is also our customer. His wife has a very rare, modern handmade steel Cinelli that was built in their custom factory in Italy. It took them over a year to get it, which is not uncommon for a frame built by a master. These sort of guys are highly sought after. I got to build it with 11 speed Dura Ace. I built the custom wheels for it too. It's a beautiful bike, but costing over $3k just for the frame and fork about a decade ago. In my opinion that's not just a little excessive. A couple of my riding buddies built my several frames that have lasted for decades. I've never paid more than $2k for a custom frame and I got EXACTLY what I wanted from guys I know well and trust with my life. I'd only hire someone whose hand I can shake and be able to witness the process personally. Now I'm learning to DIY with their help. I help them with various machining projects and fixturing. I love to barter and trade services. I got my nicest frame for building one guy a fancy new frame jig. So far I've built some steel forks and stems. I'm practicing before I splurge on a very thin Japanese made Kasei tubeset. I like fillet brazing for the low heat aspects on thin steel tubing. Also frame geometry isn't restricted by the lugs, so you can customize geometry a lot more with fillet brazing. It much cheaper to DIY, but it's a lot of tedious work. You need to invest in tools and machinery too. Certainly a labor of love. I'm only going to do this for family, myself and very particular friends. The end results so far have been incredibly satisfying. I've got master craftsmen for teachers!

[@rollinrat4850]

@FITNESSOVER45 I hear this often. "My bike has worked just fine for all this time, never needed to fix anything" That's good to hear, yet over a thousand bicycles go through my bike stand every year. I've been messing around with bicycles for over 50 years. I see trends, I see problems. The bike industry is almost all corporate now. They're interested in profit. They don't give a shit about their customers. It's shameful. I witnessed the change to Asian manufacturing over several decades. I see proprietary parts and guaranteed obsolescence. That's justified by 'always the upgrade'. I know what Eddy Merckx had to say about 'upgrades'! I deal with constant recalls and warranties. That's just more job security for us! I can also precision inspect, measure, prove and discover various quality issues related to bicycles on a much higher level than most experienced bike mechanics due to my career experience. Have you overhauled your headset? Inspected your fork steerer? Cheap carbon is the worst. Cheap steel will always last longer. Believe it or not. It's your life and your money. LEARN about the 'ring of death'. I couldn't be more serious about this. Don't take your bearings or ANY safety aspect for granted either.

[@Craigwdlr]

Can you give us recommended nm ratings for stem headset etc

[@rollinrat4850]

5-6nm. Often it's marked on the stem in small print. Unless the stem states otherwise, make sure the gaps on the h'bar clamp are even, top and and bottom. On plastic steerers or h'bars, use carbon paste. Its like vasoline with sand mixed in.

[@SinnerSince1962]

An old car never threatened to throw me out of the car and slam me on the ground at 30MPH. :)

[@dennisduran8500]

Can a NOS frame from the 90s that's been sitting on the shelf all these years degrade?

[@Nonexistanthuman]

Technically yes due to oxygen along with how much humidity is in the air.

[@ShadowzKiller]

What about older aluminum bike frames? They do not use resin so what should I look out for?

[@LuescherTeknik]

They will crack from fatigue.

[@ShadowzKiller]

@@LuescherTeknik Thanks for your prompt reply. I have read that aluminum frames last 5 to 10 years or a lifetime. These two outlooks are very different. Assuming one takes good care of the frame, which outlook is more likely?

[@allwaysinquire6212]

Got a set of Easton ec90 forks must be 12years old what do I need to look for safety wise? Plus also have a set of spinegy Carbon wheels with alloy rim what to look for with these?

[@LuescherTeknik]

I would recommend that you discontinue use of both these items.

[@allwaysinquire6212]

@@LuescherTeknik whoa are they that bad? The bike has not done that many miles over those 12 years .

[@allwaysinquire6212]

Scrub that they are ec70 forks and also ec70 post. The wheels are spinegy stealth with stainless steel spokes the deep dish ones with alloy brake surface. I be far they have done very little ks less than 5000km has done less 300k in last 6 year

[@LuescherTeknik]

I would need to assess them here to know more on if they are damaged or not. Having said that I have seen the older parts fail due to break down of the resin and also growth of flaws over time. The Spinergy wheels with metal spokes were more reliable than the full carbon ones, I would not use the old full carbon ones.

[@allwaysinquire6212]

Luescher Teknik would love to have you look at them but I am in the uk. This really puts me off buying a second hand carbon anything ,as it seems there's no way of knowing if what your buying is a lemon! Is there going to be a massive problem with carbon parts in land full due it it being so fragile and its lack of recyclability ?

[@gpurkeljc]

My ten year old Look 595 Ultra is still going strong. ☺

[@zygmuntthecacaokakistocrat6589]

Gary Purkeljc apart from that stress riser under the paint somewhere …

[@Megadeth6633]

Mine failed 2 months ago. Can't complain though. It had a million kilometers and abused it like it deserved to be.

[@nikolaosstavrou5327]

Hi I had a bad crash on sunday , 4 broken ribs and a concunsion ,anyways the bike is a issaac pascal 2008 monocote frame .I cant find a crack nowhere on the frame , what do you suggest to do ,scrap the frame or send it for inspection? Thanks in advance.

[@LuescherTeknik]

Sorry to hear about your crash. Probably worth an inspection, maybe your body took the worst of the impact and saved the frame.

[@nikolaosstavrou5327]

Thank you .

[@fernandocycling9662]

that would be better the frame had took the impact than a cyclist got hurts.

[@LuescherTeknik]

@@fernandocycling9662 of course, but it doesn't always go like that unfortunately.

[@nikolaosstavrou5327]

I agree, me and my ribs!

[@macgrooven]

Shouldn’t that be covered by warranty? I would assume that voids would be viewed as a manufacturing defect.

[@jerryyoung6494]

macgrooven if he is the original owner. If not then they won’t cover it. I had a problem with an older trek but original shop is gone new dealer said without original receipt I was out of luck. I don’t remember option on registering the bike in 1998.

[@kitten-inside]

You know the "lifetime" frame warranty? It rarely actually is.

[@uhurupeak2001]

thre only only best bikes in early 2000 were giant tcr composite a have to be as collector as first slooping bike good climber but stiffer need time to enjoy it , scott CR1 awsome bike and probably the best bike in 2005 look 585 team a toy very easy to use in climb those 3 were the top of the bike with time vxr afetr cannondale came with tghe supersix.. trek is a good value but without personnality the oclv 5500 in 95 96 was a blast but the shape of the frame is old style and not focus climbing. few other mythic frame were bmc slc01 or one of my dream the orca from orbea. Colnago and pinarello have not done interesting bike at this time or perhaps the specialized roubaix with gel insert

[@IronHorsey3]

Have a 96 Trek 5200. Reliable and beautiful. Couldn't understand most of what you wrote. Is English your second language?

[@glennoc8585]

Hard to believe that that frame is that old really the design from trek was very good back then pity about the quality.

[@willhiggs3726]

Loose fork = crack somewhere in fork/steerer/crown. Don't forget about the adhesive bonding (or lack thereof) between the crown and steerer.

[@reginaldscot165]

So how often should you replace your carbon bike?

[@niniengineering]

Reginald Scot, that’s an interesting question. I heard aluminium frames every 5 years and handlebars every year... is that correct?

[@AdrianCerps]

Isn't that a bit over the top?

[@niniengineering]

That’s only what i heard, I’m not sure if i believe that.

[@craigan68]

What a load of bull! People are still riding alloy bars from the 60s!

[@pedallinraw]

I’m riding a 2008 Giant tcr no problem 🙂

[@thenotoriousrvh6091]

Still riding my 2001 Trek 5200 no worries. I did check out a new domane and noticed how much thinner the tubes felt (carbon layers?) could squeeze them in with fingers, the 5200 tubing feels like it has thicker layers can't squeeze these tubes. IDK ride it till it breaks is my moto. Great info but your scaring the hell outta folks lol.

[@Megadeth6633]

Cyber Trucker Road Show carbon will fail. I mean it's just a matter of time. We're talking about a 20yr old frame! I say keep the bike if you love it. I understand because I don't sell my frames. But I'd get a new one if I were you for most of my rides...

[@IronHorsey3]

1996 Trek 5200,going strong. Did replace the original fork for safety. They say that OCLV was over engineered for strength. The Trek Domane is sexy but those thinner tubes don't last? 🤔

[@thenotoriousrvh6091]

@@IronHorsey3 I'd replaced my fork as well but for a lighter Reynolds full carbon. That and a few other full carbon upgrades the bike weighs in just over 7.5kg. I did sell it 6mos ago to someone who is getting to ride it more than I have lately. He loves it ! We made a deal if he gets tired of it, it comes back to me.

[@Jose__Manuel]

Hello master, I have a question for you, what is your opinion about specialized frame tarmac Sl4 2019 that is not sold to 2020? Thanks. this is the bike: www.specialized.com/es/es/mens-tarmac-sl4-sport/p/157772 Please I wait yor answer, it means a lot to me. Best regards.

[@Combat556]

Now I’m a bit worried about my 10 year old full carbon LeMond (build by Trek).

[@rollinrat4850]

Either learn to DIY and carefully inspect it or hire a professional to overhaul your bike and carefully inspect your plastic parts. The US made Treks seem pretty good. I haven't seen many fail in the shop. That's sorta anecdotal though. Make SURE your headset is always adjusted properly! Overhaul your headset at least yearly, learn to inspect your steerer tube for the 'ring of death'. A very common problem with plastic steerers suffering from loose headsets. THIS is no joke. It can be a ticking time bomb. If you don't want to worry any longer, metal is better. Steel is real. Metal fails in a recognizable, generally non catastrophic manner. Its pretty obvious and there's fair warning if your frame/fork are damaged. For what it's worth, in 50 years of hardcore cycling I've seen only a very few metal bikes fail from fatigue. In 7 short years wrenching in a shop I've seen dozens of high end plastic frames and forks relegated to the dumpster. Carbon has a failure mode that can cause catastrophic failure. Ultra light race bike are compromised for weight and marketing BS above all else. I believe this is either telling or ironic. Not sure which.

[@Combat556]

@@rollinrat4850 thank you for the valuable information. I appreciate it very much.

[@garybird8646]

Lifetime warranty for original owner, keep your receipt folks!

[@mikecounsell]

Can you please do a video on what to look out for in older women too. Like prolapses, bad teeth, hair loss. My misses has a v nasty crack mate so I've got some experience... 😎

[@billytscherne4643]

Rusty steel bikes keep on ticking ....

[@johnm91326]

Guess you didn't listen around 8:10.

[@bradsanders6954]

As bitchin as carbon is,and for sure its the thing to use now..............I can buy a 16.7 lb Reynolds 853 bike for about 2400.00 with the latest good shimano stuff,good wheels,etc....no worries about carbon aging out or shit production issues. It surpirses me they can bring a steel bike it in at that weight and price. But they do

[@dr10501]

That is pretty alarming that a well known and trusted brand has such bad construction technique and material choice

[@stuartandrew9091]

I'm not flying anywhere if I go to Africa

[@PInk77W1]

I ride SEVEN Ti I ride MOOTS Ti I ride TITUS Ti All 4 of my bikes have Reynolds ouzo forks

[@babybabybabybaby]

For every Ouzo fork that looks like the one in this video, I’d wager there are a hundred+ that look perfectly fine and road-worthy. The key takeaway for me isn’t “old carbon will kill you therefore you must buy a new fork after every ride,” but rather, “inspect your older frames and forks regularly for signs of damage.” And despite all the ink spilled over catastrophic failures of carbon parts, in the vast majority of cases a failing part will crack/exhibit ‘softness’ rather than instantly disintegrate under you and throw your face at the pavement-as evidenced by the frames and forks shown here, which likely had accrued many miles AFTER those worrisome signs appeared. In keeping with the old car analogy, older bikes can be perfectly safe to ride-they just require a bit more diligence in their upkeep.

[@schoebelski6602]

Ok, I will not get on African airplanes anymore.

[@SinnerSince1962]

Insidecarbonbikes is to carbon fiber bikes as the Corona virus is to health. Scary.

[@danielhertercasagrande1686]

a pity that you are on the other side of the world

[@Euronymph]

Your content is getting really repetitive...

[@zygmuntthecacaokakistocrat6589]

Dru Jones how much difference is there in cf bikes? If you know what to look and listen for, i.e. have some type of clue about bike maintenance, there’s little nuggets of info in each video.

[@Spiraculumvitae]

What do you want? A reality on bikes?