High-end equipment: durability or performance?

Recently, I’ve been riding a lot with my fellow MUcyc’ers (Melbourne Uni Cycling Club members), some of whom have very nice (and very expensive bikes) whilst others have more humble machines. I will readily admit I am a member of the former group (my Scott CR1 Pro is coming up on its second birthday). I have spent lavishly on my bike as I would rather spend money on something I enjoy immensely rather than wastefully invest it for the moment. The bike comes stock with a full Shimano Ultegra groupset, Ritchey Carbon seatpost and Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheels. Since then, I have added a Fi’zi:k Aliante saddle, numerous computers (my latest one is a Garmin Edge 500) and, most recently, a full SRAM Force groupset. I will also be adding new wheels to it soon. It’s safe to assume then that my bike is fairly high end.

However, this hasn’t stopped it from having reliability issues.

The first race I did on it was the 2008 Tour of Bright, a 2-day, 3-stage race in the Victorian Alps. The stock Hutchison rear tyre punctured then blew out on the first stage, causing me to lose 20 minutes.

I had problems with shifting the front derailleur during crits. I have since learned you NEVER use your front derailleur in crits (my next post will be a bit of vent on racing etiquette).

After being caught in the rain once on a ride, it developed a creak around the bottom bracket/crank which, no matter how many times I overhauled both, never went away.

Front derailleur performance varied wildly with the Ultegra, going from perfect one day, to unusable the next.

The rear wheel needs near-constant truing (although this may be due to my immense weight (87kg currently) rather than a design fault).

Oh and the front derailleur again. Dropped the chain more times I can count, on the outside and inside.

All these things happened despite meticulous care and maintenance on the bike. I’m not saying I’m the best mechanic in the world but I regularly clean the frame and all the components, lube the chain very often and overhaul as much as I can every 3-4 months.

I can attest to have solved some of these problems through upgrading parts:

• The SRAM Force has cured the front derailleur performance problems and the bottom bracket creak.
• I now run Continental GP4000S tyres and have barely had a puncture for almost 2 years.

This seems to indicate that a positive correlation between price and reliability doesn’t exist when it comes to bikes. During a recent group ride, this actually came up in conversation. A mate of mine, who rides a modest Alex bike with Shimano R500 wheels and full 105, waxed lyrical about how the guys with more expensive bikes spent more time next to them, figuring out what is wrong with them, rather than riding them (this same mate also got a flat last time I rode with him). He does have a valid point though. How come we pay a fortune for something that doesn't work reliably half the time?

Bike componentry has come on in leaps and bounds over the last 5 years. 9-speed turned to 10-speed and then 11-speed. Shifters are becoming more ergonomic, carbon fibre much stronger and tyres more durable. However, this blatant quest for ultimate performance is beginning to come at a cost to reliability. Chains, cassettes and chainrings are now engineered so precisely that they need to be tuned accurately to work at all. A quarter turn of a limit screw and be the difference between a chain that runs perfectly and one that jumps off whenever you shift it. It seems in our endeavour to make things perform better, we've shelved reliability.

Eventually, though, it will catch up. Shimano took forever to release Di2 to the public because of reliability issues. Likewise, it has taken Garmin a lot of time to get the software right on the Edge 500. Mavic are probably most infamous for their premature release for innovative design. Their R-SYS wheelset featured carbon spokes, a great idea. However, it has now been etched in the memory of every avid cyclist's brain of endless YouTube clips of the spokes unexpectedly exploding, leading to gratuitous crashes. A recall later (in which they offered customers a free pair of Mavic Aksium's to keep) and Mavic seem to have fixed the problem but it has damaged their reputation.

In some ways, I have to agree with my mate. However, it can almost always be put down to poor upkeep of equipment. A lot of people think that because they shelled out $X,000 on a bike, they'll never need to have it serviced. I laugh in their collective faces. If anything, the more expensive the bike is, the more time it should spend in the shop. A beautifully-running, expensive bike is a joy to ride, an expensive bike that doesn't run well can be very annoying.

Thankfully, however, there are a few (very small) things you can do in between services to keep your expensive stallion running like a dream:

1. Buy a bottle of chain lube and lube the chain about every 3rd ride. I recommend Pro-Link, its light and doesn't leave a waxy residue like some others do. Moreover, it degreases your chain and cassette whilst riding as well as lubricating. Get a rag and run your chain through it before each re-lube to get rid of excess dirt and grit.
2. Invest in a good chain cleaner and brush. I recommend Park Tool, because they make the best bike tools in the world. You pay a premium for them but they are that much better, its worth it. You can pick up a drive train cleaning set off the internet for about $50, which includes the chain cleaner, a brush and some degreaser. This should be done about once a month. Don't forget to re-lube after cleaning.
3. Get unusual/irregular noises/actions checked out by your bike mechanic. This is important. If your bike starts playing up in some way, its important to get it checked out early, before it turns into a big problem. Don't let it manifest over weeks and months because it could potentially ruin your experience on the bike.
4. Get yourself a good bike mechanic. Most are rubbish (myself included) but there is always a gem hiding away somewhere. The sign of a good mechanic is someone who will take time out to listen to your story, apply his experiences, do numerous tests to see what is wrong, call you up if anything need replacing and then do a damn good job at replacing it.
5. Don't do training rides on tubular wheels. There are a lot of people who do this, and it makes me cry. Yes, tubs do outperform clinchers in terms of cornering, acceleration and lightness but the benefits are far outweighed by the drawbacks. If you get a puncture in the middle of nowhere, you're often calling up family/friends/spouses to come and get you, something they won't appreciate. They are very expensive and difficult to replace. They are good but, seriously, keep them for the racing season!