(08-07-2012, 10:31 PM)Bill Wrote: @xerxes As far as wheels and brakes those are well consumable items like cables. In time they go bad. Then they need replaced.
Brake blocks, certainly, I would be inclined to replace these on an old bike, they can go "off" after years of sitting around and lose their "bite". However, you can sometimes give them a bit of a refresh if you remove them and "reface" them by rubbing them on a bit of rough sandpaper laid on a flat surface. But usually aftermarket brake blocks like Koolstops are better then originals anyway:
http://www.koolstop.com/english/rim_pads.html
With regard to wheel hubs, rims and spokes, this just depends on condition and better quality ones generally last longer than the cheaper ones. Better hubs generally have seals to keep out dirt and water and better, harder, longer lasting bearing surfaces. Better rims are usually stronger, with better fisnish, eyeleted holes, thicker walls etc., but these will eventually wear with rim brakes. Better quality spokes are stainless and will not corrode like cheaper ones.
I have a set of 22 year old MTB wheels, the Shimano Deore hubs are just beginning to show wear on the bearing surfaces, the black anodised Araya RM-20 rims are still smart with plenty of "meat" on the rim walls and the stainless spokes look as good and as shiny as the day I bought the bike, with just some slight tarnishing on the brass nipples. Whereas on one of my other bikes with a newer, but lower quality set of wheels, the galvanized spokes have a dull, powdery finish, the unsealed hubs are in worse condition and rims are OK for wear, but the cheaper finish already looks quite scruffy compared to the older, but better finished Araya rims.
I've seen several bikes you've fixed up on this forum and you do a fantastic job and obviously put a lot of time and effort into it. Personally, I think that you could pick something better to start with, something more worthy of all your time and effort. I'm all for saving things from the scrap heap, but I think there are plenty of really nice bikes from the 80s and 90s out there in need of a bit of care and attention, bikes that once fixed up might last another 20 or 30 years and still be a much nicer bike than most of the stuff sold new in places like Wally World.
There's quite a scene for retro bikes here in the UK, take a look:
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/