Buy it for life cycling tech - The antidote to Black Friday

(Image credit: Will Jones)

You know how your grandparents would always say “things were made to last in my day!”? Well, with planned obsolescence baked into the world of electronic goods they certainly were right when it comes to phones, fridges, and cars. Bike tech doesn't necessarily suffer from the same problems that cause your phone to die right after the warranty expires, but there is certainly an element of throwaway culture in the industry. Having the latest tech every year necessitates getting rid of the old tech, and while you can sell it to reduce the amount of waste, you are still consuming resources and spending money.

What if there was another way? There is a large community around the concept of Buy It For Life, where followers try to consciously consume things that will last, if not a full lifetime, at least significantly longer than the competition. The list below is what we here at Cyclingnews could reasonably constitute Buy It For Life cycling tech.

Naturally, some products are high-end, such is often the nature of quality construction, and we recognise to be able to afford such things is a privilege not afforded to everyone, so we’re not going to preach the old “buy cheap, buy twice” adage given we're in a cost of living crisis. That being said there are also plenty of options that are cheaper or an equivalent price to the competition.

Aficionados of steel bikes will claim a special ride quality, though this is as much down to design, and alloy and butting profiles as much as anything intrinsic to the material itself. Irrespective of any #Steelisreal claims, it does have a longevity that can only really be bettered by titanium. Aluminium and carbon both reach an end point in their service life. Why, then, would we recommend a steel frame which will rust over a titanium one that won't? Firstly it comes down to cost; steel will be significantly cheaper than a titanium equivalent, and providing you look after the frame the steel bike will easily last a lifetime. Steel bikes can also be fitted (either stock or brazed on later) with downtube shifter bosses.

These bosses don’t necessarily need to be used and can be utilised as cable guides if you decide to use shifters at the bars, but it allows the use should you require of an absolutely failsafe shifting system which will run happily for decades. Finally, although titanium can be repaired, it is significantly more difficult and there is a smaller network of competent frame builders. Steel on the other hand can be fixed easily, with whole tubes able to be replaced in the event of a crash, keeping your investment going even after the worst has happened.

There’s a reason you see so many students riding bikes with downtube shifters; they’re nearly impossible to break, no matter how much the bike is neglected. They are also generally extremely cheap, and compatible with anything from two to twelve-speed, though they generally work best for nine-speed and below. There’s an art to the shifting for sure, but you’ll have a lifetime to master it.

All the marketing around Kryptonite locks is very New York. Tough, gritty, urban environments beset with bike thieves who’ll stop at nothing to steal your pride and joy. While I am unaware of how many thieves my own Kryptonite lock has deterred it has been a constant companion for my commutes and city riding for longer than I care to remember, and is only showing cosmetic wear; the lock mechanism is still buttery smooth. It's no great surprise that Kryptonite locks feature in our list of the best bike locks.

Before people started referring to them as ‘leather saddles’ they were simply ‘saddles’, and saddles of the Brooks style adorned the majority of bikes from Tour de France racers to classic British three-speed commuter machines. Brooks is certainly the biggest name in leather saddles nowadays, and while with enough use you will eventually break it in beyond any more reasonable use, they will also endure many years of hard use and only ever get more comfortable as the leather slowly forms to the contours of your rear end. It’s not uncommon to see decades-old models still going strong with a heavy sag. There is a weight penalty, and while its leather models don’t currently feature on our list of the best road bike saddles or the best gravel bike saddles they are still exceptional performers in the right context, and if comfort is your key consideration, just bear in mind they do require re-tensioning periodically (a five minute easy job).

Where leather can also really shine is in the world of bar tape. Even the most resistant black synthetic tape begins to look tatty after a season and loses its properties, whereas leather tape will last for years and look better with age too as it takes on a unique patina. It is not vegan, though vegan leather options are available, making the switch could save you the cost of at least five rolls of standard tape, along with the waste that would entail.

Another British classic, and staple of the lightweight cycle tourist. Carradice saddlebags are still made in Nelson, near Manchester, and its canvas models are near-indestructible. The classic range, with bucolic names like ‘Barley’ and ‘Nelson’, are constructed from cotton duck, a hardy waxed canvas that, on contact with water, swells up and seals any holes in the structure, rendering it extremely waterproof. I own four Carradice bags and have used them in some really atrocious conditions and they have kept my belongings bone dry.

What’s more, being canvas the bags are easily reparable with a needle and thread, can have patches added, and can be easily re-waxed should they lose their lustre. They work best with saddles with loops such as those from Brooks but can be mounted on handlebars too, or aftermarket loops and specific mounting systems can be found. The two bags I use for bikepacking, a Nelson and Camper, were both bought second-hand online, rewaxed at home and are good as new despite being many years old already.

While this is billed as the antidote to Black Friday, it would be remiss of us not to point out that Carradice does have 20% off site-wide for Black Friday.

I use a nine-speed one as a thumb shifter on my mountain bike and a micro-ratchet in bar-end guise to actuate the front derailleur on my road bike. This gets some funny looks and sits somewhat at odds with the racy nature of the machine and the rest of the Ultegra groupset, but when the left-hand shifter internals broke I swapped to a more reliable, cheaper alternative and honestly can’t see myself swapping back except in the case of a total groupset overhaul.

Much like the brand identity of Kryptonite, Chrome Industries has established itself as the brand of bike messengers and urban cyclists. I’ve used its bags for many years, and while I cannot vouch for the longevity of much of the range, the key messenger bags are bombproof. My Citizen sling bag is only showing a little bit of wear and tear after eight years of hard use, including two years of daily use in all weather as a commuter bag. I’m confident the Barrage Cargo, which I’ve just started testing, will fare just as well in the durability stakes.

At a glance, cages from King Cage look very similar to other options on the market, but a combo of better materials and quality construction sets them above the competition. Both the stainless steel and titanium options will resist corrosion indefinitely and are fabricated with beautiful, tiny weld beads. If you’re looking for a slightly more elegant option then go for the iris cage; its swoopy form is not only visually pleasing but also is better for smaller frames as the bottle can be removed more easily without bending the cage outwards.

Lycra is great. It’s light, stretchy, comfortable, and breathable, but hardwearing? Not so much; you don’t see it used for any applications where durability is key. The cycling industry is as much a culprit as any other for creating a seasonal churn of new styles to promote consumption, and the fact that it’s based around a more sustainable transport option doesn’t really appease this. Our list of the best cycling jerseys is primarily synthetic, which reflects the norm for the industry.

If you want to step off the treadmill and opt for something that transcends seasonal trends then the Rapha Classic jersey is one of the best options out there. The timeless, simple style means it’s yet to look dated or out of place despite being relatively unchanged since its launch in 2004, nearly 20 years ago now. Moreover, the merino and polyester blend, while heavier than Lycra, is more durable and easier to repair too should you manage to damage it in some way.

Cable-actuated disc brakes have a bad reputation on the whole compared to their hydraulically actuated-cousins. That is, it seems, with the exception of the Klampers from Paul Component Engineering. Manufactured in-house in Chico, California this near-legendary set of stoppers is built with durability in mind as much as performance. Roller bearings in the piston mechanism as opposed to a plastic bushing negate any risk of melting due to heat build-up on long descents, and the whole brake system can be easily disassembled with common hand tools should you wish to clean and service it, though Paul himself says you probably won't ever need to.

The Boxcar Stem too, like the whole Paul range, is an in-house piece. Milled from a brick of American aerospace grade aluminium, it’s a thing of beauty, and available in many anodised colours as well as this polished option. Slightly art deco in looks, it’s built to last, and rated for MTB as well as road and gravel use. Again, it won’t be the lightest option out there, but that’s not what this list is about. The Torx bits are high-strength stainless steel, and while less common than the usual M5 or M4 Allen bolts they’re significantly less likely to round off and potentially kill your stem if you can’t drill them out.

Constructed entirely from aluminium, besides brass hardware in the valve and a replaceable leather piston gasket, the Silca Impero is probably the perfect inflationary friend to take with you forevermore. Like all the best lifetime purchases it can be disassembled for servicing and repair, and if you’re an aesthetician the aluminium construction means it can be easily colour-matched to your frame, which itself will be protected by the built-in silicone bumper and padded head and handle tips.

The freehub body too, and the mechanism behind it, are constructed to last and last. There may not be as many points of engagement as the Industry Nine Hydra, but using two opposing toothed rings rather than a ratchet and pawl system means they should last longer. The hubs you’d transfer from wheel to wheel if the rim perishes, and the headset will likely stay with you even if your bike frame moves on.

This may be controversial, but I’m going to say it nonetheless: I think square taper is the best bottom bracket system for everything up to and including gravel riding. It’s difficult to find top-quality square taper components nowadays that’ll play nicely with modern components, but it’s not impossible. This Rene Herse double is 12-speed compatible, for example, so you could easily run it with Dura-Ace, Super Record, or SRAM Red, and features the same ramps and pins as you’d find on other high-end chainrings for fast, precise shifting.

The prevailing view is that square taper is cheap, heavy, and not for performance riding. The bottom brackets themselves may be slightly heftier than say a Hollowtech II external system, and will naturally rely on you having a BSA threaded BB in most cases, but high-end square taper cranks can rival and even best their more ‘modern’ counterparts in the weight stakes, and being forged from solid aluminium they are plenty stiff enough too.

The mounting system is user-friendly, incredibly simple and foolproof, grot resistant, and repeatable; you can uninstall and reinstall the cranks a near unlimited number of times, and the taper reforms each time to form a perfect fit. I have seen the small teeth on Hollowtech II cranks round off, resulting in the need to replace the whole crankset, and while it's not impossible to round off the square taper it's not something I've seen a great deal of.

326,000km of use for a static component would be impressive, but for the main part of a drivetrain, it’s unparalleled. The Rohloff, like the Sturmy Archer, is a hub-based gear system, but unlike the Sturmy Archer the Rohloff internals sit totally immersed in an oil bath, and it offers 14 gears. For a single fit-and-forget, no-fuss shifting system the Rohloff is basically unbeatable, and, if you can afford it, it’s the ideal choice for tourers, explorers, and maintenance-free riding.

There aren’t many components that get better after the first few thousand kilometres, but that’s what it takes to bed one of these in. You’ll need a frame capable of accepting one, meaning sliding or horizontal dropouts, and they’re not really that common on anything other than the best touring bikes, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that they’re an incredibly durable piece of kit worthy of being on this list, needing only an annual oil change to keep running happily.

Even the best bike lights will run out of juice at some point. Dynamo hubs alleviate the need to charge lights by creating an on-bike power source at the front hub that can be used to power lights as well as charge electrical devices like your phone and head unit. They’re a little heavier, but with systems like the SON 24 and the SONdelux, there is only about a three-watt penalty when running the lights, which is less of a drag than a dirty drivetrain!

The SON hubs are probably the most renowned, and for good reason. While the company offers a five-year warranty these will almost certainly last a lot longer and can go for 50,000km between services (that’s the dynamo gubbins, not the bearings necessarily). Unfortunately, like most dynamo systems they are not field serviceable and so do need to be sent back to SON HQ when they need some TLC, but if you want a system that will last and last and continue to provide fuss-free power then this is the one to go for.

The lights are a little unusual - the rear is a standard red LED setup, but the front is a shaped beam much more akin to a car headlight than the usual blanket spread of illumination offered by most bike lights. It effectively only illuminates the road ahead, and won’t dazzle other road users. It takes a bit of getting used to, as you lose some peripheral light, but the focussing makes it brighter where you need it.

Yes, they’re heavy. No, they don’t offer the gear range of modern derailleur systems. They are, however, in my eyes, the ideal gearing setup for the majority of commuters. More or less entirely maintenance-free, and able to handle muck and grime with aplomb. Singlespeed sprockets, chainrings, and chains last significantly longer than their multi-speed counterparts, and you can even shift while stationary, which is surprisingly handy if a light turns red suddenly and you’re stuck in the wrong gear.

Will joined the Cyclingnews team as a reviews writer in 2022, having previously written for Cyclist, BikeRadar and Advntr. He’s tried his hand at most cycling disciplines, from the standard mix of road, gravel, and mountain bike, to the more unusual like bike polo and tracklocross. He’s made his own bike frames, covered tech news from the biggest races on the planet, and published countless premium galleries thanks to his excellent photographic eye. Also, given he doesn’t ever ride indoors he’s become a real expert on foul-weather riding gear. His collection of bikes is a real smorgasbord, with everything from vintage-style steel tourers through to superlight flat bar hill climb machines.