You seem to be mocking my approach. That's up to you, I suppose we all have different perspectives on how to prepare.slowster wrote: ↑6 Apr 2021, 6:12pm Surly's new Disc Trucker requires thru axle hubs. If others follow where they lead (and they might be forced to if Shimano discontinue more of their traditional QR hub models), people with a lifetime's stock of spare hubs might find that they should also have bought some spare frames as well.
In fact when you also consider the reduction in choice of rims for rim braked bikes etc., maybe to be on the safe side they should buy some spare bikes. Eventually when they go on tour, if they have a major breakdown no bike shop will have suitable replacement parts anymore. So for touring they will also need a trailer on which they can carry a spare bike.
The "I might break down on tour so must have every spare with me" scenario you posit isn't really one I'm concerned about.
It's simpler than that.
In a few years high quality Shimano 9 speed derailleurs, for instance, could well be difficult to source. But not for me. I've got 3 XT RD-M772s on the shelf, two decent nick used, one NOS. So if my current RD fails, I reach up and 15 minutes later I'm cycling again.
I found that going to pre-NSSLR levers vastly improved the braking with my BB7s. The levers in question being Ultegra ST-6510s. That's not a current model, so I bought a spare pair. I also keep my eyes open for 105 and Tiagra shifters from the same era, as they seem to be compatible. If I crash and one of my shifters is broken, I can replace it the very same day with one off the shelf. That's my shelf.
In both those cases I don't have to mess around sourcing replacements for out-of-production components. And in both those cases when I come to the end of my cycling I'll have stuff I may well be able to sell.
Another positive to my approach is that I can have different bikes kitted out, to some extent, with compatible components. So the "spare" might not be on the shelf, but on a bike. This bike is a traditional tourer, in triple 9 speed. Shimano nine speed rear derailleurs are compatible across road and MTB. The Ultegra 6510s (and the matching 105 and Tiagra shifters) are dual double/triple, and that feature was something that made 6510s a conscious choice for me. Having a decent stock of that mix of drivetrain components gives me the option to knock up a faster lighter double bike. Or even a 1 x 9. Or a flat bar MTB. Or whatever. Using some of the components I already have in the "spares box".
Obviously the rather hyperbolic scenario you paint is possible. Anything is. And there is a limit to how much one can guard against potential component wear or failure. But my approach isn't preparing for any possible situation, it is preparing for quite foreseeable ones. I don't think that "this component works the way I want it to, I'll buy another one as a spare", is a particularly ridiculous approach.
So you may find my approach silly, but I have read enough forum posts, where people have struggled to find a replacement for a broken component and sometimes been forced to change many components they didn't need to, to believe that what I'm doing makes sense. It may not to you, but it does to me.
