Sadly, I've experienced the "knock out of alignment," but not with a Leica, but a Zeiss- not hard to do, the mirror is on a stalk. That was my lesson.
See, in Cleveland here, we have this time of the year called "winter." It lasts nearly 8 months some years, and is known by the freezing of the water in the roads proper, making these things called holes, and causing rough rides, in spite of carbon fiber forks.
Um... Is it just hyperbole, or would you like to discuss what's going on with the chain, current thinking, and lubricant? Chains are better made now-a-days, but the current thinking is that keeping it as clean as reasonably possible is the best approach to chain maintenance. Basically one is going to have to replace that chain every 3,000 miles or so anyway, else pay the penalty of buying new casettes and so forth. That fancy chain lube is pretty cool stuff, but doesn't like to get or stay where it can do Good Things, that is, bear the load of the tiny rollers and bushings. It gets pressed right out, and isn't like a motorcycle chain where each link has seals preventing the lubricant from leaving. Anything that leaves oil residue becomes a perfect suspension point for dust and dirt- much of that being silicon based and becomes a good grinding compound. In other words, you are damned if you lubricate, damned if you don't.
The old chains performed similarly, but were much more heavily built- they had to be, as the gearing systems were wider, and needed chains to take that load. We still sell chains like that. They last just as long as they ever did.
Bicycle technology has made long advances, but like everything else, one has to pay money to buy into it. The same old cheap stuff, out of round (and overly machine assembled) bearings are available for the same price they were in the 80's, meaning that bikes have gotten cheaper over time. On the other hand, carbon fiber forks, or rear stays, with a light frame and good shifting componentry is going to cost ya. Oh, by the way, it'll use a chain that'll suffer if you use a machine oil, just as a cheap one will...
But those are just the words of an overworked bicycle mechanic. We see lots of those $100 Wall-Mart specials come in. Impacted bearings, heavy steel wheels with loose (from the factory!) spokes, and kids that insist on using oilers on the chains (more is better!!!).
Just like cameras, spend the money now and get something that can be maintained to last, or don't and fix it all the time.
Personally, I wear a helmet to help avert a death or debilitating injury because of people that like to make right hand turns from two lanes over... With no signal. Then again, I also ride my motorcycle without one sometimes, and have had dropped the bike a couple times, grateful that my head didn't hit the pavement.
Stuff happens. The helmet law is usually enforced by our bike cops. They have been riding all day and are on heavy Police Treks- they aren't a match for a decent road bike.
