Am I a bad bad person?

[Milkfloat]

Ever thought that you lot are just bunch of moaning old men stuck in the past? You will be complaining about that new fangled pop music next.

 

[Blue Hills]

Ever thought that you lot are just bunch of moaning old men stuck in the past? You will be complaining about that new fangled pop music next.

who's moaning?
anything but.

 

[Paulus]

when i got into cycling I subscribed for several years - used to really look forward to it dropping through the letter box and as a self employed consultant would quite often sit down to hungrily devour it when I should have been working - I still have the bound copies - but gave up after it became focussed on the latest wonder machine/device I was supposed to be buying. It used to be a very broadly based mag. For cyclists.

Same here, I subscribed for over 15 years until I realised that it had left me behind in the latest technology and what to buy stakes.

 

[roley poley]

keeping it simple works for me ,any new starter is dazzled by technoporn when all they need is simple utility

 

[BalkanExpress]

But one person's simple is another's complicated.

I would fully agree with @Drago on staying clear of electronics (except lights) but my lack of mechanical skills means that I even consider bar tape as a clever engineering solution: as a consequence so I have to "complicated" on a regular basis

 

[weareHKR]

Must admit, at some point, I would like to try disc brakes, but disc brakes on a bicycle.... why?
Fair enough the old canties can be a tad hit & miss but V brakes are very capable.... even when wet!

 

[a.twiddler]

I concur with what @Bluehills said. I sometimes follow threads about stuff I've never heard of having problems I wouldn't have a clue how to fix and wonder what was the issue it was designed to solve in the first place? Every product has to have its test pilot to take the financial hit until it's refined and becomes mainstream or falls by the wayside. Someone had to try disc brakes when they first came out, LED lights, tubeless tyres etc and they are mainstream now. Then old farts like me get to enjoy the benefits (well, not been motivated to try tubeless yet).

But on the whole, I must be a bad bad person because I too like to keep it simple without too much complication, or involvement of electronics. I must be a bit Old Skool in that way. I always think, "could I fix it at the roadside, or at least bodge it so I could get home?" Maybe I'm even a Badass, if only a tiny bit.

 

[Blue Hills]

Must admit, at some point, I would like to try disc brakes, but disc brakes on a bicycle.... why?
Fair enough the old canties can be a tad hit & miss but V brakes are very capable.... even when wet!

I find v brakes a wonder, even tho i was a bit slow to really appreciate them. Can be fitted from scratch pretty easily even by the likes of me, cheap, simple quality - all of shimanos various V brake bits whatever the branding are good quality, spares of everything including generic easily available, have often seen in foreign supermarkets. Billions must have been made. Even if global production stopped this teatime there would be no problem getting bits for decades.

 

[HMS_Dave]

I have great interest in technology and my job is quite "techy" but i have no interest in turning my bike into a data mining machine. Not against people that do either. I just like to view my cycling as a disconnect from it all.

 

[DCBassman]

Then I'm bad, bad too. Simple always better, wherever possible. I even keep pondering going down to just one simple bike...

 

[Arrowfoot]

In the world of cycling, there are 3 brands that can stand up and be proud of themselves. Shimano, Campagnolo and Sram. This is pure engineering. If something goes wrong, you can tell straight away.

The frame markers however are heavy into hype and marketing and leading the charge are 3 well known North American Brands. Helping them are cycle media running magic carpet reviews. As of late the proliferation of irrelevant R&D data is not only in the official product brochures and websites but also in the cycling media. One American brand was plagued with creaky bottom bracket for years but the favourable reviews continued.

For ride comfort, it's the wheels, tires, saddle, bike fit and geometry first and foremost. And geometry is pretty much identical for all bikes for the same use ie road, mountain etc

Aeronautics is one particular favourite area of the hype. The main areas of drag are rider's weight, rider's posture, the front wheels and the helmet. The frame comes a distinct 5th. The frame will make a difference for top end TT guys but not for 99.9% of us.

Yes, keep it simple as it cover 95% of your biking needs.

 

[fossyant]

Luddites the lot of you !

 

[simongt]

We subscribed to Cyling + for several years, but when it was obviously geared up for roadies and their passion for fancy clobber, we stopped. There was a really good mag in the late '90's; 'On Your Bike' for a while which concentrated on general cycling and was very good. Trouble was it didn't sell enough, was taked over by some MTB nuts and then disappeaed without trace.

 

[Lovacott]

Now this is a bit of topic, I have nothing against Di2 and if you want one why not.

Call me old fashioned, but I've always seen the bike as being a purely mechanical way of getting from A to B and the introduction of electronics seems a move away from that?

 

[Lovacott]

Ever thought that you lot are just bunch of moaning old men stuck in the past? You will be complaining about that new fangled pop music next.

I listen to modern music I'll have you know. That Fleetwood Mac lot are pretty good.