Bend in the Road: The end of the road bike (Bike Radar Article)
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Gravity Aided
Legendary Member
- Location
- Land of Lincoln
I still have a Sekai 1000 in my size from the 70's, upgraded to a 1500 with downtube shifting and still with all original components from the 1500 my sister had until she hit the back end of a car with it, causing the head tube to beat a hasty retreat about a half-inch. She got a new bike and I got salvage rights.
S.Giles
Guest
Yes, and it's not only the case for bicycles. Cheap acoustic guitars (for example) are incredibly good these days. I would guess that it is the combination of CAD/CAM, cheap offshore labour, increased customer expectations, better technology, etc that has made this possible.
Those daft little things that didn't actually do anything?
GrumpyGregry
Here for rides.
and old musso joke...
What is the difference between a Fender 'Made in Mexico' Jazz Bass and a Fender 'Made in the USA' Jazz Bass?
I don't know! What is the difference between a Fender 'Made in Mexico' Jazz Bass and a Fender 'Made in the USA' Jazz Bass?
The difference, dude is huge. The former is made by Mexicans in Mexico and the latter is made by Mexicans in the USA.
Shadow
member
- Location
- edge of the south downs
If I ride my 'road' bike off-road, is it no longer a 'road' bike?
Alternatively, if I ride my 'off-road' bike on the road, is it a 'road' bike?
Alternatively, if I ride my 'off-road' bike on the road, is it a 'road' bike?
GrumpyGregry
Here for rides.
First bass I had, an Encore. You couldn't play it above the 8th/9th fret. The frets were basically recessed from there on up.
GrumpyGregry
Here for rides.
S.Giles
Guest
Things have changed. I was helping a friend purchase an acoustic guitar a few years ago. We tried several, including a $$ Martin, and a £110 'Vintage' V300. The Vintage sounded as good (or better) than the Martin, and so that's what we ended-up getting.
Learning to adjust truss-rods can help make a difficult-to-play guitar playable again.
GrumpyGregry
Here for rides.
Only if it was ever playable in the first place
I loved the Bike Radar article - particuarly the bits like this one:
“For example, you can buy a Domane in the Koppenberg with full race wheels and at the UCI minimum weight, or you can buy a Domane with Endurance Geometry,” said Trek’s Michael Mayer. “Or you can buy an Émonda in a H2 geometry and put on really big tyres for gravel — this is what I am racing at Dairy Roubaix — or buy an Émonda H1 with 23mm tyres for a great riding race bike."
Or you could opportunistically buy something off ebay for a tenth of the price and have a cracking time exploring its limits by just getting out there and giving it some stick. That would be a good option too. Probably nothing reveals the enormous gap btween what bike companies want to sell to riders and what most riders want from a bike company than asking someone from a bike company to talk about the slim differences betwen their bikes.
Surely this will end in the entire global cycle industry vanishing up its own bum, leaving behind nothing but a battered black roadster with 3 speed hub gears...
“For example, you can buy a Domane in the Koppenberg with full race wheels and at the UCI minimum weight, or you can buy a Domane with Endurance Geometry,” said Trek’s Michael Mayer. “Or you can buy an Émonda in a H2 geometry and put on really big tyres for gravel — this is what I am racing at Dairy Roubaix — or buy an Émonda H1 with 23mm tyres for a great riding race bike."
Or you could opportunistically buy something off ebay for a tenth of the price and have a cracking time exploring its limits by just getting out there and giving it some stick. That would be a good option too. Probably nothing reveals the enormous gap btween what bike companies want to sell to riders and what most riders want from a bike company than asking someone from a bike company to talk about the slim differences betwen their bikes.
Surely this will end in the entire global cycle industry vanishing up its own bum, leaving behind nothing but a battered black roadster with 3 speed hub gears...
S.Giles
Guest
I have a feeling that 90% of the global cycle industry is more concerned with churning out affordable transport for millions of far-east customers to ride to work on.
Production of fancy, expensive bikes for rich westerners to ride on a Sunday afternoon is probably a comparatively small niche.
Edit:- Some amusingly nonsensical purple-prose copied from the above link (thanks Goldie):
"Blisteringly quick, tough and user-friendly XC wheels with serious stealth appeal." - £870
"Versatile hoops designed with an eye on the future." - £1060
I'm so glad I'm immune to this kind of marketing BS.
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Gravity Aided
Legendary Member
- Location
- Land of Lincoln
Gad, I hope the three speed hub is a Sturmey-Archer.
The only thing wrong with current road bike market is that the wheel size selection is to limitted. With only 700c and 650c, what about the people who could benefit from an in-betweeny size.
A new-fangled wheel size (maybe dredge up an obscure old size) would shake up the market and we would all need to buy new bikes,
It works for MTBs.
A new-fangled wheel size (maybe dredge up an obscure old size) would shake up the market and we would all need to buy new bikes,
It works for MTBs.
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GrumpyGregry
Here for rides.
Still riding my three 26" wheel mtb's. I've tried various 29-ers, and I'm the target demographic at six-two, they're great, but not so much better that I'd buy a new bike to ride 'em. I like sitting on an mtb and not in it, I guess.
