Greatest cycling invention of the last 25 years?

[brommieinkorea]

Now you're taking me back the bike rack of my teenage years. Attached to the seat stays using a metal plate secured (almost ) with a wingnut and had two legs secured by the wheel nuts. Had a big spring with which you could try unsuccessfully to hold loads. Wobbled like hell.

I replaced it with a Karrimor rack circa 1979 that was brilliant but probably cost as much as the rest of the bike and which I still have in my garage.

I think those things with the giant clipboard clip were made or licensed by Pletscher, and you can still get them. They could hold a basketball, football etc without a net . The junkier your bike, the better the thing fit, coulda been the hose clamps and wire that held anything to my bike in those days though.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Now you're taking me back the bike rack of my teenage years. Attached to the seat stays using a metal plate secured (almost ) with a wingnut and had two legs secured by the wheel nuts. Had a big spring with which you could try unsuccessfully to hold loads. Wobbled like hell.

I replaced it with a Karrimor rack circa 1979 that was brilliant but probably cost as much as the rest of the bike and which I still have in my garage.

I used to play the Euphonium. Took it to school held in place with that springed clamp. What fun!

 

[Sharky]

So, everybody's missed it, imo. The greatest cycling invention of the last 25 years are seats with great big holes in them.

Patented in 2012/13:

BICYCLE SADDLE​

The real breakthrough in saddle development came in the 60's, with the non leather, plastic Unicanitor saddle. This was the ancestor of all modern saddles.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I used to play the Euphonium. Took it to school held in place with that springed clamp. What fun!

I remember running up and down a local main road dodging the traffic and gathering pieces of paper after my spring rack failed to retain whatever bag I was using to transport my school stuff, releasing my A level chemistry notes to the four winds.

 

[PatrickPending]

Not even mentioned, far and away the best is lights: LEDs and lithium batteries. It's not even close.

GPS can be very useful.

The rest is mere frippery.

Oh yes - I remember those old ever ready lights and massive d cells - having to change the bulbs.....oh and dynamo bottles on the front wheel....... the good old days of cycling haha

 

[Shut Up Legs]

GPS computers are a pretty good invention, and definitely fit in the 25 year time frame. My first bicycle "trip counter" did one thing only: it measured distance like an odometer, via a ratchet type mechanism that got turned by the front wheel spokes. It was very, very basic. With GPS computers there's one for everyone's needs, and they can be simple or complex according to your individual needs. The one I had back then looked something like this, but mine was a bit simpler:

View: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DSM4A-LjVYL/

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I used to play the Euphonium. Took it to school held in place with that springed clamp. What fun!

The things we did as teenagers!!

If I found the grandkids doing some of the things I did I would have some strong words with them!!

many years ago I tool the dog for a walk where I used to go with my bike when we were kids

there was a long hill - all soil and dust - that, naturally, we used to ride down
at the bottom were 2 trees and a lampost (no idea why - but it was there!)
and after that a very narrow bridge and up a steep hill on the other side - with sharp corners

The game was to go down the hill, through the gap between the trees
and when you hit the bridge you had to stop pedalling

and the winner was the person to get furthest up the hill before stopping

As an adult I went and looked at the gaps between the trees and lampost
that we used to go through at speed

there must have been a inch or so clearance there for my bike
my friend had drops so would have a bit more
the other lad had a Chopper wannabe thing that never had working gears and had the stability of a Robin reliant - how he never died I have no idea!!!

 

[wakemalcolm]

The things we did as teenagers!!

If I found the grandkids doing some of the things I did I would have some strong words with them!!

many years ago I tool the dog for a walk where I used to go with my bike when we were kids

there was a long hill - all soil and dust - that, naturally, we used to ride down
at the bottom were 2 trees and a lampost (no idea why - but it was there!)
and after that a very narrow bridge and up a steep hill on the other side - with sharp corners

The game was to go down the hill, through the gap between the trees
and when you hit the bridge you had to stop pedalling

and the winner was the person to get furthest up the hill before stopping

As an adult I went and looked at the gaps between the trees and lampost
that we used to go through at speed

there must have been a inch or so clearance there for my bike
my friend had drops so would have a bit more
the other lad had a Chopper wannabe thing that never had working gears and had the stability of a Robin reliant - how he never died I have no idea!!!

Unlike everything else in modern life, those trees will surely have grown wider with the space between them becoming smaller, no?

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Unlike everything else in modern life, those trees will surely have grown wider with the space between them becoming smaller, no?

Yes - I thought that at the time

that would certainly have made a difference - but it would still have been damn narrow

I met up with one of the other lads - the one with the Chopper wanabe - he said he took his dog there quite a lot and he had had the same thought many times
and he was a top Rugby player and a Police Officer so he knows about risk

 

[Vapin' Joe]

The real breakthrough in saddle development came in the 60's, with the non leather, plastic Unicanitor saddle. This was the ancestor of all modern saddles.

View attachment 801882

And surprisingly comfortable as they were virtually solid.

 

[Sharky]

And surprisingly comfortable as they were virtually solid.

Yep, I rode on one for several years, before it went into storage. Then used it on a rebuild, years later and it was agony. Eventually gave it away to a chatter on here.

I should have kept it, because they seem to be going for a fortune.

 

[Fredo76]

I'm not sure my Brooks team pro can be bettered to be honest

That's what I thought fifty years ago. But it was probably the limiting factor in my mileage. Brooks now makes models with cut-outs, too. At least it felt much better than a Unicanitor...

The real breakthrough in saddle development came in the 60's, with the non leather, plastic Unicanitor saddle. This was the ancestor of all modern saddles.

View attachment 801882

Ah, yes, the original lightweight ass-hatchet! They were everywhere, including my father's Romana 300, which I would borrow for races. Simple and slide-able, too.

 

[Moon bunny]

Gates carbon drive, with hub gear, or not, of choice.

 

[rydabent]

Back on subject, probably the biggest development in the last 25 years is the disc brake. Pretty much the whole industry has embraced discs. The two big things are---------------far better in the wet, and they dont scab up you rims and wear them out. And maybe a third is the fact with disc brakes, the rims can be lighter and more aero.

 

[Once a Wheeler]

Some interesting points of view here; and a recurring theme of there being nothing new under the sun. I would plump for LED lighting in all its forms and variants whilst acknowledging that it actually goes back to the 1990s and beyond in its earliest forms.

The greatest invention has yet to come: the puncture-proof tyre. Come on you chemical engineers and traction fanatics, time to get this one sorted at last! Whoever succeeds will create a name more famous than Dunlop. Some people think they already have the answer, CC however knows a partial soluton does not solve the problem. Just the same, wheelchairs today, road tyres tomorrow? Inventors to the fore.