Greatest cycling invention of the last 25 years?

[ebikeerwidnes]

Don't know about the best cycling item but one I really rate and wouldn't be without is the bar end mirror. Absolutely awesome bit of kit.

This is the one I have, utterly brilliant. Doesn't scratch as it's glass, don't vibrate etc.

https://www.italianroadbikemirror.com/ItalianRoadBikeMirrorWorldwide.html

I agree
never though a bar end mirror would be worth it
but I was buying something and it was cheapest on one of those sites with free delivery if you order over £x
so I added a cheap one on to try it

It is a very cheapo one - but works fine and I would not like to ride without it now - I find it a lot safer than looking over my shoulder
and I can see more easily

 

[Dogtrousers]

Not the past 25 years, but no older than a whole load of other things suggested above ... Quick Links.

In the 70s when I started playing with bikes the only way I knew how to break and re-join a chain was using a nail punch to drive a rivet out and then to use a hammer to peen the rivet over when re-joining. I think I may have bought a chain tool around then too. Anyway it took skill and mechanical sympathy, neither of which I have. There may have been a better way but my mentor Richard Ballantyne didn't tell me about it in his book.

Anyway, around 1980 or thereabouts I saw an advert in the CTC magazine for something called a Super-Link or some such. So I sent off for one. It was like a modern quick link - almost. There were two "rivets" permanently attached to one plate, that had threaded holes along their length. You screwed the other plate on with little screws. No more bashing and peening, or subtle fiddling with a chain tool. What bliss.

Now that those weird Shimano snap-off rivets seem to have gone away it seems that the victory of the quick link is complete.

 

[Drago]

I agree
never though a bar end mirror would be worth it
but I was buying something and it was cheapest on one of those sites with free delivery if you order over £x
so I added a cheap one on to try it

It is a very cheapo one - but works fine and I would not like to ride without it now - I find it a lot safer than looking over my shoulder
and I can see more easily

Not a fan, personally. As with cars, unless the user is properly trained and drtilled they simply become a substitute for proper obs. It's human nature, and the loudest protests to the contrary don't change that.

 

[Binky]

Not a fan, personally. As with cars, unless the user is properly trained and drtilled they simply become a substitute for proper obs. It's human nature, and the loudest protests to the contrary don't change that.

Try one they are superb. Saves looking over shoulder so super easy to do even at speed so particularly useful downhill.
I still make a quick glance back on occasion but I'd say 95% time no need as vision perfect just by a quick glance down.
So much better and becomes 2nd nature. Can't recommend highly enough.

No idea what you are getting it with loudest protests etc.

 

[roubaixtuesday]

Try one they are superb. Saves looking over shoulder so super easy to do even at speed so particularly useful downhill.
I still make a quick glance back on occasion but I'd say 95% time no need as vision perfect just by a quick glance down.
So much better and becomes 2nd nature. Can't recommend highly enough.

No idea what you are getting it with loudest protests etc.

I'd like to propose bling bar end plugs - Hope:

Mirrors might be great, but no way is mere safety and visibility more important than style. We have blue and gold stoker and pilot to match the two tone paint job on the tandem.

Even more excitingly, self extracting crank bolt covers can be had from Middleburn. Again, we have matching gold and blue for pilot and stoker.

This is where the true invention is in cycling in the last 25 years!

 

[Saracenlad]

I am 82 this coming Sunday, my answer would be my Bike Assist. Best thing I have ever bought.

 

[kingrollo]

Di2 - especially when linked with a Garmin that converts a button to make a horn sound..

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Try one they are superb. Saves looking over shoulder so super easy to do even at speed so particularly useful downhill.
I still make a quick glance back on occasion but I'd say 95% time no need as vision perfect just by a quick glance down.
So much better and becomes 2nd nature. Can't recommend highly enough.

No idea what you are getting it with loudest protests etc.

I find them most useful for keeping an eye on what is being

so if I pass someone witha dog on a path - then I can keep glancing back very easily to check the dog is not decideding to play chase or anything

You can look back using a mirror far quicker than looking back over your shoulder

the same as you can in a car

 

[kingrollo]

The worst cycling invention of the last 25 years is an easier one to answer.

Tubeless is the most overrated invention imo - especially for road bikes.

 

[Profpointy]

Tubeless is the most overrated invention imo - especially for road bikes.

Whilst I have never had them on a pedal bike, they are far superior for motor vehicles so I can't see why they'd not have the same benefit on a bike

 

[RichK]

Light & battery improvements take the prize from me. A real gamechanger to year round commuting.

 

[kingrollo]

Whilst I have never had them on a pedal bike, they are far superior for motor vehicles so I can't see why they'd not have the same benefit on a bike

I like the security of being able to whip out a spare tube fix puncture and away you go.

Don't really think the comparison with cars is valid. Car tyres are great big thick things and less likely to puncture - worse case scenario you call green flag or whoever.

 

[Profpointy]

I like the security of being able to whip out a spare tube fix puncture and away you go.

Don't really think the comparison with cars is valid. Car tyres are great big thick things and less likely to puncture - worse case scenario you call green flag or whoever.

In part that's occurred to me as well.

Even on the motorbike, as you can't carry a spare wheel punctures are a bit of an issue. I've only had one (tubeless) and since the huge nail came out the sidewall the can of magic gloop wasn't going to work. A gorilla at the bike shop munged up the rim with a screwdriver as a tyre lever and they never sealed properly afterwards and apparently you can't (or at least shouldn't) fit a tube in a rim made for tubeless. On my later bike I carried a repair kit with rubber bungs and a special tool, but never had to use it. I'm told such kits are pretty good.

Dilemma between far fewer punctures but a bugger to fix, vs fairly regular punctures which are a doddle to fix I guess

 

[matticus]

Whilst I have never had them on a pedal bike, they are far superior for motor vehicles so I can't see why they'd not have the same benefit on a bike

Like ABS? Seat belts? CB Radio??

 

[Profpointy]

Like ABS? Seat belts? CB Radio??

There are obvious reasons why seatbelts are unsuitable for 2 wheeled travel, powered or otherwise, despite Motor Cycle News regularly claiming "brussels" was going to make them compulsory.

ABS is desirable on two wheels, and my last motorbike had it. It is likely impracticable for a pedal bike, but not per se a bad thing if it were possible.

Pedal and motorised bikes have a great many common design elements not surprisingly, and lack of punctures is desirable for both, as is reduced likelihood of sudden loss of pressure and grip.