How much technology on a bike is "too much"?

[raleighnut]

I just think if you are looking at the phone / satnav / gadget , who is watching the road ?

 

[pjd57]

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He doesn't have white van man, taxi drivers , the 61 bus etc to watch out for

 

[classic33]

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Something wrong with the front wheel?

 

[John the Monkey]

We all have our own, personal luddite frontiers[1].

I love my Garmin (800) and it has navigated me back when I've had to cut rides short, and allowed me to explore new areas with reasonable confidence that I'll find my way back again.

Electric shifting though? No thanks.

At least, not for me - I should also point out that it's electric shifting, with it's lower force and shorter throw, that lets a friend of mine continue to cycle despite arthritis in their hands.

[1] a term from this article;

I’ve found my cycling technology frontier. I think I have become a Luddite. I certainly felt like smashing the newfound object of my scorn. Like a cancerous growth on an otherwise sound limb – there it was. A festering joke told by accountant-traumatised engineers intent on having a good final laugh. An April Fool’s joke spelt out in plastic and wires.

I refer, of course, to Shimano’s new electric gruppo. Little electric engines to shift our gears. Like a parasitic growth, the battery to make all this work attaches like that nasty cancerous disease afflicting the mouths of Tasmanian Devils. And there are wires everywhere. And for what? So that instead of a simple push on a traditional lever, these whirring engines of a culture gone mad can take up that miniscule effort instead?

 

[raleighnut]

Something wrong with the front wheel?

It's the semi-Halfrauds fitted front fork I'd be worried about.

 

[Tim Hall]

My own luddite frontier is a bit odd. My dream bike would either have down tube shifters or wireless electronic gears. I regard brifters as a bit of an ugly bodge.

I regard the word brifters as a bit of an ugly bodge. The gadgets themselves are lovely.

 

[Bollo]

If I had my way bikes would look like an outtake from the new Blade Runner.

 

[Bollo]

OT: I went to see that today. I thought it was rubbish. I suppose I should have got round to seeing the original first, but I never did. I don't think I'll bother now.

See the original, but make sure it's the director's cut without the shooty voice-over and happy ending. I'm a proper film ponce though, so I'd take what I say with a pinch of salt.

 

[montroseloon]

This has been a big worry for the manufacturers and also the teams. They apparently did a hell of a lot of testing and attempts at hacking the systems before they went on sale

 

[Noodle Legs]

Such an interesting thread. For the record the only tech I have is a garmin edge 520 (which was a birthday present) and I’ve even just indulged in a smart-ish trainer to use zwift for those poor weather days. (Halfrauds had an offer on) A friend of mine pointed out that I need to get a real power meter as apparently I can’t race on zwift using “zpower” (estimated) however having looked at the prices of said power meters I came to the conclusion that I cannot justify spending £500+ on a device just so I can interpret numbers! I’m not anti-Power meter- they are indeed useful in certain capacities - but neither am I a competitive cyclist, and so I don’t need an overpriced gadget that crunches numbers to monitor progress. I guess my point is that tech is useful but it depends on what type of cyclist you are as to how much tech is too much.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

They won't be for me. The beauty of a bicycle is the purity and simplicity of its engineering, the refinement and development of a mechanical device that the Victorians started. The introduction of electronics breaks that chain, and we lose that direct link to the past..

I don't like pointless complexity and gimmicky gadgets in cars either, so the "purity and simplicity" argument doesn't just apply to bikes. There's a tendency now to dumb everything down, so a complex machine can be operated by a complete idiot with no understanding or appreciation of how it works. That to me is not progress. Keep It Simple, Stupid.

 

[Tin Pot]

If the bike or anything attached to it needs electricity, then you’ve gone too far.

For shame, I have power meter pedals and front and rear lights.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

If the bike or anything attached to it needs electricity, then you’ve gone too far.

For shame, I have power meter pedals and front and rear lights.

For me, this is it, if it isn't powered by muscles when it could be, then it has gone to far.

 

[bpsmith]

For me, this is it, if it isn't powered by muscles when it could be, then it has gone to far.

So you only use dynamo lights then I assume?

 

[Johnno260]

The only pieces of tech I will use are my Garmin 520 and the UT800 light paired to it.