Natural progression

[Dunlopdave]

Hi all
I've been reading the posts on here now for a few months and have noticed that when a new cyclist asks for advice on buying a bike"should I get a hybrid! a roadie! a cyclocross etc."do I need disk brakes and suspension" and on it goes.There seams to be a maybe 70/30 split on opinion,70% sayIng don't go near suspension/disk brakes and the like.Being a newbe myself I've no real experiance to give a good argument either way,what I do know is, last April I brought a cheap Dunlop MTB full suspension for 70 quid with the intensional of not using the car so much,getting some exercise etc.Yes it was heavy 17 kg and slow,but I knew no better,it changed my life I loved it and last November I spent some good money and get a "proper" bike.Ended up getting cube nature hybrid.Front suspension with r lockout and hydrolic disks.Yes it's overkill my mate comes out with me a lot on his ten year old marin rigid hybrid (yes there's that nasty hybrid word) we go all overs the place,road,towpaths,cycle tracks up hill and down dale and he's always kept up with me never gone in to the back of me with "crap" v brakes.So no you don't need all this modern technology but it is nice in my opinion. What ever floats your boat.it wasn't that long ago we were driving cars with drum brakes and wind down windows I wonder how long it will be before the first bike with anti locking brakes ?????????

 

[Bicycle]

How long indeed?

Clipless pedals and then Ergo shifters were a revelation for me. Nothing much else has got much better, although tyres seem to have improved in 20 years in terms of puncture prevention. A lot of the other stuff has been about the angle of the crossbar and the colour of the bar tape.

But bicycles are following cars down another 'natural progression' alley too: Built-in obsolescence. Carbon and alloy do not have the lifespan of 'proper' metals. Chains no longer last as they did, now that they have to skip over 9, 10 or 11 sprockets.

Things are lighter, but they don't last as they did.

I wouldn't change it for the world though.... I am as much of a bike-porn tart as anyone. i found a 7-speed Shimano STI lever in the shed the other day and thought "7-speed? Pah!"

It is all very sad and all very good at the same time.