The bicycle zenith

[All uphill]

And in years to come when the firmware is unsupported and your shiny new computer doesn't run a suitably retrograde version of windows?

Don't scoff, it's already happened to very early systems.

In 5 decades time you'll still be able to tweak and adjust a cable without any problem.

Not every step forward is progress.

I hope I can still tweak and adjust a cable on my 120th birthday, as you promise @Drago

 

[markemark]

Bikes I have now are better than the ones I had when I was younger. Anything else is pure nostalgia and people remembering a simpler setup which they may prefer.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Ahead sets are a retrograde step! interchangeable with others.

I'd no more go back to quill stems than I would to cotter pins. Having a headset that can be fitted in minutes with just an allen key and doesn't have to be stripped and serviced every year or two because of brinelling of the lower bearing race is a boon. I had two bikes for eight years with Ahead sets and apart from an initial tweak after they had bedded down never needed adjusting and ran as smoothly the day I sold the bikes as when they were new.

 

[Jameshow]

Penny farthing, that was the zenith, tbh that big wheel would smooth out the potholes we had today.

 

[Big John]

Penny farthing? You were lucky. I had to make do with a hoop and stick 😉

 

[Dogtrousers]

The worst thing about modern bikes is allen screws.

You see with a hex nut you can use all sorts of things to do it up: Pliers, an adjustable wrench, even - in an emergency when you can't find anything else - the right sized spanner. Same with many kinds of screw head, you can shove all sorts of things in to adjust them, butter knives and so on.

But Allen screws really are a bodger's nightmare.

With an allen screw you really need the right allen key. A big one's too big, a little one's too small. You might stand a chance with a wrong sized torx head I suppose.

 

[Smokin Joe]

The worst thing about modern bikes is allen screws.

You see with a hex nut you can use all sorts of things to do it up: Pliers, an adjustable wrench, even - in an emergency when you can't find anything else - the right sized spanner. Same with many kinds of screw head, you can shove all sorts of things in to adjust them, butter knives and so on.

I've had cars and motorcycles owned by people like you. Which is why I'm the owner of a screw extractor set

 

[rydabent]

5 speed friction shifting obvs!!

Nope, mine had click shifting, and so do both of my sons bikes.

 

[rydabent]

The worst thing about modern bikes is allen screws.

You see with a hex nut you can use all sorts of things to do it up: Pliers, an adjustable wrench, even - in an emergency when you can't find anything else - the right sized spanner. Same with many kinds of screw head, you can shove all sorts of things in to adjust them, butter knives and so on.

But Allen screws really are a bodger's nightmare.

With an allen screw you really need the right allen key. A big one's too big, a little one's too small. You might stand a chance with a wrong sized torx head I suppose.

But almost all bicycle mutli tools come with metric allen wrenches, so it should not be a problem.

 

[matticus]

The worst thing about modern bikes is allen screws.

You see with a hex nut you can use all sorts of things to do it up: Pliers, an adjustable wrench, even - in an emergency when you can't find anything else - the right sized spanner. Same with many kinds of screw head, you can shove all sorts of things in to adjust them, butter knives and so on.

If your life depended on it, you could even resort to one of these (dug out of a 40yr-old drawer):

 

[matticus]

But almost all bicycle mutli tools come with metric allen wrenches, so it should not be a problem.

Not the one in my last post. No Sir-eee!

 

[Jameshow]

The worst thing about modern bikes is allen screws.

You see with a hex nut you can use all sorts of things to do it up: Pliers, an adjustable wrench, even - in an emergency when you can't find anything else - the right sized spanner. Same with many kinds of screw head, you can shove all sorts of things in to adjust them, butter knives and so on.

But Allen screws really are a bodger's nightmare.

With an allen screw you really need the right allen key. A big one's too big, a little one's too small. You might stand a chance with a wrong sized torx head I suppose.

No Allen keys are great, it's torx heads that are a pain!! So easy to round the bit over and then your done for.

Why screws aren't pz2/3 or 8mm socket I don't know!!

 

[Dogtrousers]

If your life depended on it, you could even resort to one of these (dug out of a 40yr-old drawer):

View attachment 729076

That's getting a bit close to the last resort of "the right sized spanner". Only to be used if there are no old rusty pliers handy. And maybe a hammer.

 

[Ian H]

The worst thing about modern bikes is allen screws.

You see with a hex nut you can use all sorts of things to do it up: Pliers, an adjustable wrench, even - in an emergency when you can't find anything else - the right sized spanner. Same with many kinds of screw head, you can shove all sorts of things in to adjust them, butter knives and so on.

But Allen screws really are a bodger's nightmare.

With an allen screw you really need the right allen key. A big one's too big, a little one's too small. You might stand a chance with a wrong sized torx head I suppose.

I have a drawer full of Allen keys, a drawer full of spanners, and various socket sets. Plus other tools of course. I couldn't imagine embarking on life without a full set of tools.

 

[StuAff]

And in years to come when the firmware is unsupported and your shiny new computer doesn't run a suitably retrograde version of windows?

Don't scoff, it's already happened to very early systems.

In 5 decades time you'll still be able to tweak and adjust a cable without any problem.

Not every step forward is progress.

Virtual machines would happily run an older version of Windows. And you can still run DOS software on modern Windows, let alone anything that came in between. Parts breaking or wearing out with no suitable replacements available likely to be more of a problem. I'd love to replace the Ultegra 6500 hoods on my Trek, but no dice. No originals available, nothing aftermarket.