What old cycling technology don't you ever want to see again?

[Blue Hills]

Suspension hubs.

Thrill to sight of your wheel rims dipping below the brake blocks as you head down a hill.

I do actually have such a front wheel - I took it off - I don't think I would be rash enough to sell it to anyone.

 

[avecReynolds531]

Those Eveready lights of the 70s... never again.

The nightmare of cotter pins.

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

Loose ball bearings.
Pedals made of two square strips of rubber.

 

[sleuthey]

Speedometers that used to roll on the side of the tyre like a dynamo.

 

[roley poley]

Flint catchers ..did they work or were they a lucky charm?

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

Speedometers that used to roll on the side of the tyre like a dynamo.

Or those millometers that were fixed to drop outs but had such a small display that you had to bend down to read them. And they were never accurate.

 

[oldwheels]

Unequal size wheels.
Downtube or bar end shifters.
Acetylene bike lights.
Rod brakes.
Lamp brackets on forks.

I still have an acetylene lamp which fitted on the forks. I actually used it in the 1960's.

 

[Blue Hills]

I still have an acetylene lamp which fitted on the forks. I actually used it in the in60's.

how did you find it?

 

[oldwheels]

how did you find it?

You mean did it work? Yes it was no worse than the battery lamps or even dynamos of the time. I used to cycle to work in the dark on what is now a very busy road but not so bad then and lights were never good but the rear ones were my main concern and they were worse than the front.

 

[Profpointy]

Those Eveready lights of the 70s... never again.

The nightmare of cotter pins.

Agree about the lights - those (n)ever ready ones basically didn't really work at all even brand new

Can't see anything particularly wrong with cotter pins though.

I'll add a few :
Sturmey archer 3 speed - how I envied my mates with their 5 or even 10 speed "racers"

totally shyte pannier racks

Tiny half-mudguards

And as others have said, totally shyte brakes in the wet - again I envied my mates with Weinman Centre pulls.

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

how did you find it?

He used a maglite!!!!

 

[Ming the Merciless]

The Apollo full suspension pogo stick

 

[weareHKR]

Road Bikes
20" Wheels
26'' Wheels
Carbon fibre frames
Clip-in pedals
Bar Tape
Unicycles

 

[avecReynolds531]

Every time it rained, my early 80s Peugeot had the unforgettable Rigida Chromage Superchromix braking experience.

Scarily bad: it meant starting to brake about 5 years before your designated stopping point & not knowing if you would get to in time.

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

Gravel bikes.