What old cycling technology etc would you like to see return?

[rogerzilla]

Thumbshifters on MTBs! Light, reliable, out of the firing line for mud, totally intuitive. Shimano invented Rapidfire, though, and hated the fact that racers (and Kona) stuck to thumbies, so decided we weren't allowed them any more.

 

[TheDoctor]

I didn't see any mention of fog.
(You can be in very wet rain - or even in the cloud - up a mountain without it being fog; it's the norm on UK mountains :P
Reduced visibility for sure, but fog is fog.)
And I don't think Ventoux is a technical descent by any means - admittedly I've only seen videos/TV, but it's nothing like a classic switchback climb, or a tricksy Welsh/Cumbrian road.

To be fair, Ventoux is one hell of a descent. I've been down on a nice sunny day, and again at dusk, but I'd hate to do it in low visibility. You'd be braking the whole time.
Sit upright and you'll slow (!!) to about 30 mph. Brake hard, lean hard and you'll go round the bend. But you can't ride like that on wet roads and/or poor visibility.

 

[TheDoctor]

Thumbshifters on MTBs! Light, reliable, out of the firing line for mud, totally intuitive. Shimano invented Rapidfire, though, and hated the fact that racers (and Kona) stuck to thumbies, so decided we weren't allowed them any more.

Still available new, although only for 5/6/7 speed rear ends (based on a quick Google) and triple fronts. 7 speed cassettes are still a thing though.

 

[Chislenko]

I'd like to see the legs I had at 18 years of age, these new fangled 65 year old ones just don't cut it!

 

[DCBassman]

Thumbshifters on MTBs! Light, reliable, out of the firing line for mud, totally intuitive. Shimano invented Rapidfire, though, and hated the fact that racers (and Kona) stuck to thumbies, so decided we weren't allowed them any more.

If by thumbshifters, you mean not integrated with the brakes, I disagree. Fully integrated Rapidfires are the best type of shifters there are, IMHO. But I take your point about mud, which I resolutely refuse to interact with...

 

[DCBassman]

Still available new, although only for 5/6/7 speed rear ends (based on a quick Google) and triple fronts. 7 speed cassettes are still a thing though.

Recently bought STI-capable integrated Rapidfires for 2x8, very unusual.

 

[Ian H]

I'm reminded that when combined levers*, Ergos & STIs, first appeared. there seemed to be an increase in riders complaining of hand, wrist, shoulder & neck problems. The reason seemed to be that they were staying in the same position for much longer.

* I hate the word 'brifter', combining as it does 'brake' & the US English 'shifter'. GB English has 'levers'.

 

[purpan]

A good point. If we’re going to mix languages, why not mix English and French and put a « britesse » on the bars?
To be serious, there‘s something ugly about the word « brifter ». I suppose that in that sense it’s fitting.

 

[battered]

Its got a heck of a lot of turns on it, some classic switchbacks nearer the top and a more regular corners of of varying severity thru the woods and 6-10% gradient all the way. In reduced visibility and wet roads, you'd need to be alternating on the brakes for pretty much all the 23km of descent.

Got it in one. Not technical? If that's not technical I'd like to know what is. As you say it's a classic switchback, it was thick cloud at the top, just like we get in the UK, which is indistinguishable from fog because, guess what, it's the same stuff. Max safe speed was about 10 mph, and it was raining hard. As you rightly point out, I was alternating brakes all the way down until we dropped out of the clouds and I could see where I was going. As for the worn out brakes being poor technique, it must be that both of us are equally inept because we both had worn out rear brakes. The rear of course collects the dirty water thrown up by the front. I'd like someone to tell me how you can get down that mountain without braking. On anything this side of a parachute.

 

[battered]

I must be a bit unusual then because I've got four metalworking vices, three decent Records and a rough old Paramo that is fitted to a skip salvaged workmate frame with a bit of scrap 3/4" ply bolted to the top

I'm down to two. The one I use most may be pre -war, I rescued it from a factory yard. I recently made a new handle to replace the old bent one.

 

[battered]

Still available new, although only for 5/6/7 speed rear ends (based on a quick Google) and triple fronts. 7 speed cassettes are still a thing though.

I use 7 speed thumbshifters on an 8 speed cassette. Works fine, without shifting to friction. TBH I'd consider this on a round the world bike, if I wanted such a thing. Then agin, I'd choose flat bars and bar ends for a round the world bike, problem solved.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I'm down to two. The one I use most may be pre -war, I rescued it from a factory yard. I recently made a new handle to replace the old bent one.

You can't have too many workholding tools! By best one is a 6" Record engineers, and looks hardly used. I also have a 3 1/2" Record QR, and a 3" regular engineers.
The latter is small and light enough to bolt to the lid of a wooden tool chest and stick in the back of my Land Rover. The Paramo I inherited and has been very well used and abused. Really it needs new jaw inserts, but it's just my rough outdoor use vice.
No modern easy-break chinese rubbish though!

 

[Ming the Merciless]

In the 1920s? 80mph on a standard machine of the time? That would have been a good trick.

The Brough Superior SS100 (Super Sports) had a 980cc V twin engine with a 3 speed gearbox.

The SS100 superseded the Brough Superior SS80 which was built from 1920.

Every Brough Superior was hand built and the purchaser was encouraged to provide input into the build. It was said no two Brough Superiors were the same.

Each Brough Superior SS100 came with a certificate guaranteeing it had achieved a speed above 100mph over a quarter mile sprint. The SS80 was guaranteed to reach 80mph, hence the names.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I've been thinking. Always a bad idea.

Brifters are indeed a very complex engineering solution but from an ergonomic point of view they knock spots off DT levers. Just look at the level of adoption. Is that because Big Cycling has brainwashed everyone into buying an expensive but suboptimal solution? Or is it because they are a better product that is easier to use? Probably a smidge of the former and predominantly the latter.

Personally I find brifters a nicer to use but as I already have the "nack" of using DT shifters I don't find it to be a massive gulf. I still have a bike with friction shifters. I've never used indexed DT shifters, but I'd guess that using friction with more than 8 sprockets would get a bit tricky and at that point indexing (and all the headaches that come with it) would be mandatory.

Brifters are also fantastically reliable. Yes they do go wrong, but it's very unusual. For people riding solo across the steppes of Central Asia that's a consideration. For the rest of us. Meh.

The conclusion I've come to is that brifters are a decent interim solution, but wireless electronic shifting - if it can be produced at a decent price point and appropriate level of reliability - would be the best alternative. Maybe I'll look at that option when my Shimano 105 stuff wears out. If I'm still alive when that happens.

I use bar end on friction front and rear on my recumbent. It is 9 speed and fine. Occasionally I have the 10 speed wheel from my road bike fitted. It works just fine with 10 speed as well. You soon enough develop muscle memory as to how much to move the levers. If you want to change 5 or more gears quickly that’s also really easy.

 

[taximan]

Replace "far" with "slightly" and I'd agree.
Neither is exactly hard.

Depends how old you are