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

[GuyBoden]

It was sad to here that the superior quality Shimano UN55 BB's are not being manufactured anymore.
(I might grab some while they are still available as old stock)

 

[matticus]

W-cut chainwheels, 10 mm pitch chains, dyna-drive pedals, delta brakes, just a few items of “new“ technology from the last 30 or so years you might have difficulty getting now.

and I never got to ride L-shaped cranks :'(

 

[TheDoctor]

W-cut chainwheels, 10 mm pitch chains, dyna-drive pedals, delta brakes, just a few items of “new“ technology from the last 30 or so years you might have difficulty getting now.

Objection! Delta brakes look amazing.
If only they actualy, you know, worked.

 

[proletaratOne]

Internally-geared hubs on kids' bikes.

Saddlebag loops on saddles.

9 speed in better groupsets - it is the sweet spot between "not close enough gears" and "too fussy and expensive".

Triple chainsets.

Horizontal dropouts on lightweight frames (and decent QRs).

Rigid MTBs.

Straight bars on MTBs - riser bars are a joke.

Rigid mtb
Isnt that just a gravel bike now

 

[proletaratOne]

Old thinking that a cycle is perfectly good transport and not just a three grand toy for the weekend that needs loads of expensive clothing to use.

Yeah I started biking as an eco friendly no consumer why to get around the city

it ended with expensive bikes shipped from all over the place, expensive electronics, and I now pack up my bike in my jeep to get out of city to find more suitable courses to train for up coming races

wtf .... I may have taken a wrong turn

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Along the lines of things that are no longer manufacturered: Altura Winter Cruisers.

I've got some New Balance tracky bottoms as a replacement but they aren't anywhere as good.

I'm still using those, I've got a couple of pairs, I've got a couple of pairs of summer cruisers as well.

 

[matticus]

The most common [Shimano] failure I hear about is gear cable ends breaking at the end in the shifter.
(I've got a 2nd-hand 10sp brifter combined lever which has just ... well, sort of worn out. The indexing or something has just got sloppy, hard to describe. No idea how many miles the bike did before me!)

 

[proletaratOne]

Horizontal top tubes
Quill stems

Why horizontal top tubes
Looks or something else

just curious

 

[GuyBoden]

Why horizontal top tubes
Looks or something else

just curious

Obviously, because, it's makes it so much easier to squash your bo!!ocks.

 

[matticus]

Why horizontal top tubes
Looks or something else

just curious

I know (100% certain) that they look better.

I believe that sloping ones were just a convenience for manufacturers, that they attempted to sell to us as an improvement on vvvvvvvery nebulous engineering ideas around stiffness.
[See also - dropped seat-stays. But I'm hoping they will be extinct in 10 years so we won't need to argue about those ]

 

[rogerzilla]

Blame Brodie (MTBs) and Dave Lloyd (road bikes).

I agree - top tubes that slope backwards make the bike look slow. Car design for the last 30 years has gone the other way, with beltlines sloping up towards the rear to make the car look more dynamic (even if rear visibility is compromised).

Bikes with forward-sloping top tubes do exist, and they look fast.

 

[GuyBoden]

Why horizontal top tubes
Looks or something else

just curious

My serious answer, is that I believe that too much seatpost showing puts more stress on the frame.

 

[davidphilips]

Just had a look at some of my older bikes and thought how nice the old engraved h/bars where.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

It's nothing to do with concern for getting down, and everything to do with not being able to see where the road goes. I do know how to avoid drag braking, what I don't know is where the road goes at 25-30 mph when I can't see 10 yards. You can acquire all the knowledge you want, but unless you can do switchbacks at 25mph blind or slow down a bike by telepathy, you're not getting down that bill in those conditions without taking out most of a set of brake blocks.

This is where GPS helps as you can see the hairpins, in advance, even in thick fog. So know at what point you’ll need to brake for them.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Proper bells , none of these crappy substitutes they provide now.