What Piece of Kit Would You Like To Go Back In Time With?

[Seevio]

Sadly you would hsve to wait decades for Strava to turn up. Plus you did not take a charger and will just have a heavy slow bike after your first club run 🤣

I was thinking actual KOM, the type that comes with a spotted jersey. I forgot about the charger though.

 

[Webbo2]

I use friction shifters now. Much prefer them to STI,

But you are laid down when changing gear most of the time.😉

 

[freiston]

11-34 rear cassette

So what's the difference between a rear cassette and any other cassette? . I had a 14-34 freewheel back in 1981 - 'twas only five speed though.

 

[freiston]

I can see why people are saying indexed gears/sti but personally I don't think indexed gears are that great or different to be a game-changer worthy enough to merit time-travel.

I would even go so far as to say that friction shifting can be considered easier cos it takes the faff out of setting up and maintaining the indexing. As others have said, once you get used to your friction shifters, shifting is fast, smooth and accurate. Much easier to dump or load a lot of gears in one go too.

I even switched my indexed bar-end shifters to friction mode because it was easier. And I can change down with my right hand as I'm going uphill and using my left hand to blow my nose - so I don't find them unwieldy either. When I first got the bar-end shifters, after a more than 10 year (iirc) hiatus in my cycling, I was still reaching for non-existent downtube shifters. Many riders with downtube shifters were quite competent in doing a one-handed double (front & rear together) shift.

 

[Alex321]

My Wahoo.. 👍

That was my first thoughht, until I realised there wouldn't have been any satellites for it to fix on

 

[Ming the Merciless]

But you are laid down when changing gear most of the time.😉

I use them on my road bike as well

 

[PeteXXX]

That was my first thoughht, until I realised there wouldn't have been any satellites for it to fix on

I'd take a satellite or two, too, then! 😋

 

[N0bodyOfTheGoat]

I was going to say a GPS computer, but in '84 when I was 10, I'd be waiting ~9 years for internet at uni (~18 years at home on AOL dialup) and ~26 years for Strava to start up!

So I'm still trying to think of that one bike thing to take back to my childhood...

 

[markemark]

Can I go the other way? I'd like to go back in time, go to a newsagent mid ride and by all the Drifters they had and bring them back for this weekend. A good use of a one-time time travel I feel.

 

[rydabent]

Inspired by an article by Dr Hutch in the comic, what single piece of modern kit would you like to take back to the time you got into cycling and just casually turn up on a club run or race start claiming it was a newly developed item and you had one of the few available?

I'd be back in the late sixties with a set of brifters, sure to have peoples mouths open in amazement at a time when friction shifters were your only option.

Back to down tube click shifters. Very little cable flapping in the wind.

 

[Gillstay]

My waterproof jacket.

 

[Sharky]

My waterproof jacket.

Yep today's clothing is so much improved from my early years, when anoraks, jeans, no over shoes etc. were the norm.

 

[Webbo2]

Yep today's clothing is so much improved from my early years, when anoraks, jeans, no over shoes etc. were the norm.

Wool tights and shorts were fantastic especially when wet. Your chammy would end up round your knees.

 

[simongt]

A very good headlight with one of those wee rechargeable battery packs that fits on the frame - !

 

[Jenkins]

Inspired by an article by Dr Hutch in the comic, what single piece of modern kit would you like to take back to the time you got into cycling and just casually turn up on a club run or race start claiming it was a newly developed item and you had one of the few available?

I'd be back in the late sixties with a set of brifters, sure to have peoples mouths open in amazement at a time when friction shifters were your only option.

Make it brifters with a wireless shift system (Di2 or SRAM AXS) if you really want to cause an attack of the vapours.