When does old stuff become obsolete.

[grldtnr]

As thread title.....not specific to cycle equipment ,but anything, for instance Cameras,
I have had several over the years, now digital equipment makes most of the old stuff past it , heck you now have mobile phones that have far better resolution than equipment 5 yrs back, without the bulk, but old skool film can offer far better low resolution than digital ever could.
Likewise cycle equipment, things now seem progressing to Hydraulic disc brakes, electronic gear shifting, yet we still rely on that old tech of a bushed roller chain and toothed gear & cogs to drive the bike along.
So does my bike of 50 yrs ago become unusable ,if it still has friction changers, & old style side pull brakes?
I don't think so, I still relish the chance of changing gears by feel and grabbing a big handful of brake and hoping that I can still stop before that downhill junction at the bottom in the pouring rain.
Makes you feel alive !

 

[Alex321]

As thread title.....not specific to cycle equipment ,but anything, for instance Cameras,
I have had several over the years, now digital equipment makes most of the old stuff past it , heck you now have mobile phones that have far better resolution than equipment 5 yrs back, without the bulk, but old skool film can offer far better low resolution than digital ever could.
Likewise cycle equipment, things now seem progressing to Hydraulic disc brakes, electronic gear shifting, yet we still rely on that old tech of a bushed roller chain and toothed gear & cogs to drive the bike along.
So does my bike of 50 yrs ago become unusable ,if it still has friction changers, & old style side pull brakes?

It's a bit different. The old-style camera will become unusable to the average Joe because the required film is not readily available.

The bike will still be perfectly usable, unless you have odd sized wheels or chain that are no longer manufactured, so you can't get replacement tyres or chains.

Basically, I would say things in general become obsolete when you can no longer reasonably obtain everything needed to keep using them. As always with things "in general", there are likely to be exceptions to that (both ways).

I don't think so, I still relish the chance of changing gears by feel and grabbing a big handful of brake and hoping that I can still stop before that downhill junction at the bottom in the pouring rain.
Makes you feel alive !

But possibly only for a short time if you fail to stop

 

[Dogtrousers]

It's up to you

Either:
When newer shiny stuff is available that you want more than the old stuff ... or
When spares and servicing cease to be available for the old stuff, or just become too difficult/expensive to source.

And this is dependent on the consumer.

If you do not want new stuff then your old bike may be approaching obsolescence because parts like yoke cables for centre pulls, or new friction levers or the right size cotter pins may be becoming hard to get hold of. Maybe your old bike has one of those funny Maillard freewheels. Good luck with that. A much older bike like a Victorian era penny farthing or something with wooden rims and cork brake blocks may be considered completely obsolete - even though you can still get spares they may have to be custom manufactured.

But if you do like, appreciate and want new stuff, and you don't enjoy scouring ebay for NOS bits, then your old bike is obsolete.

Same goes with tech. If you're prepared to put in the effort you can probably keep your old Win XP PC running, but it will get harder and harder and also the security vulnerabilities may increase, and you'll be unable to run modern stuff on it. Probably true of cameras too. You could get by just fine with a 35mm camera, or even a plate camera but it would be tricky to get the spares (film/plates) and servicing (developing) and you'd have to do a lot of legwork yourself.

 

[matticus]

Basically, I would say things in general become obsolete when you can no longer reasonably obtain everything needed to keep using them. As always with things "in general", there are likely to be exceptions to that (both ways).

That seems a reasonable "starter" definition!

The other way of defining it would be by usage i.e. if everyone - or even just a critical mass - has moved onto a different thing, that can make something "obsolete" even if some bewildered users are still saying "but this still works perfectly well!!!"
Stuff like Betamax tapes for example; you can keep your collection going and still watch them, but noone else cares, and you can't lend them out to people.

n.b. I know this also will only ever be a generalisation, before smart-arses start picking holes

 

[Ian H]

It can be a weasel word, in which you choose the definition according to whether you want to stick with what you've got or or buy new. See also 'upgrade'.

 

[grldtnr]

That seems a reasonable "starter" definition!

The other way of defining it would be by usage i.e. if everyone - or even just a critical mass - has moved onto a different thing, that can make something "obsolete" even if some bewildered users are still saying "but this still works perfectly well!!!"
Stuff like Betamax tapes for example; you can keep your collection going and still watch them, but noone else cares, and you can't lend them out to people.

n.b. I know this also will only ever be a generalisation, before smart-arses start picking holes

That's precisely my point Matticus, I have loads of stuff that works perfectly well for the task in hand, but alack my Betamax tapes are no longer of any use ,the player gave up the ghost long ago, same as C90 cassette tapes, where can yo buy them now? I had to give away my tape deck as I could not find cassette tapes, mind you I have been using CD for a while, but that is now going out the window, tho still can use that technology , but it now is more convenient to download as purely digital rather than put on a disc.
Old before my time !

 

[MichaelW2]

I have old tools that keep on doing what they are supposed to do. No additional widgets required.
I sold all of my Campagnolo 8 speed because sprockets had become special order items often hard to find. Unlike Shimano 8 speed ones which is a commodity item.

 

[Sterlo]

Never, if it's obsolete, why have I got a garage full of obsolete stuff. It's just "old but will probably become useful at some point in the future".

 

[Ming the Merciless]

When the parts needed to keep something functional, are no longer made and easily available.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

A cyclist becomes obsolete when they start riding ebikes.

 

[Profpointy]

It's a bit different. The old-style camera will become unusable to the average Joe because the required film is not readily available.

The bike will still be perfectly usable, unless you have odd sized wheels or chain that are no longer manufactured, so you can't get replacement tyres or chains.

Basically, I would say things in general become obsolete when you can no longer reasonably obtain everything needed to keep using them. As always with things "in general", there are likely to be exceptions to that (both ways).


But possibly only for a short time if you fail to stop

Regarding film: it is still readily available in the standard sizes like 35mm, 120 rollfilm and even a wide range of sheet film not just 4"x5" and 8x10. A quick google even found 620 (same as 120 but different spools) and 127 (4cmx4cm neg) which are both well obsolete.

I have accumulated a load of quite nice old cameras off fleabay, albeit haven't used 'em for a long while, so it's nice to find I can still get film, even for my folding 620 Kodak, not just for the 35mm SLRs

 

[matticus]

A cyclist becomes obsolete when they start riding ebikes.

That escalated quickly ...

 

[Paulus]

My take on obsolescence is when either the parts needed to repair something, ie bikes, are no longer available from any source, or the piece of equipment you have no longer does the job you need it to do.

 

[Scotchlovingcylist]

I have a Samsung Galaxy S9, needs a screen nd a new battery which would cost more rhan the phone is worth and around half of what a new one wold cost, therefore it has become obsolete and I am now phone shopping.
Sold around 300 CDs last month for £15, considering I used to pay that for one I consider these to be now obsolete, I feel this is the same for most tech as innovation advances.
Cycling however is different, I've accumulated lots of spares over the years that I've often sold for twice the retail value years later and still use alot of it, vintage bikes and parts are often big value and alot of older bike tech is still used today by many. Until the wheel is reinvented the bike will remain pretty much a standard design.

 

[Chris S]

For me something becomes obsolete when it will no longer work.
I stopped using my Samsung e1200 when it wouldn't work on the new Asda network.
I stopped using Black Lab Linux when the browser couldn't cope with contemporary websites.
I'm still using my 32-bit Lenovo R61 with Lubuntu and I'll carry on doing so until it stops working as well.