Why did we wait so long for the bicycle?

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Mystikal91
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue May 21, 2019 6:08 pm

by Mystikal91

My apolgoies if this is not the right sub-forum to post this thread. But i only ride road bikes :)

https://rootsofprogress.org/why-did-we- ... he-bicycle

This is sort for a precursor to some questions and concernes I have about where road bicycles in particular are headed. We're seeing a great deal of development these days that are proprietary. The large bicycles manufacters are innovating but at the same they're creating components that are particular to their frames. What will happen in 10, 15 and 20 year to some of these proprietary components. Will specialized, Cannondale or BMC be around, will they still make replacement parts for their $5k frames!

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TobinHatesYou
Posts: 12457
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:02 pm

by TobinHatesYou

The most difficult component to source will probably be model specific seatposts. Everything else can be replaced rather easily. Integrated cockpits can be replaced by different bearing covers and standard stems/bars. Some brands will mitigate issues like this with lifetime warranty and crash replacement policies so long as they still exist. If your fork snaps while you are JRA...you get a new, current bike. If something breaks and you’re at fault, you get a discounted crash replacement. Not ideal, but probably something most customers would consider anyway.

Besides, it’s not like it’s that easy to find replacement parts for decades old French anything either. Proprietary components have been part of the bike industry as long as it’s existed.

Personally I see very few roadies on bikes more than 10 years old around here.

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Lewn777
Posts: 1266
Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2017 5:35 am

by Lewn777

This question is much more of a concern with mountain bikes than road bikes. However we can see lots of 'innovation for the sake of innovation' in the modern world rather than for actual improvement. Or innovation so marginal as to be pointless or exercises in profit making and marketing rather than genuine innovation. OSPW aftermarket jockey wheel replacements lose some people watts according to some sources https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oj-N8oMPBj8.

Disk brakes are an improvement, but are they really necessary in a dry area and for every rider? Fine, if consumers demand them, but there seems to be more push than pull. Tubeless is nice, but lots of the sealant doesn't work at high pressures and it can be expensive. So much is ported over from MTB with little thought or redesign. manufacturers don't seem to want to even meet to discuss future standards, they want to do their own thing and use their power to try to drag everyone else along, like if they get lucky everyone else will be forced to buy their patents.

In the end there is nothing really to worry about, as consumers the ball is in our court, we can keep buying simpler bikes if we want to. It's up to us to draw the line. For me disposable power meters, over $10,000 bikes, disk brakes and 1x systems are not where I want to go. Big manufactuers will always try an oversized steerer standard, a 1x14, boost axles, and weird standarizations and propreitary stuff with pseudo-science marketing to suck in the wealthy and noobs. You can't really buy watts and much speed once you are over an Ultegra/Force budget level. If a manufacturer doesn't sell what I want, I won't buy from them. It's sad to have restricted choices, but that's the world we live in.

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