Change come hard in the cycling community

[Profpointy]

TV remotes - obesity crisis. Has anyone studied the correlation?
Actually, I've put on weight since I got disc brakes.

Lucky you've got disk brakes then !

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Like buying batteries ?

You didn’t spend all your time buying batteries as the only thing requiring them was bike lights. Charging stuff is a daily thing for many.

 

[wiggydiggy]

You didn’t spend all your time buying batteries as the only thing requiring them was bike lights. Charging stuff is a daily thing for many.

True but to be fair that's been thing since the 1990s for, charging a mobile phone for instance. I know what you mean though, I certainly don't remember the prolification of charging stations for instance that we have now or busses that come with USB ports.

Just on the subject of bike tech though my front/rear lights are USB chargeable with built in batterys and when these next need changing I'm going back to an normal battery powered solution as they don't last as long as my older ones.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Here we are: Digital bike computer*, with no requirement for batteries or charging.

Everyone would be using them were it not for the fact that THEY have suppressed them.

* Yes it is digital. "Computer" may be a bit of a stretch though as it only really computes one thing.

 

[Alex321]

Remember the golden age when you didn’t have to charge a single bloody thing? You had so much more time to actually do stuff.

No.

Charging takes so little time it has hardly any effect on the time you have available for doing tghings IME, unless you cock up and actually run out of charge for something you need to do what you wanted to do.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

No one has moaned about plastic shelled seats yet. They're relatively modern.

Much better than my Brooks Professional (I think that was the model) that 'collapsed' on a very wet ride from Gravesend to Herne Hill Velodrome back in '72 or '73.

Also, what about dropper posts, or other suspension parts for road bikes (Trek & Spesh)? No moans about them, yet.

Might as well get it all out of our collective system whilst we are at it...

 

[mjr]

Charging takes so little time it has hardly any effect on the time you have available for doing tghings IME, unless you cock up and actually run out of charge for something you need to do what you wanted to do.

Or you leave the blasted things on charge and have to go back for them.

Or you have to clean up the mess after the magic smoke escapes and the battery leaks.

Or it fails to charge and you faff around trying to figure out which bit needs replacing.

 

[presta]

For me, serviceability and economy are far more important than any advantages

This!

I don't remember the compatibility issues "back in the day"

Compatibility issues are good for business if you have to buy a whole new system instead of one new component.

My big concern about "change" is when it is sales driven and creates a false obsolescence/upgrade path (and the associated culture), making it difficult for the cyclist who, for whatever reason, doesn't want to "upgrade" or even who just wants to keep their current technology going.

Yup.

with a mechanical mech this is normally top gear

Mine's the other way around: pull the cable to change up.

New bike tech doesn't tend to render old stuff obsolete overnight.

My bike's still in mint condition after 24 years, I'd be hopping mad if I had to scrap it just because I can't get spares.

I still use threaded headsets on most of my bikes: I think I have one bike with an aheadset.

The reason I'm so bitterly against threadless headsets is that they made such a Heath Robinson job of designing the system. Chopping off the steerer tube then finding it's not long enough when you want to raise the bars later, fine for a professional who's getting a new bike every season at the sponsor's expense perhaps.

In the past 12 or so years I've completely broken two expensive brifters - one SRAM Apex that just disintegrated, one 105 that jammed solid. I also broke a cable in a 105 one and couldn't extract it, but my LBS could and rescued it. I also detest changing cables in them because it's such a fiddle (another job for the LBS)

I get about 13,000 miles out of a set of bar end shifters. I once lost 3 gears when a lever failed, but they were the top 3 so no problem, and I didn't replace the lever for nearly a year.

After it happened to me the first time I came up with an even more cunning plan. Don't ride the bike if there is any fraying at all on any of the cables. Replace immediately. That sorted it.

I don't replace until I see 2-3 broken strands, I've never had a cable break.

That's exactly it! I don't mind spending more time maintaining my bikes if the trade off is that I can fix it by the roadside almost regardless of what's gone wrong.

I'd never voluntarily replace something that can be repaired at the roadside with something that can't, no matter how good it's supposed to be. (Eg: tubeless tyres, electric gears)

Remember the golden age when you didn’t have to charge a single bloody thing? You had so much more time to actually do stuff.

I remember a golden age when you could get all the power you want out of holes in the wall.

I remember a friend buying the first TV that I had ever seen with a remote control. I thought that it was shocking how lazy some people were! I mean... What is wrong with walking backwards and forwards across the room every time one needs to adjust the volume, change channel etc?

I recall my father and I howling with laughter at people who bought electric toothbrushes because they were too lazy to waggle a brush.

 

[ColinJ]

Or it fails to charge and you faff around trying to figure out which bit needs replacing.

Or... you charge your battery, go out, and it then fails mid-ride!

This was actually a replaceable AA battery. I was on a forum ride in unfamiliar territory so I needed to get my GPS working again ASAP. I ended up having to buy a pack of 8 Duracells at more than double the Amazon price because that was all the village shop had. What REALLY bugged me was that every one of those packed up with little or no use, and before you ask - they supposedly had years of potential use left in them! I don't know if they were knock-off batteries or just a bad batch.

I recall my father and I howling with laughter at people who bought electric toothbrushes because they were too lazy to waggle a brush.

I confess that I thought the same until I tried one and realised how much of an improvement they are.

 

[presta]

I confess that I thought the same until I tried one and realised how much of an improvement they are.

Yes, I gather they're supposed to clean more effectively rather than save labour.

 

[ColinJ]

Yes, I gather they're supposed to clean more effectively rather than save labour.

I could tell after the first use. My teeth felt really shiny, just like they do after a visit to a dental hygienist. A manual toothbrush never got them quite like that.

 

[tyred]

Here we are: Digital bike computer*, with no requirement for batteries or charging.
View attachment 755777
Everyone would be using them were it not for the fact that THEY have suppressed them.

* Yes it is digital. "Computer" may be a bit of a stretch though as it only really computes one thing.

I have one of those on my 1930s Elswick. It works. For my needs as an uncompetitive cyclist who just likes to keep tabs on the distances I ride, it does all I really need.

The only problem is that the ticking noise from the striker drives me insane on quiet roads.

 

[lazybloke]

I could tell after the first use. My teeth felt really shiny, just like they do after a visit to a dental hygienist. A manual toothbrush never got them quite like that.

I recently found the ultrasonic ones (eg Philips Sonicare) are an order of magnitude better than the traditional electric models.

 

[ColinJ]

I recently found the ultrasonic ones (eg Philips Sonicare) are an order of magnitude better than the traditional electric models.

I'm not sure that is physically possible! (How do you get ten times better than 'very good to excellent'?)

If I hadn't just bought a non-ultrasonic type then maybe I would have bought one and found out for myself.

 

[Mike Ayling]

True but to be fair that's been thing since the 1990s for, charging a mobile phone for instance. I know what you mean though, I certainly don't remember the prolification of charging stations for instance that we have now or busses that come with USB ports.

Just on the subject of bike tech though my front/rear lights are USB chargeable with built in batterys and when these next need changing I'm going back to an normal battery powered solution as they don't last as long as my older ones.

It is quite hard to find lights using replaceable AA or AAA batteries now.