what about all this new stuff

dennisn

Cycling, like many other sports , i.e. golf, skiing, running, etc., on down the line, is a sport
that is inundated, on almost a daily basis, with new and or updated items that the
manufacturers would have us believe that we must have to even participate in any
of the above. Of all of them I think golf is the worst. There is so much golf "stuff"
that it is impossible to even get the brain to process it all. However I have learned this much. For all the high tech items, teaching aids, and other, too numerous to mention,
golf gear, guaranteed to take numerous strokes off your game, most par 5's are still
par 5's and have been so for the last 50 or so years.
I pretty much apply this logic to cycling and most other sports. It's just the way it is.
Not that all these new items are bad. Most of them help the sport by making it within reach
of the masses. Once they have the masses doing it it's only a small step to getting us
to buy things that, in the manufacturers words, will make us bettter, and who doesn't
want to perform better.
I've been riding, skiing, and running for years and while I'm not really an athlete I
do like to join in the fun and I realize that the only things that will really make a big
difference in your ability to play the game are more power, better technique, practice,
practice, practice, and not some piece of equipment.
As a last thought(finally) you won't find many world class violin players trading in their Strad's for newer models. Thanx for listening and remember I'm getting old.

Dennis Noward
Toledo, Ohio

simbil1

I reckon your right there Dennis.

There is a small percentage of innovation that it is good - STI's, clipless pedals for example and then there is all the other stuff which gets us to spend money when we don't need to. It does all keep the R&D cogs turning though, component manufacturers wouldn't survive if people only bought the 'good ideas' and replaced warn out stuff.

GeorgeShaw

But it all looks pretty ...

magliaceleste

Yeah you might not "need" it or the new stuff might not improve your performance but it's fun getting new things and seeing how they work (or sometimes not). I love "upgrade opportunities" if I can afford them. Of course there's nothing wrong with sticking with what you like.

Occasionally a gem comes along that changes things. My Garmin Edge for example has enabled me to go out on long rides to new places without fear of getting lost or having to stop constantly to refer to a map. It also automatically records what I've done and gives me useful information.

But it is about the riding at the end of the day, and it's easy to lose sight of that.

Monty Dog

But I expect for a lot us here, the appeal of accessible new products and innovation is what makes cycling attractive. I have bikes that range from a 25 year old classic Italian racer to a modern-day carbon-titanium wonderbike - I appreciate them both, but the modern bike is significanttly lighter and stiffer, is more reliable and relative to my income, a lot cheaper too than bikes were 25 years ago. That said unlike some, I'm not a slave to fashion and don't feel the urge to rush out and buy a new bike every year because it's a different colour. Ironically, like golf and skiing, a lot of people are riding bikes to be 'seen' to be doing it, which is good as more people on the road gives us greater visibility and increasing sales and market sizes encourages manufacturers to invest in R&D.

Massimo

Hands up who remembers Shimano Biopace chainrings!!

portuguese mike

Massimo wrote:

Hands up who remembers Shimano Biopace chainrings!!

But it seemed so plausible!

(admittedly i must have been about 12 at the time)

Garybee

The modern equivalent to the biopace chainring ca be seen on the odd TT bike, some people still believe it's worthwhile (not me ).

http://rotorcranksusa.com/i1-q-rings.shtml

dennisn

Garybee wrote:

The modern equivalent to the biopace chainring ca be seen on the odd TT bike, some people still believe it's worthwhile (not me ).

http://rotorcranksusa.com/i1-q-rings.shtml

But of course it's better. After all rotorcranksusa said so. Big difference from biopace.
Just has to be better because it's newer and "they" said so. I'm sending in my money
as soon as I can.

Dennis Noward

OnTow

There was a recent C+ article on innovations over the years.
I guess the next big one will be the re-introduction of electronic gearshifting.

Now, compared to my 20 year old racer, my new bikes

a. Stop in the wet, without the aid of the foot-brake
b. Are radically lighter, taughter and livelier - even the new steeley
c. Have lower rolling resistance
d. Are much less p*ncture prone tyre-wise
e. Have lighter/smaller pumps
f. Have more effective p*ncture repair kits/bolts/tools
g. A better designed saddle (OK, I guess you could argue that I enviously eye up leather saddles)
h. More gears for the same weight
i. Faster maintenance / quick release
j. Better bar tape
k. Radically improved visibility/lighting
l. I wear clothes that actually keep me warm and dry without looking and weighing like a North Sea fisherman

But I still wear string backed gloves and ride steel!

Edit: Oh, and positive gear-shifting - No spinning "in neutral" when the friction shifters give-up!

andrewgturnbull

dennisn wrote:

Cycling, like many other sports , i.e. golf, skiing, running, etc., on down the line, is a sport
that is inundated, on almost a daily basis, with new and or updated items that the
manufacturers would have us believe that we must have to even participate in any
of the above. Of all of them I think golf is the worst. There is so much golf "stuff"
that it is impossible to even get the brain to process it all. However I have learned this much. For all the high tech items, teaching aids, and other, too numerous to mention,
golf gear, guaranteed to take numerous strokes off your game, most par 5's are still
par 5's and have been so for the last 50 or so years.
I pretty much apply this logic to cycling and most other sports. It's just the way it is.
Not that all these new items are bad. Most of them help the sport by making it within reach
of the masses. Once they have the masses doing it it's only a small step to getting us
to buy things that, in the manufacturers words, will make us bettter, and who doesn't
want to perform better.
I've been riding, skiing, and running for years and while I'm not really an athlete I
do like to join in the fun and I realize that the only things that will really make a big
difference in your ability to play the game are more power, better technique, practice,
practice, practice, and not some piece of equipment.
As a last thought(finally) you won't find many world class violin players trading in their Strad's for newer models. Thanx for listening and remember I'm getting old.

Dennis Noward
Toledo, Ohio

Ah, but the humour was much better back in the day...

shockedsoshocked

Massimo wrote:

Hands up who remembers Shimano Biopace chainrings!!

I still use one!

But thats coz I can't afford a new group quite yet. My dad however claims it was "top of the range" in the 80s.

Massimo

Your dad's right - if you had Biopace, you were hardcore, they were the ceramic bearings of the day!!

avdave

Go and look at Highpath Engineering's web site. They make oval chainrings and also explain that the Biopace ones were no good because the relationship of the ring to the crank was wrong. So maybe the idea wasn't so bad just the execution of it.

andrewgturnbull

Massimo wrote:

Your dad's right - if you had Biopace, you were hardcore, they were the ceramic bearings of the day!!

I've got a set in the loft if anyone wants to make me an offer! (Biopace, not ceramics)

I can't find a decent picture of just the biopace - but here's one of the whole bike, featuring some of the original Scott aero bars. This was taken in 99, but the bike was about 12 years old and very second-hand at the time.

http://www.andyturnbull.co.uk/1999/imag ... ke1999.jpg

Cheers, Andy

Massimo

I still have a Graham Weigh 531c in the loft with Shimano 105 including biopace chainrings from around 1990 - it was my first "good" bike

pliptrot

Monty made a good comment; that bikes are -relative to income- cheaper now.

15 years ago I had a paper round. It took me forever to save up for a pair of GP4s.

Massimo

GP4s, I'd forgotten all about them, I had Campag Omega Profiles on mine. This seems to be turning into a nostalgia thread...

OnTow

Seeing as this is turning into a Nostalgia thread - I was running Hutchinson Sprint 27x1 1/4 wire-ons, on my Weinmann rims, complete with random steel hubs that required the trusty old dog-bone and cutout spanner for the "track nuts!"
Breakdowns without a mobile 'phone were never a problem - I just walked to a telephone box and called my Dad!!
Remember the prank of reaching over on the club run, and flicking the friction levers forward on your mate's bike?

pliptrot

I still have the Campag record hubs that the GP4s were on, although getting freewheels and ergo levers to suit these days is getting tricky (thank God for ebay and the fact that [Campag] 8 speed & 7 speed systems were all on 5mm sprocket spacing).

Flicked friction levers only ever happened to me once - in my very first race. Punctures in 2nd & 3rd (honest)

dennisn

simbil1 wrote:

I reckon your right there Dennis.

There is a small percentage of innovation that it is good - STI's, clipless pedals for example and then there is all the other stuff which gets us to spend money when we don't need to. It does all keep the R&D cogs turning though, component manufacturers wouldn't survive if people only bought the 'good ideas' and replaced warn out stuff.

My favorite "new" stuff-

Integrated cranks and bottom brackets - the ease of maintainance is great.
And I love that little adjusting screw on dual pivot brakes. You know, the one
that lets you center the brake pads over the rim. Much better than the old way.
STI, oh yeah, I'll never go back to downtube shifters. You can't make me. Great stuff.
Clipless pedals are here to stay on my bike.
Even the new saddles are becoming more comfortable.

Dennis Noward