Good question - but if we leave it too vague, we will be recycling many many old threads! Dual-pivot brakes? Indexed gears? Clinchers? Clipless? Synthetics?? LED lights ...Psamathe wrote: ↑13 Sep 2021, 1:50pm Is it a broader question or a question of degree? i.e. is it about using technology rather than using "the internet". So having Archies campsite listings pre-downloaded it technically not "using the internet" (whilst touring) but is maybe in the spirit of the question. Using pre-created routes might not be internet based (1 month of one tour I used daily routes created every day created locally by my GPS - no internet involved.
I do think the mobile internet is a whole new step - neither good nor bad on the whole, but an interesting discussion. It's interesting because you get sucked into so many aspects at once (and there is the charging dependency ... ). Buying LED lights doesn't require you to have indexed gears ... etc ...
[I personally think GPS is a separate technology, as we could use it even without the invention of the web, http, 4G etc etc ... But even so, it's clearly possible to travel/cycle-tour without it if necessary!!]