List of recent 'innovations' of the cycling industry

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,

Pointless/annoying supposed 'innovations' abound. Things that are truly beneficial often go unnoticed and unremarked. Real developments that have made the lot of the cyclist a happier one in the last 40 years include;

- more widespread use of stainless steel parts instead of badly plated rubbish (mudguards, various bolts, cables, spokes)
- cassette hubs (although the manufacturers seem to be hell-bent on coming up with more new 'standards'; sod them; I'm not buying them)
- double walled rims
- indexing that works
- flexible bushingless chains
- better seals on bearings
- more puncture resistant tyres
- good clipless pedals

All pretty basic stuff, and you will notice that none of it really happened inside the last 20 years. Supposed 'developments' since then mostly fall into the pointless/annoying category.

cheers

For me the last two are not on my list.
Tyres are still not any better against glass, flints, nails, thorns, and are subject to fashion of how much air you should take out to go faster in pliant mode with more damage to tubes and rims.
Clipless pedals to me are like tubeless tyres, should be better but are more technical, and will commonly stop you dead on a hill, and you just might need a lift home.

Cassette hubs and sealed BB's (the later) will go past 10k miles without constant adjustment...........and hooked bead rims.............saves having to let some air out to get home when you get a tube blister
I can't see me going past mid 90's stuff at the moment, technical performance gains even reliability are not worth the paper.

Led bike lights for night riding.......wow

[cyclop]

What about the two speed hubs,advertised in the latest cycling uk magazine.What a fantastic and innovative way to overcome the limitations of the 1x11 gearing.The 1x11,designed for the mechanically challenged,is now a 2x11,how novel........hang on,didn,t they used to have a double chainring thingy back in the day,really fiddly with screws and things.I can remember having to adjust them nearly every decade.The new device is electronic,no levers to push,trouble free in the the dry,not sure about our local lanes though ,covered in muck........

[francovendee]

I think that there have been innovations that are worthwhile but the ones in the original post aren't.
'it's all gone down hill since the arrival of the safety bicycle' is something I've heard trotted out many times.
The bike companies seem to spend a lot of money making products to fix problems that don't exist.

Years back I was a keen angler and bought bait on the Saturday ready for the Sunday match. The shop always had some a new gadget that would ensure your fishing was more successful. I've even been tempted but discovered fairly quickly the only thing getting caught were the customers.

[iandusud]

OK, I'll show my hand.

No so good:
1x gear systems - nuts!
Internal cables (not necessarily modern but a lot more common and a PITA).
Forever changing standards for BBs, headsets etc (most of which is just for the sake of being different rather than any better, although that's not what they tell you).

Good:
LED lighting - wonderful!
Good gear indexing (although I find that with 10 speed or more with STI levers you really have to keep on top of cable maintenance. My SRAM Force 22 is much better than my Shimano STI systems in this respect).
Cassette hubs - no more broken axles.
Clipless pedals.
Better sealing of bearings.
Better tyres. Modern clinchers give a ride that I could only get with tubulars at one time. They are also much more puncture resistant.
Rims are stronger for a given weight.

Some of the above a more recent than others but are what I have experienced in my lifetime.

Ian

[speedsixdave]

Not strictly an innovation but:

Pannier racks are far better now than when I started in the 1980s, although that about coincides with the original Jim Blackburn racks. When I compare a modern Tubus rack with the thing made of coat hangers that came with my wife's 1982 Galaxy, the difference in stiffness and weight is startling.

[speedsixdave]

Not a very recent innovation but I remember all the positive benefits for the cyclist listed when Suntour 'innovated' Microdrive chainsets and cassettes, and then everyone else followed suit. Some of these benefits were undoubtedly real - more clearance and lighter weight - but mostly I can imagine the enormous glee in the management meetings when someone pointed out how many thousands of tonnes of metal would be saved during production. And we can charge them more for it! And it'll all wear out quicker so we'll sell more! What's not to like...

[cycle tramp]

...At this point my heart goes out to small independently run bicycle shops. Given that the market is now awash with hundreds if different types of this that or the other- the idea of trying to maintain any sort of decent 'spare part range' must be financially beyond them....
..even some thing like intertubes must be getting tricky...
..so when a customer like myself walks in to find that they don't have a part (5 speed screw on freewheel) but can get it next week (due to the parts supplier contract that they've signed) the bicycle shop has already lost out to someone like Amazon* who can supply it cheaper and get me the new part next day...
No wonder there's not too many bicycle shops left.

(*Jeffe Bezos can go and suck my greasy headset. Slavery should have died out ages ago, so I place my order with the small independent bike shop)

[simonineaston]

no real innovation - no game changer - since adoption of safety cycle frame & air-pressure tyre. All the rest is just micro-twiddling... true innovation damped, of course, by the likes of the UCI, who like to keep the game unchanged.

[rogerzilla]

Imagine having to keep reaming/cutting tools for all the different headset standards. You wouldn't. 1" and 1 1/8" external cup, that's your lot.

[cycle tramp]

no real innovation - ... true innovation damped, of course, by the likes of the UCI, who like to keep the game unchanged.

DEATH TO THE UCI!!!...
....sorry, sorry... sometimes it just slips out...

[Jdsk]

...so when a customer like myself walks in to find that they don't have a part (5 speed screw on freewheel) but can get it next week (due to the parts supplier contract that they've signed) the bicycle shop has already lost out to someone like Amazon* who can supply it cheaper and get me the new part next day...
No wonder there's not too many bicycle shops left.

Why can't that small bike shop get parts as quickly as you?

I've put that whole logistics system as one of the big modern improvements.

Jonathan

PS: But it does mean that they need a whole new business model. That's not inherently either good or bad.

[Jdsk]

no real innovation - no game changer - since adoption of safety cycle frame & air-pressure tyre.

Didn't gears that you can change without dismounting come after those?

; - )

Jonathan

[Brucey]

first derailleur gear was (allegedly) offered on 'the whippet' bicycle, which was pre-pneumatic-popularity...?

cheers

[simonhill]

Wired, then wireless cycle 'computers'. A major advance on the little thing attached to fork and hit by a pin every wheel rotation. Remember - tick, tick, tick, etc.

Imagine back in the 60's if someone told you that for about the price of a decent tyre you could have these multiple functions on your handlebars.

Ergon Grips and bar ends.

Personally, I think the whole MTB thing back in the 80's was a major innovation and got lots into cycling and (like me) into long distance touring.

[Jdsk]

first derailleur gear was (allegedly) offered on 'the whippet' bicycle, which was pre-pneumatic-popularity...?

: - )

I knew I should have included "mainstream"!

Jonathan