Nearholmer wrote: 17 Jul 2026, 4:07pm
I also think we all have a “stop” point with the onward march of bike tech too, or at least many people seem to have, a point where neo-phobia, or the comfort of the familiar, trumps cool appraisal of whether the next thing is actually useful or not.
Though some of the point of a stop is realising that staying on the leading edge costs more in money, time and energy than it's worth for an individual, especially when one adds in a desire not to add to unnecessary consumption.
There are various things I have across various hobbies and interests where I know I can get something that is genuinely better, but where what I have is good enough to the point I'll use my finite financial resources on something else. Not neophobia, but just I have other things to better spend money on.
Yes, I have stopped, in fact regressed a bit, in cycle-tech, partly under tutelage of members here, because it’s noticeably cheaper, and perfectly suitable for my needs, to use 9sp drivetrains, and I find vee brakes good for all except the bikes I put through most abuse off road. Plus, all my bikes have steel frames and forks.
My other hobby is all about serious regression, because I collect, restore, and run model trains which are c60 to 100+ years old, and build layouts using only “period” techniques and materials …….. that is really about aesthetics though, practicality isn't exactly a factor with toy trains!
Nearholmer wrote: 19 Jul 2026, 9:20am
Yes, I have stopped, in fact regressed a bit, in cycle-tech, partly under tutelage of members here, because it’s noticeably cheaper, and perfectly suitable for my needs, to use 9sp drivetrains, and I find vee brakes good for all except the bikes I put through most abuse off road. Plus, all my bikes have steel frames and forks.
That's rather a different discussion to what counts as innovation though.
You can acknowledge that X is an innovation but still prefer (for whatever reasons you have) to use Y for example. That's fine. After all, the equipment you use now was once new and innovative itself.
However, as is the way with cycling, it will have had folk up in arms that they didn't need this newfangled stuff, 5sp is fine and if you need more you're a wimp and a weakling; rod brakes are perfectly good, why is The Industry foisting these horrible cable operated things at me...
It's always the way. But it's a diversion from the original question of innovations.
I've always embraced innovation and marvelled at the clever new ways around an old problem someone has come up with. Even if they don't work for one solution a version of it may get utilized in something else.
One example is the old belt drive DAF variomatic gearbox which is now in most cars as a disc or steel pusher belt system for power transfer.
Another is Bubble wrap was originally invented to solve a home decor problem as a textured plastic wallpaper, but it failed at that and as greenhouse insulation before becoming a massive success as protective shipping material.
I'm hoping one of the automatic transmissions for bicycles will turn out to be the way it's done.
" A Living is made from what you Get "
" A Life is made from what you Give"
Electronic gears
Increasingly arthritic fingers & thumbs make mechanical shifting a chore. It also allows some degree of mix & match as I've got drop bar SRAM brifters operating their MTB gears (10-52 12speed x 36 front. With the extra buttons on the shifters I've got it set up so I can change up or down gear with either hand, plus blips mid bar so I can shift with my hands on the bar tops.The waggly brake lever shifting of Shimano's mechanical setup is a not very close second (I've no experience of Di2 but would imagine it is similar to SRAM for ease of use).
Disc brakes
Particularly hydraulic. The latest iteration of SRAM brifters, designed purely for electronic -so the hydraulics haven't had to be designed round the shifting mechanism, have given such easy, controlled braking. Combined with Hope RX4+ 4 pot callipers I can comfortably do almost all my braking with 1 finger for each brake if I want.
An added bonus of disc brakes here is the lack of wearing out of rims. The local combination combination of steep, windy lanes & highly abrasive millstone grit in the wash off that gets onto the road meant I could wear out a set of Mavic rims in little over a year. And I'm not a brake dragger, I'm happy doing 40+ mph when it is safe to do so ( I've not quite managed to top 50 locally).
Wide, fast tyres
When I got my current bike in 2017, I had stocked up on end-of-line 38mm Vittoria Voyager Hypers. First ride with those I set a Strava PB on one of the local fast descents. So they aren't slow but the level of comfort & grip is on a different level to the 28mm max of my old Kinesis Tk road bike.
Bikes designed to take the above 2
Whatever you want to call them - Gravel, all road, etc. When I had a road bike & an MTB there were tracks that were a slog on the road if I went on the MTB or weren't readily doable (or not much fun if you did them) on the road bike. The current steed, a Kona Sutra, is great on the road - I've done up to 100 road miles in a day - but I reckon it is at least as good as my 1986 unsuspended MTB off road. Apart from extended mud or very steep slopes with a loose surfasce it even does everything comfortably on the Voyager Hypers.
GPS (with good battery life & decent route planning)
I've had a Garmin since 2008, starting with an Edge 205. Even though that was a bit limited with it's navigation, having a map that showed where you were at any given moment saves a lot of time &, potentially, stress. When I started cycling in the 1970s we would quite happily follow main roads. Even a decade or two later I remember having no qualms about cycling home from near Newtown in the Welsh borders by going straight up the A483/A55 to Chester, only turning off where it became the M53. In the last decade or so I've been doing a lot of cycling around Chester (piloting tandem for a sight impaired friend there) & wouldn't dream of riding on those roads now (even if it is still permitted). But I can get about on often surprisingly direct routes by linking together lanes & traffic free paths, guided if necessary by a permitted line on the Garmin map. If I'm on more familiar territory I may just plane a route on my phone or computer & then just remember it to ride. Or possibly change it spontaneously should I not need to be in a particular place for a particular time.
Former member of the Cult of the Polystyrene Head Carbuncle.
I would suggest fantastic lights and hydro discs, the two things I wished were more effective when I first MTBed mid 80s. Everything else is a gradual change.
