This is intended to be a light hearted question. I am not a “steel is real” guy as I enjoy bikes of all eras. However, this is something I’m starting to wonder. While cycling technology has increased greatly, has the soul, or sport? On one hand, cycling has always been consumer and technology driven. On the other hand, how far can we take it before it becomes the Borg? How long do we have before AI designs the perfect frame? A frame that’s built in some warehouse in China and has nothing to do with the name of the corporation that’s slapped on it. How long can companies lean on the “newest” technology and the commercialism of it? How expensive can things get? Where did all the famous cyclists go? What is in future ten to twenty years from now?
by Imnothere1980
6 Comments
Certainly feels like it
Beautiful bike!!
That bike may look pretty, but it’d be a pain to ride up hills, on bad terrain, or in the rain. I know people used to do it, but they also used to not wear helmets and smoke three packs a day, so maybe romanticizing the past isn’t the best.
Give me wide tires, hydraulic disks, deep gearing and a carbon frame any day of the week.
Also, your chain is rusted out, Fred.
Peak of cycling? Absolutely not. That said, some of the vintage bikes are significantly more aesthetically pleasing.
No? Don’t think so. Idk what you mean by peak, either. As a relatively new fan of the sport and rider (last 5 years) it seems like cycling has never been bigger. There was a Netflix show about the TdF, there’s plenty of world tour stars with huge followings outside the states – the vingegaard/ pogacar and MVDP/ Wout rivalries seem like match ups for the ages. Gravel racing is seeing cycling become larger and larger in the US too.
Maybe social media marketing and influencers make it seem like the sport has hollowed out or something. “Soul” seems like something impossible to quantify and so subjective as to be almost pointless to debate.
To me, seems like the sport is bigger than ever and people all over the world still have a blast riding, technical improvements be damned 🤷🏻♂️
Nope. I love old bikes, but modern bikes are much better to ride.