I’m a younger and newer cyclist, but for the purposes of recreation, I don’t think bikes have gotten appreciably better in the last 40 years. A top end steel bike with 3x6 or 7 gears and downtube friction shifters from the 80s would probably suit me just fine if all I did was ride for fun. Heck, I know someone who rides a (very cheap and modern) bike like that and he does just fine.
That being said, I think a small part of the perception of older bikes being worse is how quickly the bike industry changes up standards. Gears, brakes, crank spindles, bottom brackets, headsets, steerers, hubs/freehubs, dropouts, and tires have all changed quite a bit.
For example, if I were buying an expensive bike right now, I probably wouldn’t get 11 speed Shimano. They’re probably going to switch to microspline 12 speed, which is going to bring its own set of compatibility issues. I wouldn’t get rim brakes or stock up on my favorite tubulars or even tube-only clinchers either.
This is probably a very small part of the problem though.
Last edited by smashndash; 05-22-20 at 01:29 PM.