gthomson

Are all these people from the bike forums? if so, that's really cool

gthomson

I'm glad I posted this because as redundant as it seemed, I'm actually surprised at some of the responses. It looks like lighting is the most popular answer which would have never been my guess but then I don't really ride at night, so not really applicable.

Electronics is very helpful and not sure if my Vetta computer would be included in that category since it's a few decades old but it did tell me distance, speed, total KM's etc...but I like tracking and sharing my ride with Strava.

Can't ever say I'll be a fan of lycra but I guess it beats a wool jersey. Despite all the advancements in technology, steel is still awesome to ride.

iab

The weed is so much better than 40 years ago. And legal.

My legs and lungs have not improved from 40 years ago.

I like computer navigation over paper maps/cue sheets.

I like the performance wools of today certainly over the wool/acrylic blends and maybe a touch more than a pure merino. Easier to clean. Hold shape nice.

More stuff/information is available through the internets.

Chicks/dudes definitely dig me more.

gugie 

About 4 out of 5 are active members.The ones that aren't are friends of BF members.

bikemig 

I grew up and did a ton of riding in the Gulf South (New Orleans). The summers are long, hot, and humid. Lycra was a game changer. So were camelbaks.

steine13

>> Ditto on internet and Bike Forums. Would never have met any of these people:

Agree with gugie...but looking at the pictures, man, that's a pretty sketchy plus

Seriously, though, I was thinking about this a few weeks ago... back in the 80s, 20 years old and getting ready to ditch my motor scooter for a decent bicycle.. I'm checking out the bike shop window, and they've got this beautiful cyclocross bike sitting there, cantilever brakes etc.. I'm thinking this is so cool... but I don't have a clue what I'm looking at.... and nowhere to go to find out.

Today, ten minutes on google and you're up to speed on anything.
Plus, all the stuff I've learned on this forum in the last six months.. just fantastic.

In the aughties, I built a Hybrid into an IGH winter bike with studded tires... vertical dropouts, so I really had to get the cog combination right... internet all the way, I found a spreadsheet for that purpose... I would not have attempted it without the tech support from the online community. How did we live without this?

What's really better today, on a technical level: shifting and braking, even at the lower price points. I'm fine with 2x8 gears, no big hills to climb.
Don't care for brifters, have them on one bike, they work great but too big for my hands... I prefer bar-ends for simplicity.
I like indexing, but no big deal doing without.
My Schwalbe tires ride through glass once a week and no flat in years... that's definitely new..

ABSOLUTELY the lights, no question. Maybe not the most important but the biggest improvement.
Riding all winter long with a bottom bracket dynamo rubbing on the rear tire...making "light" from a little halogen bulb, ugh... I don't miss any of that.
cheers -mathias

RobbieTunes

The beer is generally better.

I am a converted “lighting” guy. To be seen, mostly.

Pedal systems.

Chain and drivetrain reliability.

Sort and shallow bars. Like me.

Saddles. The old ones didn’t work for me.

Internet as a hard drive. “Seek and ye shall find;” a world market to participate in, on an individual scale.

RobbieTunes

That explains a lot.

RobbieTunes

Hold it, they need to be rideable?

RobbieTunes

Correlation?

iab

Naw. I smoked a ton back then. I tried it recently for pain. Didn't work. But damn.

Pompiere

LED lighting, tires, GPS, fabrics, large insulated water bottles, and helmets. I like riding vintage bikes, but these modern accessories go with me.

nlerner

Two more: Merino wool. No more itchiness!

Miele Man

I love my old steel bicycles. I have one that I converted back in 2001 to Campagnolo 9-speed Mirage/Veloce with Ergo shift/brake levers. To me it's the best of Classic and modern. It's a Columbus SLX frameset. Actually, there's an entire thread somewhere on these forums about such conversions.




The thing I most like about modern stuff are battery lights and batteries. Now you can get a light that lights up the road and the battery lasts a fairly long time and is rechargeable.

Cheers

bikemig 

Yeah but try wool if riding in a high humidity area like the Gulf South. You'll switch to Lycra and never look back!

jackbombay

I quite like Brifters, modern tires/wheels, and dual pivot caliper brakes.

I can't quite get into disc brakes on road bikes, I'm not opposed to them, but I don't own any currently and have no plans to own any.

Shp4man

In my opinion, the modern cell phone is without question the best advance in cycling. I can deal with old tech otherwise, but instant communication/information is priceless.

10 Wheels

Way to many Deaths (Bike riders) caused by Cell Phone use in Autos

Shp4man

That's true, and not just cyclists. The good with the bad, I suppose.

sheddle

I actually have done Grant's thing of wearing sleeved cotton shirts for hot dry weather. Works better than you'd intuitively expect. (there's a reason you see people like landscapers and roofers doing the same thing in the summer) Not touching wool shorts, though.

sheddle

On the other hand, it increases the temptation to ride without any way to fix flats and tick off the one guy you know with a pickup truck...

10 Wheels

Or call the wife or girl friend to come and get you.

noglider 

I did that once when it was raining and the trip proved harder than I expected. She said no!

10 Wheels

I have come upon 6 riders waiting for someone to pick them up.

dmarkun

Same experience here. But for me it was midnight and snowing. To be fair, I had earlier refused her offer to pick me up from work.

1. Phone/camera/GPS
2. Bright LED lights
3. Socks