drlogik 

Old technology that was going to make it to bikes at some point. Inevitable. Improvement? Yes, for many. No comment on Graeme Obree?

Outrider1

Buzz kill #2 a few threads up. #47

drlogik 

The tempo on this thread is about what I expected. Group think at its best.

Waxbytes

When did they start using carbon fiber for cycling shoe soles? That was a big improvement.

drlogik 

Think about what you just said. There was a 19 year old kid on that sub. You won't accept an apology and makes a flippant comment about a 19 year old dying through no fault of his own.

pdlamb

You mean you made a contrarian, Luddite argument without backing any of it up, and most of the people who responded disagreed with you?

Expected, perhaps. Group think? Nah.

rosefarts

I had a pair of Trek/Nike Poggio II shoes. Still the lightest shoe I've ever worn and if I clicked my heels together and said "there's no place like home..."

Anyway, I got those in probably 2003 or 2004, They had and OCLV sole. They were not the newest and greatest model available. I'd venture to guess that carbon soles date into the mid to late 90's somewhere (Carnac?).

It was definitely the mid 2000's when they became an everyday option though.

GhostRider62

Milan SL was extraordinarily innovative, allowing 30 mph on 120 watts.

Carbon fibre seat posts designed for shock absorption are innovative. Thinking of Canyon Endurace, Specialized goose neck, and also the Felt AR.

PeteHski

The Endurace split carbon seatpost is a really nice piece of engineering and very effective. It beats the carbon D-Fuse post on my Giant Defy. When the Canyon post deflects the saddle stays level instead of tilting back. Subtle difference, but noticeable. It makes it feel less obvious that the post is deflecting at all, but you still get the comfort. The controlled compliance on the Endurace integrated carbon bars is really nice too.

These are the kind of improvements I really notice on modern road bikes compared to 20 years ago. Engineered, targeted compliance taking full advantage of different carbon lay-ups. Carbon bikes from 20 years ago were a lot more basic in respect of their lay-ups. It's a largely invisible improvement, but quite significant.

Wildwood 

The title asks for improvements - my answer would be that the industry has made many improvements in areas that bicycles seldom (but sometimes) require. Funny how my 60 year old road bike is most adequate for about 80% of my bike rides. Limited gearing and single pivot brakes are the most significant deficiencies (both could be easily upgraded at low cost to newer components without frame modifications).

Some of us like low tech.
Low tech that works well in supporting the task at hand.
Tech that enables simple maintenance of the machine.

Not against high tech, but hopefully = good low tech will continue to be around....affordably.
@drlogik - New and unique technology is seldom introduced on low priced products.
I know of no other application for derailleurs - so, maybe, unique?



60 years of road bike advancement, but rides much the same.



Clear your handlebars and your mind may follow.

ljsense

Decent pumps can now fit in a jersey pocket.

GPS head units, phones, power meters all connected.

Better helmets

Taller socks

More beets

Strava segments

Zwift races

Trakhak

Don't know about "important" and "improvements," but the biggest change for me would be the influx of computer-based engineering gradually replacing glorified guesswork.

The concurrently running "Death Parts" thread comes to mind: Cinelli M-71 pedals, the Lambert/Viscount "death fork," beautifully machined Campagnolo cranks that showed a tendency to crack, etc.

The late Jobst Brandt took a dim view of the primitive engineering behind many of the bike market innovations that were hastily released back in the day, such as would hit the stores and stay in production unchanged until, as he put it, "the death toll became prohibitive."

PeteHski

Also the influx of engineers with actual engineering qualifications! I witnessed a similar transformation in the British motorsport industry during the 1990s. There was some seriously dubious engineering back in the 70s and 80s in “cottage industries” like these. It wasn’t like NASA!

Trakhak

Then there are the wonderful designs preserved in the Bicycle Museum of Bad Ideas. Thinking outside the box! (Unless it's the cat box.)

I looked up "bad crank designs." There are plenty of those at the link above. It's probably worth exploring the other pages at that site, too.

Racing Dan

Hydraulic disc brakes for drop bar bikes and DI2. Every enthusiast and road race bike will feature this in a few years.

GhostRider62

Flat carbon bars (aero) are almost game changes for my messed up ulnar and radial nerves.

I take out one of my old bikes once in a while and the improvements are very noticeable. Some endurance oriented setups are so vastly more comfortable than older rigs that it isn't funny.

Garthr

I can't say there have been any improvements. Lateral moves, downgrades, sure. Improvements, no. Cycling is hot mess of too many chefs in the kitchen making food that sucks and presenting it as "gourmet" !

beng1

The only changes made to bicycles since the 1990s has been for the sake of something to market to consumers. There is a finite number of elements the planet is made of, and the best ones for bicycle manufacturing, iron and aluminum, were found a hundred years ago.

79pmooney

Graphene in tires. A big step up. Tire designers still have to juggle the six-pointed star of rolling resistance, grip, puncture resistance, weight, mileage and I am forgetting the last - but - the sum total of the length of those points is bigger. You can keep the low rolling resistance and better the cornering grip. More mileage. Fewer flats. Life on the bike is better. All my road tires are graphene now except the Vittoria Opens that refuse to die or flat now that they know they are being replaced.

tomato coupe

Yawn. You need some new material for your act.