Originally Posted by
livedarklions
That grossly overstates the case, though. In the last 40 years, the changes in electronics have been completely transformative, totally changing every performance aspect of the devices to the point that they're really not the same machines they were back then--a smart phone simply isn't just an evolution from the pocket radio, for example.
Bikes are still just bikes, materials are better and more varied, there's the opportunity to use different shapes in the construction, some of them are considerably lighter, some of them are marginally sturdier, but really their operation and capabilities aren't much different from what you could purchase 40 years ago.
It was a flippant response to a tired topic but my point was more along the lines of personally I like the shiny new fun thing because it's shiny and new and fun, not because I actually need it.
That said I also really like my C&V bike. But I won't pretend that my fancy modern carbon bike isn't an improvement in almost every aspect other than soul.