For me it has changed , but not that much. I have been riding lightweight road bikes since the mid seventies . I still have the first one I bought. At 68 , I am not the rider I once was but still ride quite a bit and enjoy building vintage (now a days!) bikes that I could only dream about in my twenties. I don't have the strength I used to have , or the endurance , but I have all the desire I had when I started riding my Schwinn Varsity in high school in the late sixties. Having a ten speed meant going much further than I could on my Sting Ray. In those days your bike was your freedom. Now my bikes are my mental floss , whether I'm wrenching on them or pedaling them.