Are we going to be lusting over stuff like this in 2025?
I'm a bit worried - how will the uber-high tech bikes of now last in the long term? Loads of different formats and bits (different BB standards, different caliper mounts, 1.5 headsets, tapered steerers, air shocks etc) will make it hard to keep stuff running surely?
Do we reckon we'll be able to get replacement air seals for air shocks that are 15 years old? Caliper seals? Hub bits? Will structural carbon components still be ok after 15 years of use, cleaning, mud and UV exposure? Dunno.
I'm concerned that as bikes get more and more high tech and more and more specialised (pardon the pun) that they won't last as long, and fall into obsolescence quicker.
Forgive me for sounding like a bit of an old git, but I reckon forks, for example, are become more of a throwaway item. I can imagine trying to source spares will be like walking into an Apple store with a 2005 model ipod. They'll think you've travelled through time, incredulous that you've still got such an antique, and just point and laugh.
For years we had square taper BBs, with 2 different shell widths. What have we got now? Isis, Octalink, and 2 or more different through-axle type BB / Chainset standards. Add in proprietary components, rear shocks etc, them funny elevating seatposts, tapered steerer tubes and it'll be a nightmare. I guess modern bikes need a bit of an evolutionary shakeup as materials and designs change, and I'm sure it'll settle down as the industry figure out what really works well, but for people wanting to source a 2011 bike as a retro bike in the future, they'll have their work cut out.
