The 'discs must be better because they're discs' thing is what sums up the whole industry and is something akin to the mid 1990's frenzy when boutique verses the big man happened - albeit on a smaller scale as the world population was nearly some 2 billion less. Less internet too and only a few magazines and celebrities to hype things up
Now the frenzy is on a vast, vast scale in which internet influencers can get their opinions out first before products' release and which tribe of followers nail their colours to what mast first. Instant gratification from videos of unboxing, baseless product tests, pointless comparisons between H, X & Y. Heck, I've even noticed a 'new' trend for bigger ******* chainrings for christ sake...
The cycle of repetition has got shorter and shorter, products and lifespan can be measured in months. The re-invention of absolutely everything could only be repeated so many times before it failed and failed it has
It has harmed a once green and environmentally friendly mode of transport. Green washing of e-bikes as saviours of the world because its one less car journey - yet most still have their cars and will drive the bloody things to a bikepark so they can ride the damn things for 5 minutes.
The media's absolute hatred of cyclists has been spun up into hysteria by whats left of a dying print industry, bleeding into the soshul medyas, picking the scabs off some old forgotten incident and making any cyclist a killer of roolz and people no matter what the actual statistics may give as evidence to the contrary. The whole thing has been polarized into something unrecognisable from barely 20 years ago
It breaks my heart. I used to love cycling, I loved the magazines and the ride stories, getting excited because product X was genuinely better than the previous. I loved mixing and matching parts to suit my needs or budget. I once loved Retrobike for 'the bants, innit', the rides and the fact that we could all look each other in the eye and call someone a twat. Things change and things come and go but, really, really, not always for the better.