This is an interesting subject and there have been some good replies. Golf was mentioned. I recall when clubs with fiberglass then later carbon fiber shafts were introduced. They made a big difference in the game for someone with a slow, mild swing. Later, oversized drivers came along. They gave the skilled golfer a distinct advantage. Sobeit
In the mid-70's "standard" wooden tennis rackets were supplanted with oversized net surfaces and aluminum shanks. That advancement clearly improved the game for many tennis buffs. But over the years there have been attempts to push things a bit too far. I remember when someone designed a tennis racket with soft, spaghetti-like material in the netting. This allowed the player to put "english" on the ball that made return volleys nearly impossible and it was hastily outlawed by various amateur and professional tennis associations. I used to do .22 rimfire silhouette shooting back in the 70's. Then some yahoo came along and invented a rifle with an electronic trigger wired to a laser sight that wouldn't allow the shooter to pull the trigger unless the rifle was absolutely dead-on the target. That device, too, was outlawed. It took the fun out of the sport and took competition down the drain. I could go on, but the point is...where does one cross the line between something that requires work and skill to develop an expertise versus just throwing money at an innovation that runs ragged over everyone else? So... back to the subject of bikes, especially off-road MTB. I've had people riding $7K CF fat tired 1x11 bikes blow past me on the trails like I was standing still. They wanted to pay that much for the extra edge and it's their prerogative to do so. But I'm afraid that I have to draw the line with these e-bikes. Posters on some blogs insist on referring to them as "mopeds" and for all intents and purposes, that is exactly what they are. Back when MTBing first became popular I remember reading lots of rants and complaints from hikers who felt endangered by riders barreling down a path at full tilt. But gradually private, pay-as-you-go MTB courses were developed and that pretty much separated the fully competitive riders from the hikers. Not so with e-bikes. During the past several years I've noticed a steady increase in those mechanized two-wheeled contraptions on trails...and it's gradually becoming a dangerous threat to regular cyclists. So, in the final analysis, advancement in technology is not necessarily a bad thing as long as it doesn't go to far, is kept in a proper environment, and doesn't interfere with others. On Thursday, February 10, 2022 at 7:49:11 PM UTC-6 Jay Lonner wrote: > My wife and I are spending a week in northern AZ, which included a day of > mountain biking in Sedona. We rented fancy dual-suspension, carbon fiber > wonderbikes which are about as anti-Riv as you can get — and it was a > fantastic experience! I’ve never ridden such a beast before, and was amazed > at the terrain it could handle in the hands of a newcomer to this style of > riding. It’s the most fun I’ve had on a bike in years. > > I had a Gus in my shopping cart when they were last on sale, but > ultimately didn’t go through with the purchase because I want to be free to > experiment with builds that depart from the Riv way of doing things, such > as IGHs and disc brakes. And now I’m doubly glad I held off, because I am > giving serious consideration to buying a fully modern mountain bike. > > In retrospect I think I gave too much credence to the idea of underbiking. > There’s no way I could have handled this sort of terrain on a Riv-style > bike — I would have been walking it the entire time. And while that may be > the lowest common gear, as a former commenter here liked to say, it > wouldn’t have been nearly as fun. > > So I guess this is part confession and part query — who else mixes and > matches their Rivendells with the sort of modern ironmongery that would > give Grant & Co. conniptions? > > Jay Lonner > Bellingham, WA (but temporarily in Sedona, AZ) > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/4d275f65-f309-472d-977f-a73ce4a0ba9dn%40googlegroups.com.
