New Tech

Retrogrouch - noun
1. One who is skeptical of technological developments until their usefulness and reliability have been proven.
2. One who insists on minimalist equipment that may be user-serviced.
(seemingly coined by the cycling community, just search the term with Google)

In a culture that ties self worth with always having the latest and greatest technology, it's fun to be different and use old technology even after it's been deemed obsolete. Most people seem to upgrade phones as often as possible, but for me this raises the question: how long can a phone last?

In my case study of one, the answer is about five years. Even with such impressive specs as the Motorola Quantico, the rubber buttons on the side started to dry rot and fall off. It seems self destruction is imminent. This has me finally looking for a smart phone; even though, I'll lose part of my retrogrouch identity.

While I've never gotten caught up in phone tech, bike technology is a different story. My old bike may be a rigid single speed, but it has plenty of (what was) new technology: 29er wheels, tubeless tires, carbon fiber fork, disk brakes, etc. Those were new at the time, but as anyone in the sport knows, the bike industry has been booming for the last 10 years or so.

With carbon frames, hydraulic disk brakes, fine tuned suspension, and every realistic wheel size covered, what else is left? There's a definite risk of stagnation coming over the next few years. But who knows, maybe we'll see 3d printed, complex nano structured frames and/or suspension components that weigh 1/2lbs. Or lightweight, continuously variable, internally geared hubs. Or maybe someone will finally develop a comfortable saddle.

It'll be interesting to see where the industry goes from here. In the meantime keep riding whatever's fun.