Since people seem to be dusting off their old engineering texts, here's a semantic point I'll propose if it hasn't been made already: Bike Technology reached an "inflection point" in 1984. I don't think it "peaked", but perhaps the overall rate of improvement began to increase with a lesser slope, with additional inflections at the introductions on 7/8/9/10 speed gruppos.
I love to ride steel; I love to ride Ti; I can enjoy riding Carbon/Al; I've never ridden straight Al.
I've loved riding 5/6spd friction; I love 7/8/9spd SIS in down-tube/bar-end/STI flavors; I love riding fixed. I even find that after riding fixed, I shift less 'cause I'm more comfortable over a wider cadence range, so maybe I don't need all those gears...
I'll go along with what Bob Roll taught Lance Armstrong during Armstrong's comeback camp: any day on a bike is a great day.
Aesthetically, I love steel w/ nice lug work or good fillet brazing and I love nice Ti welding, but beauty is always in the eye of the beholder.
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Bill Canilang
ridgewood.nj.usa
'99 Ibis Sonoma (Ancotech Ti), 34/46, 11x23
'95 Trek 970 (Easton CrMo), 24/36/46, 12x28
'91 Trek 2300 (TreTubi Carbon), 39/52, 12x23
'84 Bianchi Sport SX (Ishiwata Magny), 42x16