I largely agree with all below and hope that 2005 commences the renaissance. The fixed gear set / messenger chic group has got manufacturers attention and has spawned a number of boutique parts and frame producers. A minor quibble is with the dual pivot sidepull as a new concept - the Altenberger / GB / Weinmann synchron sidepulls presaged these.
Charlie Young Honey Brook, PA
Don wrote:
> > In 1960 Huret introduced the Alvit derailleur which followed the slope
> > of the freewheel while shifting. Weinmann Centerpulls were released
> > (+/- a few years.) Cinelli came out with plastic saddles a few years
> > later.
> >
> > Nothing else about a derailleur road bicycle really changed in any
> > fundamental way until about 1985. If you took a top-end 1960 bike and
> > a top-end 1985 bike and sprayed both bikes black, you might find 2 or
> > 4 extra low gears on the newer bike - that's about it. At least half
> > of the parts could have been IDENTICAL.
> >
> > >From about 1985 until today we have seen rapid change in drivetrain
> > design. On the trail ruggedness matters and all the tubes have gone
> > oversized, and all bikes have gone aluminum to get back some of the
> > weight penalty of oversized. Dual pivot brakes are new. On the road
> > we've shaved 6 lbs, or 25% of the weight, from bikes at all levels of
> > the price curve, and carbon fiber and kevlar have had the greatest
> > positive impact on ride feel, but the greatest negative impact on
> durability.
> >
> > Has there ever been a period of such rapid change in bicycle design?
> >
> > There will come a time when technological progress stagnates. A
> > renaissance in bicycle aesthetics might start soon as April 2005.
> >
> > - Don Gillies
> > San Diego, CA