When I go to a bike shop nowadays, just to have a look around, I have absolutely no interest in the stuff I see.
I think I began to lose interest in current bikes when threadless started to appear on road bikes, then compact frames, oversized tubing etc. I've always carried on using the stuff I started cycling with: lugged steel frames, friction gears, screw-on freewheels, non-aero brake levers etc. The only modern part I use are SPD pedals.
So I've never used STI/Ergo, 8 speeds, dual-pivot brakes etc, but at least I had enough interest to read about them, at one time I even thought about getting some Ergo levers but the fact I would have needed to change so many parts put me off. I did try indexed downtube levers once but I didn't like the loud click you get with every gear change.
I'm sure current bikes are very nice, but I'll continue to ride my pre-1986 bikes.
I think I began to lose interest in current bikes when threadless started to appear on road bikes, then compact frames, oversized tubing etc. I've always carried on using the stuff I started cycling with: lugged steel frames, friction gears, screw-on freewheels, non-aero brake levers etc. The only modern part I use are SPD pedals.
So I've never used STI/Ergo, 8 speeds, dual-pivot brakes etc, but at least I had enough interest to read about them, at one time I even thought about getting some Ergo levers but the fact I would have needed to change so many parts put me off. I did try indexed downtube levers once but I didn't like the loud click you get with every gear change.
I'm sure current bikes are very nice, but I'll continue to ride my pre-1986 bikes.