Category: Bike History

Cars, for example, transformed our culture. A bike is more than just a mode of transportation; it is a cultural phenomenon.It influences society, travel, city planning, and politics. E-bikes will usher in a new revolution that is still in its early stages.
With much more energy-dense batteries on the way, we will have greater range, shorter charge times, more fun in general, and will also allow seniors and the disabled to ride bikes.

If you go back to your childhood or travel to different countries, you might come across some very interesting stories about how inspiring some bikes are.
When I was a kid, my second bike (the “real” two-wheeler) was a folding bike.
It was intended to be used primarily in marinas for the wealthiest of the wealthy, but in my country, it is a cheap source of entertainment for boys and a mode of transportation for the elderly.
Most adults rode them as infants, and I see a lot of middle-aged people buying folding bikes, not because they are cheap (not anymore), versatile, or easy to transport, but because they were accustomed to it when they were childs.

I’d like to hear about your experiences as well! My best times have probably been spent on steel bikes, and I adore vintage bikes!

trek madone price

Why bikes are getting more expensive?

Bike and component prices are getting more expensive than ever. Prices have lowered a bit recently, but the trend is up. In an age where manufacturing getting easier than ever, how has this happened? It’s not just priced: the bike was a utilitarian thing in the past, produced to be used forever, but now, they are becoming irrelevant in a decade, or less. Fiat Panda UK price, including all taxes. Sometimes less is more. I like bike computers, to some degree. About 10 years ago, I decided to get into photography hobby and collected the best equipment my budget permits. Yes; big DSLR’s. I was walking with a huge backpack with at least 15+ kg of equipment stuffed in it. One day, I bought a second-hand Sony NEX, the first generation, because it was very cheap. Later on, it became… Continue Reading Why bikes are getting more expensive?

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shimano deore xt hydraulic brake caliper m755

Groupset of the month: Deore XT (MTB-Touring)

Deore XT is my favorite, and Shimano’s first attempt to make an MTB groupset. It was first released in 1983, and still going strong, and wildly popular. For me, Deore XT is the way to go, except for the brakes. I love their hubs, love their rear derailleurs, love front derailleurs than anything else XTR included, but must say XTR shifters still beats them by a fair margin. Chains? I never buy fancy chains, but yeah, they are good too, at least Ultegra was, which was the same thing. XT cranksets are awesome, at least until now: they are bombproof, light enough, and not super expensive. When I was building my XTR-equipped bike, I skip XTR in 2 parts: one is the crankset, the other was the front derailleur. Cassette? Well…I used to have XT before. I had very good… Continue Reading Groupset of the month: Deore XT (MTB-Touring)

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graziella folding bike gold

Folding bikes – advantages and disadvantages

My first 2-wheel bike was a folding bike, because it was immensely popular when I was a child, and there was no proper child bikes in my country. I can now understand why they were so popular: it’s hugely adjustable to any size, and very easy to manufacture unless it’s Brompton, the gold standard of folding bikes. I have a thing for folding bikes as it was my first proper bike, but in reality, folding bikes are not proper bikes. They seemingly have lots of advantages, but that’s not right. It’s like running a bike repair business with a multitool: a multitool seemingly solves all problems no more than a pocket knife, it’s cheap and you don’t need to switch tools. Well, try fixing your bike with one, then we can talk about it! They can serve well as a… Continue Reading Folding bikes – advantages and disadvantages

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Shimano 105 R7000 Compact Chainset 11 Speed crank

Groupset of the month: Shimano 105 History (road)

Shimano 105 is the upper-middle groupset for road bikes, released back in 1982. Also, Shimano 105 Di2 is the cheapest and most recent electronic groupset of the company. Mechanical version sits between lower end Tiagra and higher end Ultegra. In MTB-line, it sits between Deore and SLX. It came to life “105 Golden Arrow” in 1980, then renamed to 105. There are various claims why it was called 105, most interesting one is its “501” in reverse, the most-loved and well regarded Levi’s jeans in Japan at the time. It was below Dura Ace and 600 (later Ultegra) when released, for price-concious competitive riders. It’s considered as the entry-level racing-ready groupset, even today. It’s not clear when 105 got indexed shifting, AKA STI shifters, AKA brifters. I know for sure that Dura-Ace 7400 has 8 speed STI shifters, in 1990.… Continue Reading Groupset of the month: Shimano 105 History (road)

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wheeltop wireless derailleur mtb 12 speed

Mysterious disappearance of Chinese electronic rear derailleur, WheelTop EDS OX

I’m annoyed by electronic drivetrains, because of their vendor lock nature: you cannot use shifters from any other manufacturer, though it is perfectly OK to implement. But the most annoying part is, they are designed to make you spend more. There is no reason for an 11s electronic rear derailleur to mismatch with a 10s cassette. Anyone who knows a few about electronics already knows it’s very easy to make it work with ANY cassette. Jockey cogs will need replacement, but that’s a very easy obstacle to handle properly. WheelTop is the first manufacturer that came out with a decent design, that is advertised to work with 7 to 12-speed cassettes. Now, the product disappeared, even from the company website. I won’t be surprised to know they had troubles with Sram, maybe Shimano. Thing is, I’m sick of patent trolling.… Continue Reading Mysterious disappearance of Chinese electronic rear derailleur, WheelTop EDS OX

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dtswiss thru axle

Newer bike standards that are actually good

We started to see emerging new “standards” or “tech” especially in the last decade. Most of them are vaporware, causes more problems and confusion then to provide a solution to problems they address. I’ll try to see the brighter side today. There are some standards that are actually needed. Stupidly, most of them tries to fix some problems that were non-existant before. It’s still good to solve a problem, without thinking about the causes, or who messed it up in the first place: Thru axles: Thru axles is a nice idea, and it solves 2 problems: one is the one with disc brakes, and the other one is about cup and cone bearing hubs. QR (Quick release) is quite an old piece of ….technology, first made by Campagnolo. I never liked it a bit, because you are compressing the hub… Continue Reading Newer bike standards that are actually good

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shimano logo

Why Shimano is sooo common?

When I ride my first bike, many components of it were made by different companies. Nowadays, you can buy or build a bike that is built on Shimano or Sram components, minus the frame. Well, sort of – Shimano does not own a fork brand, yet. Shimano makes all drivetrains, plus under the “Pro” brand, they make saddles, seat posts, cockpit components, headsets. And you’ll look posh on your bike with Pearl Izumi clothing and shoes, which are also owned by Shimano. Sram owns Rock Shox to absorb bumps, Avid to stop you, Truvativ to pedal. Looks like Avid and Truvativ will cease to exist as discrete brand names as I do not see Avid branded components anymore, and its unique design already adopted by Sram brake components. Even Sram is big on MTB in the USA, where riders don’t… Continue Reading Why Shimano is sooo common?

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