Originally Posted by
jooaa
One area where bikes have made a ton of progress is comfort. I ride a bike from the early 90's. The brake hoods and bar shape are painful compared to today's. I consider sealed bearings to be a drastic improvement, and today's wheels are significantly sturdier (though much lighter) than a few decades back.
I beg to differ about the bars. The handlebar was changed a lot in the 90s (marketing hype?), but what you see now is that most pros go back to the deep drop Belgian or shallower Italian bars with the classic bend. I've just changed from a modern aero bar to the classical bar and find it now much more comfortable.
I guess the change will be in the electronics. Wireless gears and brakes. Integrated sensors. GPS. Integrated communication devices to keep track of the rest of the group and provide up to date weather and traffic information. Lower power consumption, more features.
As for the frame itself - carbon will get cheap. Real cheap. The cost of production cannot be compared with proper lugged steel frames.