I wouldn't say they are irrelevant, there are just more options available. More options is good. I belong to a couple clubs but I don't actually ride with them. Too big and they really seem to only ride the same rides over and over again. I do, however, belong to a couple meetup.com cycling groups and have participated with a few of their rides. It's not overly formal but the rides vary pretty heavily so you have plenty of variety in ride options and the rides are capped at 12 riders. I like that. They also do sweeps and regroup at certain intervals so a lot of different riders can join. So far, I like this type of setup.