Originally Posted by
Abe_Froman
I think you're confusing quality of engineering with quality of the proposed use of the product.
Weight is a huge driving force in bicycle engineering right now. I'm not saying that is a good thing. But I have no doubt that engineers have made enormous gains in weight reduction in bicycles.
Whether that is good for the overall effectiveness of the bicycle is entirely up for debate. Engineers aren't the ones saying "lets make the lightest weight part possible, regardless of durability."
You're probably right. There's also a trend towards de-stimulating people from doing their own wrenching - both in car and bicycle industry. As well as making things break down in time to buy new stuff.
However, only in cycling industry do I see (I could be wrong) safety being compromised. Just some examples:
Pedal to crank attachment - susceptible to fretting damage. End user must regularly inspect cranks for cracks, or risk a pedal falling suddenly off when pedaling hard (and swerving off road, into a car, or off a cliff).
Front disc brake mount at the rear side of the fork, on bikes with a QR front wheel attachment - QR can loosen over time from brake action.
Thru axles without self-securing mechanism that exists on QR held wheels (as well as on freehub cassette attachment and centerlock disks).
6 bolt disk mounts that required thread lock to be safely attached.
Carbon stems and steering columns that are very sensitive to torque and bolt tightening procedure, risking sudden failure of a critical component if not done properly.
- Just from the top of my head. I don't see such things on cars, or motorcycles.