I remember the 1960s as a golden age of bulletproof "cruisers" that could carry huge loads and fast, convenient English 3-speeds. In subsequent years, bicycles became more oriented to sports and recreation, which meant inconveniient to use. Just ten years ago, getting a decent utility bike usually required importing it yourself from Holland or Germany.

Thinkg have changed. You can get a Breezer, Kogo-Myata, and others just by walking into a store! The Wall Street Journal has even noticed this increased interest in useful bikes. My hope is that increasing road congestion and scarce parking will continue to drive a demand for "normal bikes." There have been some advances since 1960. LED headlights and tail lights, disk brakes, and lighter materials have improved things quite a bit.

For, example, I remember the old Schwinn Varsity. Back in its day, it was considered a real enthusiast's bike for the mass market. No fenders, ten speeds, an exposed chain that would eat your pants, and a thin, spidery-looking frame that looked like everything had been sacrificed for light weight and performance. One showed up at my LBS this year. I hefted the thing, and it weighed about 40 pounds. The tubing may be small in diameter, but it is basically gaspipe. My modern commuter bike, with drum brakes, chainguard, generator, rack, lights and fenders is lighter. So, bicycle technology really is improving. For that matter, the wonderful old "English Racers" has steel rims and you had to lightly hold the brakes on rainy downhills to keep them dry and working.

So yeah, I'd hope for LED headlights that focus as well as halogen ones, but are sufficiently low powered to run off a hub dynamo, more efficient hub dynamos, lighter commuter/utility bikes that still retain their practical features, and cooler rainsuits for hot summer commutes, and advanced internal hubs that allow a wider gear range.

Paul