Robert Foster

Having just returned to cycling after a 20-year layoff I believe I have noticed a difference in the industry itself. The obvious differences are the different types of bike we have seem greater. When I got out of cycling Road bikes were falling in popularity to BMX and Cruisers were just becoming more accepted. The ten-speed boom was cooling off if not cold. I started to see some early mountain bikes even if some people may have been riding them for a while.

When I walked back into my LBS after not riding a bike for 20 years my first impression was sticker shock. The second thing was the different bike profiles I could choose from. Road bikes, several grades, Fitness bikes, Comfort bakes, Recumbent and Semi-Recumbent bikes and trikes, just as a start. Then there were all kinds of Mountain bikes with and without suspensions. BMX was still popular as was a whole new set of Cruisers both single speed and multiple geared ones.

Lastly it seems as if our ability to upgrade has improved because bikes are more standardized then they used to be. I have more choices in wheels, saddles, seat posts, pedals, gear sets, forks and other accessories. So as I improve I can always improve my bike. Is this the case or did I just not notice what options were available in the mid 80s?

Bob

Allegheny Jet

When I purchased my first road bike in the early 70's any options were determined by how much I had to spend and what the LBS carried and if it fit. If the LBS didn't carry a certain product then in my mind it didn't exist.

BlazingPedals

Some of the variety is in your perception, some is real. A comfort bike is just a mountain bike with a cushy seat and less aggressive handlebars. Road bikes have become more aggressive, with steeper angles and shorter stays. They put wider rims on the old-geometry ones and now call them cyclocross. I lose track of all the variations of mountain bikes, than all look the same to me anyway. But there are definitely more materials available now, which opens up the possible variety in the way frames can look or how wheels and other parts are made. And the varieties of 'bents available are much greater now, although it's a rare shop that carries more than one brand or stocks more than one or two of the brand they do carry.

maddmaxx 

I think there are many more options available now than before. There are more manufacturers in the business and there are more vendors.

In addition, you can window shop on the internet whenever you get the urge and online catalogues will make you much more aware of what is available.

stapfam

Way back in the 50's- there was a fantastic choice of bikes- A red one or a blue one. There was black but no-one had black over here as we were just getting out of WWll and all the cars were black.

I know over here it took a long time before there was any variety in Anything. I was just getting into running and the choice of footwear for running was Black Plimpsoles or white Tennis shoes. This lasted till the mid 60's but then a bit of choice came in- You could then get shorts that were above the Knees.

There was not the choice in anything till the 70's and as I did not get into cycling till 1990- I missed out on the BMX- missed out on the heavy MTB's- My first one weighed a fantastically light 30lbs. And I did not take an interest in road bikes till about 93 when I started following the TDF. Still did not take the plunge untill 2006 and that 19 1/2 lb OCR3 was the bees knees.

How things change over such a long time.

BluesDawg

There is definitely a wider variety of bikes aimed at smaller niches of use. The number of varieties of mountain biking is mind blowing and seems to expand every day. The only thing I see differently from the OP is the idea of bikes being more standardized now. What I see is a lot of proprietary designs and components that only work with other components of that same brand. Some won't even work with different types of components of the same brand.

As the manufacturers have developed more different kinds of bike, it has become harder to change the bikes around yourself to do different tasks. Upgrades are easy, just bring money. But to innovate between niches, it is easier to work with older bikes than to cross lines with the new stuff. It can be done, but it is harder than it has to be.

Robert Foster

I had a son growing up during the early BMX days and grandsons when extreme sports highlighted BMX type of bikes doing tricks on ramps and swimming pools like skateboards do. I was not into the early mountain bike days however. But I know I never had the choice of shoes and clipless pedals we now have. I could get cycling shorts but much of the rest of the gear simply wasn’t sold at most bike shops. We sure didn’t have the choices in cassettes like we do today. 6-7-8-9 rear gears were simply unheard of, at least to me. But back then I knew very few people that bought a frame and built the bike from there. Shoot we didn't have a big choice in helmets. Some "real" road people were wearing leather and the rest of us made do with Hocky helmets.

Bob

Rick@OCRR

Having actually been in the bike industry for 40+ years, my gut feeling is that the number of choices is about the same, but the access to the various choices has increased dramatically, mostly due to the internet.

For every "new" component or bicycle manufacturer or custom bulder, there are probably about the same number (maybe more) that have come and gone, for various reasons. My knowledge/experience only goes back to about 1970 though, so if you're talking further back than that, you may well be right.

Rick / OCRr

NOS88

I think it's pretty much like anything else. Your specific interest dictates that with which you are aware. Hence, when you first started riding your were probably part of a specific niche and not totally aware of the other choices. While I think one could argue in either direction about the number of options yesterday vs. today, one must acknowledge that our access to information about the choices available has increased. Your experience of walking into a shop after many years may be indicative of just seeing the current variety available that have differentiated considerably from 25-30 years ago. I know that when I first returned to cycling I was fascinated by everything new, and when I walked into a good LBS I looked at everything. Since, I have settled into a niche as a rider, I realize that when I walk into the LBS now I only see stuff of interest to me.... vintage or higher end road bikes and their parts/accessories.

oilman_15106

How about a different perspective. A $1500 road bike today is a bike that almost every pro racer would have killed for 10 years ago. In 1984 I paid almost $400 for the second best bike in the Centurion lineup, Elite 12. Great bike which I still have but by today's standards almost qualifies as a K-mart bike.

Even though bikes seem more expensive you are getting a leap in technology over 10 years ago. There is a bike for every known purpose and it seems confusing.

tcs

I take my blind father to the grocery store, and you can trust me on this: there is more choice in everything. Apples? On a bad day there will only be nine varieties!

Choice? Oh yeah. His cordless phone began giving trouble, and he decided to replace it. I read boxes and shelf talkers to him for a half hour as he tried to pick out a new one.

IIRC Consumer Reports said there are now over 6 times as many automobile models available in the US market compared to back in the day when they started testing. For every Hudson and Oldsmobile we lost, it seems we've gained a dozen Kias and Daewoos.

tcs

Roody

I remember (in the 1970s) having fewer choices about frame material because there wasn't any carbon, titanium or even aluminum. But there were endless choices about what type of steel to buy. I can't remember all the names and numbers of the steel types--but the research was very confusing and important to a teenager making his first big purchase. I remember spending weeks trying to decide on the frame material of my first "real" bike.

wrk101

As a practical matter, we have more choices, if for no other reason than we have ready access to the global market. I can remember in the 60s, you either got a Schwinn or a bike from one of the local department stores. Although there were a lot of brands out there, access was quite limited unless you lived in a major city.

Now you can live anywhere and get access to just about anything. So while the choices may not technically be higher, the access to them makes it higher (if I am making any sense).

So for example, my access to nice 1980s bikes is a lot higher NOW than it was in the 1980s.