Are these new bicycles I see in the shop worth it? I confess that I ride an almost 20 year old Nishiki that is finally rusting away its dreadful paintjob, and it gets me around pretty well. I used to ride an old Raleigh 3 speed everywhere and thought I was kind of cheating getting all those extra gears on my Mountain bike.
Part of the reason I bike is to exercise, and in as much as these new technologies serve to lessen the work of riding the bike, these advances in bike design seem to be counter productive to my purposes.
Does anyone else have these feelings or should I check myself into a mental facility?

Check yourself in.

Seriously, some of the new innovations seem to be more bling than function. Most, however are for the better. If you took a newer bike for a ride you would see that. Newer bikes don't lessen the work of riding, they make you more effecient. Good luck

Tim

NEW = Planned obsolescence

steal is reel

new bikes are nice, I'd love to have a couple. but a good used bike is fine for my purposes. sounds like you might like a nice singlespeed or fixie conversion.

In only a couple of years- Improvements in bikes have occured- Depends on how old the bike but for for better efficiency- go for new.

I have a 40 year old Dunelt 10-speed. Within the last couple of years I put on new wheels and "new" Suntour derailleurs scrounged from a bike carcass in the junk yard. I also started riding regularly again. My wife is impressed with what riding regularly has done for me physically. A friend had recently gotten a new bike and talked to her about how much nicer the newer bikes are to ride. My wife began to insist that I get a new bike. I told her I finally have the old bike fixed up the way I want it. But, I finally gave in to her and did also buy a new bike--a Specialized Allez Sport Triple road bike. I still ride the old bike at times, largely because the old bike has fenders for rain. It is also very handy to have two bikes for times when one needs repair and I cannot do it immediately. The new bike is significantly lighter than the old bike. More gears on the new bike means less dogging it in a gear that is not the exact gear I would like to be in. I love the Shimano STI brake/shifter combination. The new bike requires more attention to keep it purring. I had to buy some new tools to work on the new bike and read a manual for new systems now in use. It took a while to get the new bike fitted just right to me. I could easily get by riding only the old bike, especially for exercise. I also do enjoy the new bike a lot. How about a new professional paint job on your old bike and a couple of new components to upgrade a little?

One could argue that your 20 year old Nishiki is new compared to a 40 year old bike. And that the 40 year old bike is better and will do the same thing.

Yes and yes!!!

Old bike- take hands off handle bars (in many cases) to change gears with friction shifters.

New bike- Keep hands on bars/brakes and quickly change gears with index shifters.

I definitely prefer the latter. Sure you may be able to upgrade, but that can be expensive, and you won't get all the other features of a newer bike. (like no rust, lol)

Test ride some new stuff and see what you think. Don't forget you can get a modern "new" bike on the used market, which will bring the cost down substantially. If you only have one bike and are even questioning whether or not you should get another one then yes, check in to that facility.

Was it LeMond who said "it never gets easier, you just get faster"?

I have a TREK 1000 14 speed with DT shifter and a TREK 1000 with SORA. I climb better on the older bike, and am slightly faster on the flats with the newer bike. Don't know why.

My opinion a decent older bike isn't much different than a newer bike.

I almost never buy the latest and the greatest. Much of it is marketing hype. When it comes to something like a bike I buy used or wait for the end of year clearance sales. I bought a 1990? Giant Excursion "trekking" bike for about 50% of list price in 1993 Gently used works too. My local LBS always has something on sale, I have been shopping there for over 30 years so when I wander in they always direct me to stuff they have put on the clearance table knowing that I will probably buy it. A couple of months ago I picked up 4 sets of the older style SKS and Mt Zefal fenders for about $5 a pair complete. Promptly sold one pair and swapped another for some stuff from a buddy of mine. Thifty is good FWIW most of my bikes are in the 20+ year old range and ride just fine for me. If I were a Cat racer it might be different but I am just out to enjoy the ride and the world around me, not set land speed records.

Aaron