this post was submitted on 10 Oct 2025
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Maybe not perfect upon conception, but after a couple of decades from common adoption, the bicycle really didn't change much. Sure, you can use lighter and more advanced materials, you can add an electric motor to it (though I wouldn't classify it as a bycicle) but you can probably take a 100 years old bike and it would work just as good as a modern one.
Who needs gears when you can build the mechanical reduction into the wheel size.
Well, my bike looks exactly like that. It's just carbon all the way down now ๐
At least urban tank drivers can see you before they obliterate you
Have you seen belt drive bikes? Not the electric ones. Pretty cool stuff, much lower maintenance. Also internal gear hubs. There's still innovation happening in bicycles to make them stronger against abuse
I did almost consider an internal gear hub for my bike but they are not common so not sure if parts of maintenance may be difficult to come by. Also not really sure how I could fit one myself. Maybe some day though, I think some can manage quite a few gears.
Fine with a chain though, mine is wax instead of oil lubricated.
They are a pain if they ever break. You basically have to replace it or get a specialist to work on it.
Don't they last a long time though? Presumably even more so if you are someone that benefits from a lower maintenance option. I use my bike multiple times a week, cleaning it after every use is just impractical and I often go out when it's raining.
Yes they do last a long time. They can be a great option. Just not easy to fix if something goes wrong.
You don't have to clean a regular chain that often, but it will last longer if you do. A regular chain is perfectly fine to use in the rain / snow/ etc.
In my mind, I know the chain and cassettes will wear out, so when they do, I would rather have ones I can replace myself. But an internal geared hub is a great option as well. It is lower maintenance, but with the trade off that it is difficult to work on.
I looked at prices for internal hubs with a decent number of gears, ahh fuck that! Its more than half the cost of my entire bike.
Think I will stick with what I have now then, I get the full gear range at like a tenth of the cost. Learning to do maintenance on it sometime might be a good idea though.
I only bought it because it's necessary for belt drive, and I wanted a maintenance free commuter. My coworker also has one as a daily commuter, though on a traditional chain drive, and hasn't had any issues with it.
Mine is new so I can't speak to maintenance
It also too about 100 years to reach the modern design of rubber tyres and a drive train, with the rider sitting slightly forward of the rear axle and well behind the front wheel.
Disagree - it's amazing me, buying a road bike for the first time in 10 years, just how much frames have changed in that time.