What makes a bike "modern"?
 

I see various reference to "modern" bikes with no explanation as if the term is universally understood.

Is it frame material? Oversize tubing? Clipless?

What are the benefits of a modern bike compared to a lugged steel frame with a Campy 10 group?

Modern?

I think of it as sloping top tube and/or compact geometry. 1 1/8 fork for threadless headset and stem. It can have mechanical or possibly electronic shifting.

It depends on what you expect out of it. There is no single answer to this. If you race with a monster FTP, maybe you want a frame that doesn't flex much. In that case, a traditional lugged steel frame would be out.

If you like having the gear range of 11s, then 10s would be out. 10s generally, though not always, has fewer teeth on the large cogs for road, and only accepts <30T cassettes (sometimes you can shoehorn something in, depending on the group).

Very simply
1. Disc break with flat mount
2. Wide tire clearance
3. Shirt chainstays

If you have those 3 u have a modern bike nowadays


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Considering Campy 10 came out in the 2000s I don't really see how any bike with Campy 10 isn't "modern".

For me something not modern would have to be:
- Must be steel, probably must be lugged
- Must have a level top tube
- Quill stem, 1" steel steerer.
- Must be intended for 23c or smaller tires, maybe clearance for 25c is OK.
- Cannot have carbon anything, especially wheels
- Cannot have brifters
- Cannot have anything but normal road rim brakes
- Probably has less than 8 speeds in the back? (Less than 7? Not sure how to draw that line)
- Definitely does not have a compact crank. Must be 53/39 or 52/42
- Should not have a cassette with a cog larger than 23 or maybe 25

Vague words like "Modern" mean anything the user wants it to mean, generally in service of promoting their own point of view or agenda.

I'm sure you'll get all kinds of definitions of the term "Modern Bike", all of which are based on personal perspective rather than absolute meaning.

As an engineer, I prefer to use technical nomenclature, which is typically pre-defined. When I do use less precise terms (such as "Modern"), I'll include the definition of how I'm using the term.

circa 19XX or 20XX might be easier to talk about.

Modern bikes in

1990s- Aluminum
2000s-Carbon
2010- Aero
Today-Disc brakes

My observation from reading the posts that follow the OP is that there is no shared definition (others have observed the same). However, I do think it's interesting to hear different perspectives on the topic. Therefore, I hope people continue to post on this.

Personally, I think modern means:

1. Wider tire clearance on a road bike (at least 28).
2. Disc brakes for anything being used off-road.
3. Maybe some suspension for an all-road/endurance bike.

I'm still not convinced that disc brakes are a must for a road bike to be considered modern.

If you ask me tomorrow I would bet that my definition will have changed.

AGREED !!!!!!!!!!!!

:p:p:p

Modern to me refers to

1. Head tube diameter—basically not threaded
2. Rear dropouts—not 126mm
3. Built for skinny tires—25mm max tire size.

If you don’t have those 3 you have a modern bike.

Tire width can't really be used cause if you follow the history of bikes tires have done this:


Wide -> Narrow -> Wide -> Narrow

They've done it numerous times. All the original "Grand Tour" race bikes would resemble modern gravel bikes.

Funny I don't see references to "Crit race bikes" vs "Grand Tour race bikes" nearly as often these days.

It rides like a Tesla.

Depends entirely on context.

But the most "obvious" dividing line, in the case of bicycles, is looking at what things were typical prior to the mid-late 1980s. Very loosely speaking, pre-modern design choices could refer to stuff including "standard"-gauge frame tubing, threaded headsets and quill stems, toe clips, friction shifters, unramped sprocket wheels, straight-cage front derailleurs, non-aero cable routing, coiled shift cables, freewheel hubs, shallow rims with low emphasis on rigidity or aerodynamics, thin firm bar tape, and saddles cut low on the sides. We can maybe also include stuff like 3-piece cranks. Stylistically, pre-modern has a strong slant toward angular large-scale designs and gleaming ornate metallic bits.

Because Campy 10 debuted 19 years ago and is now old enough to vote and enlist the armed forces? Not quite old enough to drink, but that's right around the corner.

Would anyone standing at 2000 when Campy 10 is introduced look at parts from 1981 and call them modern?

As others mentioned, context matters.

Speaking of "modern" things that are old enough to vote, my Lemond is from 2001, and has:
-oversized, air-hardened tubing
-(generous) clearance for 28c tires
-1 1/8" threadless fork/headset
Let's move the goalposts a little bit further down the road.

Also the modern period ended in the early 1800s.