Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr B
I disagree - builders like Firefly and Vanilla (and latterly Sturdy and Bastion) are pushing the craft forward with innovations in dropout, brake mount, bb shell and yoke design. Some are reviving lugged or socketed construction through advancements in 3D-printed Ti. IF isn't keeping up with any of that, as far as their potential customer can see.
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But how much better is a 3D printed titanium dropout anyway? And what other brake mounts are out there besides flat mount for road bikes and post mount for mountain bikes? Are ever-changing bottom bracket standards really a good thing? All these things seems like an exercise in differentiating one brand from another. Firefly came out with their 3D printed dropouts, but they lost the beautifully (personal taste, of course) designed previous model, however they were (I think) the first. Now Moots has them (because you can't not anymore), and every other "unique" titanium manufacturer does, too. Heck, you can even buy a 3D printed titanium dropout from Reynolds now.
And as aesthetically pleasing (personal taste, of course) as a Bastion is with its titanium lugs and carbon tubes, is there really a difference between a 3D printed lug versus a welded one? Is the Bastion "better" than a Holland, or Firefly, or Seven, or No.22?
There's no denying the "holy grail" of bicycle performance is the carbon monocoque or multicoque bike, if you base performance on race bikes. Does an S-Works excel in randonneuring like a Rivendell? No, but you're not getting a Rivendell for performance. Most of the times, these innovations' first goal is ease in manufacturing for the builder (like the 3D printed dropout), or to keep as many parts in-house to keep costs down (under the guise of quality control, of course), like Firefly with their "tapered" headtube, in lieu of the tapered head tubes they used to use. Given the new design might be lighter, but it sure ain't as pretty (personal taste, of course).
Now that I've actually experienced the new wave of bikes (carbon, disc and electronic shifting), I'm pretty sure that I'll never get another metal bike again. However, the six hours it took me to install the EPS wires and hoses in the integrated handlebars on my C68 made me realize that even though the newest stuff is completely cool, it was an absolute pain in the ass. Good thing it's got those new CeramicSpeed SLT that are maintenance-free because I've never had a more difficult installation in my life (and I've build dozens of Cervelo S5's which, up until now, were the benchmark for unnecessary complexity). Part of it is that EPS installs opposite from Shimano, but still.