Re-Cycled Tech from Cycling History: Best Revived or Remembered?
- Ben Tabor
- Oct 11, 2023
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 24, 2024
by Suzanne Gabriella Dries and True Quality Engineering
Designs of modern bikes and E-bikes are drawn from both innovation and tried-and-true tech. Some innovations provide real leaps forward in performance and value. Other ideas may land too early or need a total re-invention to achieve their "final" forms to best serve riders' needs.
Suzanne “Gabe” Dries has more than 30 years bike industry experience in sales, marketing, service and coaching. She has ridden, reviewed and repaired decades worth of cutting-edge cycling tech. Gabe and True Quality Engineering examine some "re-cycled" cycling tech to determine if the latest evolutions truly deliver on performance, value and safety!
Dropper Posts:
Gabe: As a mountain bike instructor, I highly recommend that all new trail riders get set up with dropper posts. You get used to the dropper post fairly quickly and I see riders making improvements and gaining trail confidence after a few days. Lowering your saddle when going over variable terrain, especially through the berms is great. I use it to constantly change my seat height when climbing and descending. Absolutely stellar invention!
True Quality: Dropper posts are a great example of modernizing and maturing old tech concepts to full potential. The “Hite-Rite” was the original seat post
dropper system introduced by Joe Breeze and Josh Angell in 1984. It used a heavy coil spring bolted to your seatpost to perform on-the-fly seat height adjustment.
That said, I heartily recommend that riders avoid any bike tech that requires you to open quick-release levers while you are hammering on trails or gravel. Stick with modern mechanical and hydraulic dropper posts. I likewise advise against opening any convertible sunroof while driving on the freeway!
Gearbox Transmissions:
Gabe: My favorite hot tech from 2008 was the HammerSchmidt 2 speed transmission by Truvativ. I had a Diamondback Bicycles Scapegoat with one and loved it! The HammerSchmidt replaced the front derailleur with a 2-speed planetary gear drive inside the cranks and bottom bracket. The big downside was the added weight. They had a real cheesy but charming marketing campaign. Park Tools still has a page on their site for crankset installation.
Sadly, the HammerSchmidt unit never gained traction. They launched it during the big recession.
True Quality: Hammerschmidt set the groundwork for the Pinion GmbH gearbox system. Another great example of successful iteration and evolution in cycling technology. A great revival and re-invention!
High-Pivot Suspension:
Gabe: High-pivot rear suspension technology is making a comeback. The main pivot sits high above the chainring and rear wheel axle. The idea is the rear wheel will actually travel rearward during compression. This allows for a plusher feeling and consistent tire-to-ground grip on rough and technical terrain.
Back around 2000 these were popular on downhill bikes. Then high-pivot suspension fell out of favor. I’m seeing brands such as Norco Bikes, Cannondale , GT Bicycles , Trek Bicycle and many others reintroducing high-pivot designs on big-travel DH, enduro and trail bikes.
True Quality: If you want a high-pivot suspension system, you must commit to a chain idler integrated into the frame design. The older style after-market chain tensioners aren't enough to keep the chain & derailleur from snapping, slapping and skipping. This was one of the biggest lessons learned from past generations of high-pivot bikes from the 1990's and 2000's.
Hookless Rims:
True Quality: Let’s talk about another vintage design that is being re-introduced on high-end road, gravel and mountain wheelsets: Hookless rims.
Gabe: Hookless rims are much easier for riders and bike mechanics to work with. The Hookless tire & rim combos mount much looser during installation and tubeless setup. With the traditional hooked rims, the fit between the tire bead and rim are really tight. Not all service staff and home mechanics can efficiently handle tubeless setup with traditional hooked rims. Streching tires and sealant splatter is a real mess. So, I’m a fan of hookless rims.
True Quality: I can't get behind hookless. As a young bike mechanic, I suffered too many ear-bleeding bike shop explosions when tires blew-off old Schwinns and Raleighs with hookless rims. I definitely don't miss those bad old times.
The conversion to hooked rims in the 1970's and 80's and adoption of ETRTO & ISO tire & rim sizes WAS the solution to tire blowoff safety problems. To me, the hookless hype is served up as groundbreaking...but only because it is being needlessly dug up from the bike tech graveyard!
We're already seeing new crops of spontaneous failures with new hookless rim and tire products. See Cade Media's great video for more on this. Riders should reasonably be able to run a wide range of high and low pressures without any concern for tire blow-offs. I hope hookless rims and tires stay out of the mid-range bike market. Hookless rims only belong on vintage bikes and a few aftermarket niche wheelsets!
Best Left to History:
True Quality: My prediction for the next vintage cycling tech revival: leather tubular bike caps. Unfortunately, the (questionable) style appeal of this bygone head accessory is too tempting for some retro-obsessed riders to resist.
These cannot be called helmets. They are fancy leather hats and offer no substantial protective or safety benefits to modern cyclists.
Gabe: I'll just say...I’m a big fan of bike helmets with the Mips system.
True Quality: Agreed. Modern bike helmets continue to improve fit, airflow and adjustment options. If you are going to wear a helmet, you should definitely choose one that passes CPSC, EN, ANSI safety & testing requirements. Thousands of options for every style of riding. So many wonderful choices to protect your skull!
What is your most and least favorite revival of vintage bike tech? Anything overdue for re-discovery? Magnetic Mountain Bike pedals? Pneumatic air/oil shifting lines? Please leave your thoughts on cycling tech innovations and obituaries below.
Reach out to cycling expert and writer Suzanne "Gabe" Dries at sgdries@gmail.com
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Title Photo Credits: Zapata Espinoza and Alan Muldoon
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