We destroyed the road bike in 20 years. A thread [spool emoji]:
By 1996 we have Dura-Ace 7700. Integrated shifter as good as anything today, or bar-ends and even downtube shifters also available. Came in triple and even worked with MTB derailleurs.
Brakes are powerful, can be fine-tuned even while riding, and even in short-reach will clear a 28mm tire.
By early 2000s you have your choice of frames in steel, aluminum, carbon, or titanium--or any combination thereof.
Also, thanks to those brakes and a decades-old invention called the "quick release," wheel changes took about nine seconds.
Cranks come in standard, triple, or compact. Stems, headsets, seatposts, etc. were largely cross-compatible between road frames, and even between road and mountain.
So what have we gained since then?
--Disc brakes that really only exist because rim braking sucks on the carbon rims 95% of people don't
need
--Proprietary cockpits, proprietary bottom brackets, proprietary seatposts, proprietary everything
--Shifters that need to be charged (!)
Oh, wider rims and tires I guess...which will generally work fine on your 30-year old bike anyway.
And if course modern road bikes look better...if you are completely insane.
Thank you for listening to my FRED talk.
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