Post #2400858
2026-04-29 00:53 UTC
The bicycle industry has a vested interest in making higher profits, not in making higher quality bicycles with longer lifespans, and so it has a vested interest in convincing bicycle journalists that aluminium is better than steel, or that you shouldn't worry much about the differences.
If a bicycle is cheaper to make and subject to built-in planned obsolescence, guess which one the industry is incentived to produce and sell more?
Buyer beware.
Replies (1)
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@gcvsa@mstdn.plus 2026-04-29 01:00
The median quality level of the bicycle industry has been steadily dropping ever since the 1990s. The mid-late 1990s were the peak of median quality, in my opinion, especially for transportation bicycles. The average rider never needed more than 7 cogs in the rear, for instance. Everything comes with a hideous black finish now, because that's cheaper than polishing metal to a shine, or even a consistent matte finish.