[salmonellaeater]

> The main reason why I have opted for old bicycles is that they are much better than new bicycles.

Uh no. New bicycles weigh less, are more aerodynamic, have safer disc brakes, and can have electric assist. The parts are engineered with better tolerances and use more appropriate dimensions for bottom brackets and handlebars. They use materials that don't rust or fatigue, like carbon fiber and titanium. Disc brakes alone are such a game-changer for bad weather riding that it's not worth owning a bike without them unless it's a novelty or antique. E-bikes are a big deal for getting people to switch to bikes for everyday trips.

> The most detailed life cycle analysis sets the carbon footprint for an 18.4 kg aluminum bicycle at 200 kg CO2, including its spare parts, for a lifetime of 15,000 km.

200 kg CO2 is equivalent to burning about 23 gallons of gas, something like 500 miles (800 km) for a typical car. My bike commute is 60 miles per week, so in terms of carbon my bike pays for itself every two months.

> Disc brakes, which are now on almost every new bicycle, all have different axle designs, meaning that every vehicle now requires proprietary spare parts.

I don't know what they're talking about regarding axle designs. The brake standard is independent of the axle design. It's true that different brake manufacturers have incompatible parts, but the parts being proprietary doesn't have anything to do with sustainability. They still cost the same to manufacture, and the spare parts are used eventually so it doesn't even matter if everyone has to keep some extras around.

> The rise of proprietary parts makes it increasingly hard to keep a bike on the road through maintenance, reuse, and refurbishment. As the number of incompatible components grows, it becomes impossible for bike shops to have a complete stock of spare parts.

Again, I don't know what they're on about. Bike shops carry the common manufacturers like Shimano and SRAM. Aside from Covid supply-chain problems I've always been able to get parts for all my bikes online.

To the extent that individual choices are effective for reducing carbon emissions, switching from a car trip to a bike trip is way more effective than switching from a less-sustainable bike trip to a more-sustainable bike trip. Advocating for bikes that are attractive to regular people is going to be much more effective than scraping meager wins in bike manufacturing.

[fire_lake]

> Disc brakes alone are such a game-changer for bad weather riding that it's not worth owning a bike without them unless it's a novelty or antique.

This is true if you’re going fast or perhaps off-road but discs are overkill for basic utility cycling around town. In fact many Dutch bikes only have a coaster brake!

[Gualdrapo]

> This is true if you’re going fast or perhaps off-road

Or, if like me, you live on a hill. Disc brakes made a huge difference in my case - no more worn out rim brake shoes every three-four weeks and worn out rims every couple of years. Add how rain affects all of that on top of that.

And about the feasibility of a coaster brake bicycle: not even enough gearing to get home.

[tim333]

I crashed into a car while doing basic cycling around town because I was cycling behind it, it braked and my old bicycle was unable to brake as hard. There are times when it's handy to have good brakes.

[delusional]

> This is true if you’re going fast

Even this claim is dubious to me. My bike has a coaster brake, and I've never been in any weather condition where the brake wasn't able to apply sufficient braking power to skid the rear wheel. I ride that bike in rain and negative 10 degrees weather. At the point where my rear wheel loses traction, the brake has more than done its job.

I don't understand disc brakes. I've never felt the need for more brake.

[AstralStorm]

Disc brakes are not particularly safer, not even in bad weather. What is safer is having the right or multicompound or high end compound brake pad. Which is actually harder to pull off in a small uncovered disc brake.

The proprietary parts are getting worse, with variant derailleurs and shifters mostly. Then the aforementioned brake pads are almost always proprietary and often specific for the brake caliper, unlike in usual V-brake or caliper brake. That means more kinds get made to sit on the shelves.

The latest proprietary addition is funny kinds of bottom brackets and interesting mounting systems for brakes. Shimano has a lot of systems for each of these on their own, and that's just one manufacturer doing planned obsolescence. A lot of the changes do nothing for even advanced usages of the performance bikes.