Really, I’m not much of a grouch. Cycling is human-powered technology, and I readily accept that technology advances rapidly even for a product as mature as the bicycle. However, it seems as though current product offerings are driven as much by fashion as by true technological advances.
Here’s what’s stuck in my craw right now: I’m trying to find parts to fit (in both a mechanical and aesthetic sense) a couple of older bikes. Neither one is truly antique, the older one dating from the end of the 1980s. And I’m not talking about a restoration project, either. I just want parts that look appropriate on bikes from that era. But it’s easier said than done. I find that polished (as opposed to anodized) box- or semi-aero-section rims have dwindled to an offering of one, the soon-to-be-unavailable Torelli Master. Ergo-bend handlebars (such as my original 1992 TTT Forma SL) can now be had only in black, apparently, which looks just plain wrong on a skinny-tubed steel bike. Quill stems, too, have gone. The European manufacturers have bailed, and apparently only Nitto continues to make a nice, forged aluminum quill stem.
I’m probably going to be able to find what I want, but that probably won’t be the case in another year or so. So, if you’re also in the hunt for “vintage” parts, and feeling old like I am right now, better stock up soon.