Suck. Age.
Mar. 12th, 2026 06:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
halfshellvenusWell, yesterday's bike ride didn't go so well. :(
Newer bikes often have the gear-shifter and brake functions embedded in the same part of the handlebars. Pull toward you, and the bike brakes. Push sideways, and it changes gears. But... push just a tiny bit on the diagonal and it starts to chew through the derailleur cable.
So, I started to have trouble getting into the top gear a few days ago, and sure enough... I was trying to shift down for a hill yesterday, and there was a "zzzk!" sound followed by the bike going into the top gear and becoming a one-speed. :O
I had to stop and turn around, and then bike almost 5 miles home in the hardest gear. Worse yet, the bike shop is really backed up, so instead of getting my bike back today, they will not be able to even start working on it until Monday. That's forever! *cries*
I absolutely hate this handlebar design. I break a derailleur cable about once a year because of it, whereas the shift levers on my bike from 20 years ago never let me down. :(
Newer bikes often have the gear-shifter and brake functions embedded in the same part of the handlebars. Pull toward you, and the bike brakes. Push sideways, and it changes gears. But... push just a tiny bit on the diagonal and it starts to chew through the derailleur cable.
So, I started to have trouble getting into the top gear a few days ago, and sure enough... I was trying to shift down for a hill yesterday, and there was a "zzzk!" sound followed by the bike going into the top gear and becoming a one-speed. :O
I had to stop and turn around, and then bike almost 5 miles home in the hardest gear. Worse yet, the bike shop is really backed up, so instead of getting my bike back today, they will not be able to even start working on it until Monday. That's forever! *cries*
I absolutely hate this handlebar design. I break a derailleur cable about once a year because of it, whereas the shift levers on my bike from 20 years ago never let me down. :(
no subject
Date: 2026-03-13 07:37 pm (UTC)I had a Jack Taylor for years with shifters on the slanting crossbar, and that worked fine. Then the local bike shop started to whine about how old it was and how hard for them to maintain. I got a new Trek, which was still workable. And then after a minor crash, someone suggested I get a new bike so I wouldn't be at the mercy of bike repair timelines.
The new one was a Feit, and my first introduction to those combined shifters. I would bork that one every 1-2 years, but at least I had a backup while it was in the shop.
Then we had the garage fire 4 years ago that destroyed both of them. :(
My current bike, a Vaast gravel bike, was basically what was available when we were shopping under duress. This was early 2022, and there were still supply-chain issues left over from the pandemic. So, not a lot of places HAD road bikes that would even fit well. Lots of electric bikes, though. :(
Technology has moved into a stupid direction, and I'm powerless to stop it. This is like wanting knobs and levers for the dashboard of a new car. So many have gone over to touchscreens. Double-ugh!