Brain Vomit #38 Innovative design

Are bikes with full internal cables better? I mean Front and rear brake going through the bars, into the headset. Is that actually better? A 10% improvement is a serious improvement. Going from steel to carbon is a serious improvement. Getting a nice set of wheels and tires is a serious improvement, a proper bike fit is a serious improvement. But newer “innovations” don’t even come close to a 1% improvement, not even a .001% anymore. Is that even an improvement? I feel like the full internal cable trend is going backwards. Yes, the bike will be about 0.01% more aerodynamic, but it requires a heavier headset, heavier stem, more time to assemble. Mechanics are not getting cheaper. The other day I found out that a local bike shop was charging $500 to assemble a 2021 Aero road bike and I thought that was ridiculous. After I took a second to think about it I wouldn’t do it for any less than $500 either.

Will that bike actually make you faster or are you just keeping up with the Joneses? If bikes actually got better every year, how is it that Egan Bernal won on a bike that is now 3 years old with a technology that the whole industry is leaving behind? Rim brakes. It is not about the bike or the internal cables or the 13 speed cassette or the grams saved. It’s about your legs, your lungs and your heart. Mental clarity too. If you feel like you NEED these “innovations” you already lost.

Keep bikes simple and beautiful.

Anyway, here's a headtube a made for a new MMFG frame with Integrated cables.