News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Why did bar ends go away from mountain bikes? by asdff on Monday May 24, 2021 @06:07PM (#27270256)
This is true for pretty much all sports products. There might be a big tech leap that all manufacturers copy, then stagnation for years masked as incremental improvements that add up to some big change when they really don't.

Golf clubs are notorious for actually moving irons down the numbers to fool you into thinking brand new clubs are so much better. You go to a shop and hit your 6 iron on the golf simulator, then you hit a brand new 6 iron and see you hit it further, then you buy the new club thinking all your shots will go farther thanks to modern technology. What you don't realize is that what is called a 6 iron in your new set actually has the exact same specs as your old 4 iron, and might not really go any farther at all when you compare it to your old 4 iron.

It's the age old trap of selling beginners gear instead of practice (which makes manufacturers nothing).

Re:Why did bar ends go away from mountain bikes? by 7952 on Tuesday May 25, 2021 @01:58AM (#27273238)
Hiking products have this problem. They look good in the shop and tick boxes. But a lot of the features are just bad ideas. Weirdly shaped backpacks with small access points that are difficult to get things out of. Light weight zippers that fail easily. "Technical" fabrics that lack permanent water proofing. Expensive boots which will just increase fatigue for most people. With looped lace holes that just degrade.