richwagmn said:Brifters and ramped cassettes. I remember the first time I saw a hyperglide cassette shift and knew I had to have it. The ability to shift under power, reliably was a huge step forward in cycling.
Much thanks to Shimano for doing it.
I have to agree. While clipless is great, i actually do a little riding without.
But i almost forgot what it was like to race before u could shift under load. You hit a steep climb during a race and you could hear the chains grinding from the guys who didnt anticipate the correct gear. Then the ones popping off the cog when guys were using too much power and not enough finesse.
And of course the constant need to trim your derailleur, I'll never forget being a newbie and having a certain pro reach down and trim my derailleur for me and then scream something along the lines of it being like nails on the chalkboard for miles and miles.
Not to mention with brifters guys no longer pulled their hands off the bars during a sprint. I remember guys winding it up, standing and then they momentarily sit down, shift and stand again, if u were too close u ran right up their ....