How would the bike industry survive without planned obsolescence? I don’t know. Consumer culture is all about buying the next big thing, whether you need it or not.
The bike industry is in a unique position because the bicycle is essentially very similar to what it was a long long time ago. There are plenty of advances, improvements, trends, fads, cycles. But I think it’s much ado about nothing much. Marketing horseshit jibber-jabber.
40 year old thumb shifters that feel great. 40 year old brake levers still kicking ass with no end in sight. An old XT short cage derailleur that works well in 2026. The bike industry wants to see this stuff in a museum somewhere. They don’t want me rolling it onto my next new-to-me used bike.
It wasn’t planned permanence. It wasn’t a durability-focused design. These kick ass Suntour 7-speed thumb shifters still kicking ass 38 years later, were accidentally endowed with sustainable longevity. No good for the bike industry. Good for me.
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