Just had a great discussion with a shop owner and he was telling me all about newer bikes. Slacker angles and wider tires that run on lower pressures.
I’m still riding a 1986 steel guercotti that has 25mm tires and wide handlebars. Full 9spd STI setup.
Tried googling newer road geometry but kinda came up empty.
Opinions welcomed.
You've got a nice bike now, so that's a good starting point. Think about that bike and ask yourself what you like about it, and if there is anything about it that could be better. Others have given you ideas about what's changed in the market, so you have an idea of what you can expect from a new bike. I'll give you my two cents below...well, maybe two bucks.
Your current bike probably has typical road-race geometry, which really hasn't changed appreciably. Yes, you can get bikes with slacker angles that accept fatter tires, buy you could back then, too; they were called "touring bikes". So, nothing has really changed in terms of geometry there, either. Some people will enjoy the slower, more stable handling, but that's a personal preference, not a given for everyone. For me, it's fine for gravel, but I like more responsive bikes on the road.
Materials have changed markedly. Although carbon-fiber bikes have been around since the '70's (I had a '77 Exxon Graftex), it's only in the past few years that manufacturers have truly learned to exploit it's qualities to the fullest. The result is bikes that are laterally stiff for maximum power transfer, but have substantial vertical compliance for comfort. The difference is really quite striking. Weight has come down significantly, as well. My lightest race bike back in the day was around 18 pounds, but my current road bikes are in the 14.5 to 15 pound range and I didn't have to spend a fortune on them.
I stuck with riding tubulars and sidepull brakes until 2010. Modern clinchers are just as light, don't suffer from the lumpiness of tubulars and are simply easier to deal with. I still ride alloy wheels, but they're very light (1285 grams/pair) and they only cost me ~$250 to build, so I don't see the point in spending 4-8 times that much on carbon wheels that don't have the same braking consistency. Sure, deeper carbon rims are more aero, but frankly, it doesn't matter to me and I can't justify the cost.
Speaking of brakes, while I love disc brakes for my gravel, mountain and fat bikes, for the type of road riding I do here in New England, I simply don't need them. Frankly, a lighter bike and not having to build new wheels are far more important to me. In fact, I'm currently building up a new 2018 Cannondale SuperSix EVO frame which I sought out specifically because it takes caliper brakes (and because I own the predecessor to it and I love the way it handles). It will be equipped with Feather-style brakes (modified sidepulls) and mechanical shifting (for now, the 10-speed Campy group from one of my current bikes).
Ah, yes, shifting. My gravel bike has Shimano Ultregra Di2 on it. For me, it was an experiment and I bought the bike used, and a deep discount, mainly because I wanted to switch to disc brakes for gravel riding and the Di2 didn't cost me anything extra. Overall, I'm not impressed. Yes, individual shifts work great, front and rear; I have no complaints about that. When just trying to shift multiple cogs in the rear, it's imprecise because you have to guess how long to hold the shift lever to shft the number of gears you want; there;s no feedback like you get with mechanical shifting. Additionally, I was hoping that Synchro-Shift would make shifting while getting bounced around on rough dirt roads and singletrack a no-brainer. It turned out that it's extremely sluggish when shifting both the front and rear derailleurs together, and the shifts from the big to small chainrings occur at a really bad time (there's not much flexibility in changing the shift point, either). It's somewhat better when you just shift the front manually, but it doesn't come close the to speed and precision I get with Campy mechanical shifting. I can snap off a front shift while shifting multiple cogs in the rear in a fraction of a second with precision, and Di2 simply can't. Electronic shifting is also more expensive to buy and to replace. With all that, I'm not sold on it and won't buy it again. You've obviously been riding for quite a while and I'll assume that you know how to shift a bike, so it's quite possible that you'll feel the same way about it that I do.
Regarding tire width, going from 22mm tubulars to 25mm clinchers at lower pressure (70/80 f/r at my weight of 175#) was a revelation. It took the sting out of a stiff racing frames and made them downright pleasant to ride. I haven't had a single pinch flat since making the switch in 2011. My new frame will handle 28s and possibly 30s, but I'm not sure if I'm going to bother with them, at least not until I need to buy new tires.
Hopefully, I've added something useful to help you with your decision. As others have said, ride a newer bike to see what all the hype is about. Or if you're really happy with your current bike, don't bother. The only thing that matters is that
you enjoy what you're riding, regardless of what it is, what it's made of, or when it was made.
