Roadie Revolution: The Stunning New Tech on Silicon Valley Bikes

As a technology, the bicycle hasn’t changed much since 1885, when designer J.K. Starley decided to use a chain to drive the rear wheel. Nearly 140 years later, a foot still turns a crank that pulls a chain that spins a wheel. But the tech that’s layered on top of the modern bicycle is the stuff of sci-fi.

I spoke with a number of hardcore amateur riders (aka roadies)—the kind of people you might see blasting down the Bayway like schools of Spandex-clad fish—to hear about the new tech they’re affixing to their wheels. All of it makes the gear on my first racing bike—a 2013 Cannondale CAAD10 bike with Shimano Ultegra 6800 components and Mavic Aksium wheels—seem a bit dated.