Gear

The 14 tech innovations that changed road cycling

Fourteen bits of kit that make the bike of today

11. Carbon fibre

Disc brakes and Di2 - two of the tech innovations that make the modern road bike
The safety bicycle was developed in the late 1800s (Pic: H. Clarke via Wikimedia Commons)
The invention of the pneumatic tyre significantly improved comfort
The invention of the rear derailleur made it much easier to change gear
We may take the QR for granted but it revolutionised things back in 1927
The yellow jersey is worn by the leader of the Tour de France
Helmet design has come on a long way since the ‘leather hairnet’ style of the 1970s
French company LOOK pioneered the design of the clipless pedal
The Shimano Total Integration system was introduced in 1990
Greg LeMond first used TT bars to effectively win the 1989 Tour de France
German company SRM developed the first power meter in the 1980s
View image | gettyimages.com
Garmin GPS computers are now almost ubiquitous
Shimano brought the first successful electronic groupset to market back in 2009
The future is here: disc brakes are to be trialled in professional road cycling in August and September

11. Carbon fibre

In 1999, Lance Armstrong rode the Tour de France on Trek’s OCLV Carbon. It was the first carbon bike to win the Tour (we know, we know) and really signalled the turning point where carbon had totally taken over as the material of choice for bike frames.

The lightness, strength and ability to mould to incredible shapes without sacrificing either of the previous two meant that carbon fibre killed off metal bikes at the pro level at least.

These days, if you’re looking at a top level bike, chances are that the vast majority of it is made out of carbon. Frameset, rims, cranks, derailleur cages, bars, stem, seatpost, saddle rails, pretty much everything you’ll find on a bike can and has been made from carbon fibre. While steel and alloy still definitely have their place, the upper end definitely has a composite tint to it now.