“Bike companies get a lot of crap. Mostly, they get it from their own customers, who complain about things like increasingly expensive products and ever-changing component standards. With regard to the latter, the go-to example is generally the bottom bracket, which in recent years went from a relatively simple threaded affair to a creaky bulbous press-fit nightmare.

I’m guilty of giving the bike industry crap myself. As something of a traditionalist who prefers weird stuff like steel frames and mountain bikes without suspension, every time another bike company discontinues a rim-brake model or eliminates a mechanical transmission I die a little bit inside. I also tend to recoil from the marketing approach of bigger brands, whose media embargoes, splashy product launches, and extraordinary performance claims—30 percent stiffer! Sixty percent more aero! Seventy five percent more bike-tastic!—are often the antithesis of what I find compelling about cycling.

And now the bike industry is giving itself crap, too. Recently some major players including Simon Mottram of Rapha, Mike Sinyard of Specialized, and Peter Woods of Dorel signed onto a “Cycling Industry Climate Commitment.” In it, they pledged to “create products that will last longer,” and to “work with customers on maintenance and lifetime extension,” among other things. This was ironic, it would seem, when for so long we’ve been told that when it comes to performance, the envelope must always be pushed (Specialized’s motto is “Innovate Or Die”) and that adding one additional cog is reason enough to upgrade your drivetrain, if not your entire bike.”