Electronic shifting, tubeless etc...are bikes getting too complicated?

Pretty much everything is a trade off - cost, performance, reliability, maintainability, aesthetics, etc.

I prefer disc brakes to rim brakes, electronic shifting is too costly for me (but I'd be happy to use it if it was cheaper). Haven't tried tubeless tyres, I use airless ones on my commuter bike and normal tubes on my road bike. If I was getting a lot of punctures on the road bike I'd give tubeless a go, but I average less than one per year.

I know I'm an old fuddy duddy, I know, I know.  But some thoughts...

Although I still have bikes with downtube levers I do favour my STI lever bikes, and I don't miss side pull (ie 'single pivot') brake calipers.  Dual pivots were a huge improvement.  And although they are as aesthetic as an pile of scaffolding, I do appreciate that Ahead stems have an advantage over quill stems in that I can remove my handlebars (for whatever reason?) without having to retape one side of the bars.  However...

Although I don't really begrudge anyone wanting disc brakes, it's just a pity that this seems to have led to a lack of choice for those who still want rim brake bikes.  I'm hoarding the necessary bits (including road triple components) and I've bought second hand rim brake framesets until I inevitably have to give up the ghost and get an e-gravel-aero-bike or something or other.  

I watched a YouTube video of a team mechanic assembling a new bike.  What an absolute faff! Where does the obsession for internal cabling come from?  I'll pass on that one, too.  

As I understand it huge tyres are only necessary to soften the effects of the stiff, overbuilt forks on road bikes needed to counter the force of disc brakes.  And apart from the squeaky noises of the rotors I am bemused by slime being slung from the tyres of my mates' bikes.  I buy decent tyres instead. 

I volunteered at one of this year's LEL Audax controls.  A common theme was riders fetching up asking for electronic shifting chargers because they couldn't change gear.  In theory it should be possible to keep on top of this, but I'm just not convinced it's necessary - "a solution looking for a problem", as someone said.  

So, for now at least, I'm sticking with 10-speed and rim brakes (compatible across most of my commonly used bikes - even though I've had to buy an 11-speed wheelset lately), with exposed *actual* cables.  

And the price of all this jazzy new stuff!  Anyway, that's where I'm at.  I appreciate that I'm a bit of a Luddite.  

Only if you want them to be, I still run a singlespeed with tubes...

The thing that concerns me is obsolescence. I have a Cube e road bike with Fazua evation system.   Now Cube don't use Fazua.   I know other brands do but don't know whether the hardware is interchangeable.

Re tubeless, a boon for me as my arthritic hands make mending punctures a long and uncomfortable process.   I got home from a recent ride in hawthorn hedge territory with 8 thorns sticking out of my rear tyre.   All 8 holes sealed and no loss of pressure.

I've not tried electronic shifting, but I'm sold on tubeless, at least for 32 mm and wider tyres. My one bike set up tubeless now has over 12000 miles / 19000 km on it, and I've had to use plugs to seal punctures twice now. No need to remove the wheel, just bang in a plug or two, reinflate, continue riding. Occasionally I will develop a leak that requires me to pump up a tyre before each ride for a while, but it eventually sorts itself out. Overall a reduction in time spent faffing around with tyres, and more than an order of magnitude reduction in having to do it by the side of the road.

I do wish setting up tubeless was easier. Some of my slow leaks have turned out to be the tape starting to unstick inside. The tape is also a pain to get on stretched tight enough, the last six inches or so never sticks down well. Has anyone tried any of the rim strip solutions instead? Examples:

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/equipment/cycling-components/bike-rim...

https://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=80828&at...

I think it is slightly the wrong analysis. From experience, tubeless, Di2 and to some extent hydraulic brakes are less hassle than the traditional technologies. Di2 has the problem of remembering to charge every couple of months - I just do it when I can't remember charging it! - but apart from that, nothing more to do. I have changed jockey wheels due to wear, but that's the same issue, same effort as cable.

Shimano hydraulics are a problem if you need to mess with the fluid, but typically you can go several years without needing to do that. Aside from that. pad changing is far easier than rim, and of course changing a rotor is less expense than changing a rim/wheel.

If you have a good tubeless setup, punctures are a thing of the past - just remember to top up the fluid every now and again - pressure loss while standing is usually a clue it is getting short. I've fixed lots of punctures for other people, but ridden through hawthorn hedges with thorns sticking out of my wheels, clicking on the frame. That being said, there are clearly poor rim designs and tyre mismatches - the tech isn't settled.

The question for me is - is the price right? Di2 is a significant cost and although I like the hassle free aspects of it, is it worth the premium? It certainly isn't essential, though it has saved me on some late changes on hills. Tyres - tech not settled, and there is a running cost for fluid. Disks for me are so much better in performance and day to day maintenance, they are definitely worth the premium - which pays back in wheel preservation.

I wonder what the anecdote would be if the rider, instead of forgetting to charge his Di2 (which sounds odd as they really do last for many weeks between charges even with heavy use), had a worn cable and needed to change it on an internally routed frame. Then I'd be needing 24 hours notice! In other words, the 24 hours prep anecdote is nonsense. I've ridden Di2 for 5 years without a failure and none of the other guys have ever suffered from anything other than a flat battery (which is typically because the charging time means it is too infrequent!). The SRAM system does not seem as reliable, with broken battery catches being a silly problem and other build problems.

So, all this gubbins has made bikes more costly, but there are quantifiable benefits that outweigh the negatives.