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@maxwainwright Gears would have been a bit shit too. Also brakes. And don't start on the frames!

Yes, there were bicycle infantry in the 1890s who rode cross-country. They expected a certain amount of down time for repairs every day …

@cstross yeah, i mean it wouldn’t make sense, the expenses would be huge, but the technology was there more or less? If they had [checks Wikipedia] typerwiters and rotary printing presses basic gears wouldn’t be too difficult.
And in 1965 they just need the idea really

@maxwainwright No, derailleur gears go back to 1905-1930; the problem is reliability/metallurgy/machining precision (and a few tweaks like handlebar-mounted shifters) and also tires. I had an MTB-ish bicycle-thing in 1985. It was utter shit when compared to even the cheapest janky supermarket toy MTB you can get today.

@cstross true, but I still think it would have been possible but that wasn’t your point really.
But still, good road bikes were a thing in 1985, and the gears and brakes aren’t that different to mtb ones?

@maxwainwright MTBs are not low tech if you look at the metallurgy and composite materials in a modern one. (You could build one in 1965, but it'd weigh 50-100% more than a modern one *or* be much more breakable.)

If you want low tech from that list, wheeled suitcases are the stand out! Those were delayed not by technology but by social conditioning.

@cstross didn’t read closely enough, just saw mtbs and adhd did the rest