Technology never stops, bikes in 5 years will be very different and better. One area that seems very ripe for disruption is drivetrain efficiency parts. I bet in the future we will have some sort of electronic shifting with a lot less parts.
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When I signed up for TR last year, despite having given my 2016 Galaxy J1’s OS all the available updates, the app store refused to install it. I can imagine it being troublesome to code for multiple versions of an OS & for multiple processors all under the “Android” banner, but it does cause me to question whether its obsolescence was planned or just an unfortunate consequence.
What’s the oldest phone you’re using Trainer Road on?
My first road bike (Shogun Samurai) which I bought new in 1997 developed a crack in the right chainstay at about half that distance. Cr-Mo frame. That I was using it as a commuter & all the bunnyhopping between road & footpath a lot might’ve had something to do with it. I was making sure to land lightly because I was actually more worried about the rims, but 
Sheldon Brown also mused about higher sprocket-count systems wearing out quicker in his Speeds article, because of the narrower contact surface on the teeth & inside the chain. I think it makes logical sense on the chain side of things… on the sprocket side of things perhaps offset by there being more sprockets to distribute the load over time. I don’t know if anyone’s tested this scientifically though. Again (& if this is scientifically true) is it planned, or is it just a natural consequence of trying to extract more benefit from essentially the same materials? This is one of few situations where I don’t wear the tin foil hat. 
I love that people go to the trouble of keeping old synthesisers working by replacing leaky capacitors etc. I had to solder some jumper wire in an electric piano because at some point a bug had crawled inside, died, & its innards corroded that part of the circuitboard.
I had a J1 too that died right as I was about to start chemo in May 2019 and bought this phone, a J6. I used to run TR on it with a Ant+ dongle but I prefer the newer laptop which got replaced a year or two later.
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It’s a two edged sword in my opinion. The “smarter” or more high tech something is, the faster it will become obsolete. It’s the dumb products that last forever. An iPhone is unusable in 10 years, meanwhile a simple rotary telephone still works after 50+ (my parents still have one). Bike computers, electronic shifting will become old and slow. Bikes should last a good bit, though you get more features like disc brakes or changes in tire clearance, or geo changes that fit the current trends. Parts get lighter but at some point that has to reach a limit. Same with aero unless they change the rules.
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It always surprises me when someone tells me they are going to get a new iphone because their battery is on its last legs. My reply is usually “why not spend $75 for a new battery instead of $800+ for a new phone”. Or spend $40 on an aftermarket battery.
Sewups have been continuously available for three decades after high performance clinchers came out so rim brake parts availability probably has some time left. And one can still find a Campagnolo Nuovo Record derailleur on ebay fifty years later so I wouldn’t worry.
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My biggest gripe is with the bike industry is their support for parts and repair with electronics. They still treat electronics like they exotic. Why is there not, at least, a repair/exchange service for electronic derailleurs? Instead of repair, we get super expensive paper weights.
Trainer repair sucks. Most of these companies only provide a 1 year warranty on an expensive product that should last ten years and if you want to get it repaired three years after purchase, you are usually out of luck unless it’s just a belt.
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Yup, that’s exactly my point, no planned obsolescence as far as I can tell. 
I put many thousands on that mountain bike and things don’t last forever. I was a bit miffed when my XTR rear derailleur fell victim to road salt last winter. I replaced it with a XT rear derailleur, which adds 50 g to my commuter 
Like a lot of things, if you keep up with basic maintenance (the analog of fluid changes on your car), the components last, but some things will simply wear with use.
I don’t know if this is true: since switching to wax-based lubricants, chains, cassettes and chainrings last quite a while, especially on my road bike. (I’m still on my first chainring despite putting hundreds of hours on it.)
Now you could say that drivetrains with less gears would last even longer if you used wax and wax-based lubricants — I’d agree with that. This is a trade-off between functionality and longevity. Road chain rings last quite a while even if you use them a lot.
SRAM’s new Transmission RDs are different in that regard I’d say, since you can purchase and replace a lot of parts separately. That’s a definite and welcome improvement, given the eyewatering prices.
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Can they still dial out with it, & does the ringer still work? (I don’t know how many of the world’s telephone exchanges still respond to pulse dialling, but where I am it’s been deprecated.)
I still have a beige box computer with a SB AWE64 soundcard, which I used half a lifetime ago to compose music. I’m keeping it because at times I like to revisit those compositions & use the exact sounds available to me at that time. I’m prevented from using a more modern desktop for this card for several reasons, the most significant being that it connects via the ISA bus, which has not been offered in a new computer build for maybe two decades. In terms of what the mob typically expects from a “computer” these days it’s obsolete, but leading a solitary existence it’s still just as capable now of doing what I expected of a computer when I first bought the soundcard, except of course, internet.
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Unless bent, derailleurs are pretty simple affairs and the springs in the hinges are easy to service and it’s usually just gunk that needs removing then fresh lube and reassemble. My oldest still in use rear derailleur is from 1997.
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Good discussion so far!
While many have pointed out the durability of some things (i.e. mechanical items) there also seems to be acceptance that “consumables” and parts wear out, some pretty quickly. It is the consumable aspect that really is the question here. Can they make a chain that lasts longer but don’t? What about grips, rotors, cassettes, chainrings, etc. Granted I’m mostly mountain biking but I’m always amazed how often I need to change my brakes (and they aren’t cheap at $30 each) and how fast they wear out. And chains (yes I wax them) aren’t far behind.
It does seem the bike industry supports their products and in some cases (such as the frame) things are built to last. But some are not.
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It’s a simple question with a complex answer. For me, some items are obviously built with the expectation that they will be obsolete tech so why make them outlast the want of their features? computers etc.
As far as bikes are concerned. My carbon Felt F3 road bike is from 2009 weighs sub 8kg. It fits me like a glove and has had replacement groupset 5 years ago Why change it? The frame has done more than 90,000 miles. I doubt I could find anything much lighter that’s going to get me faster?
I hear top end tech. Can cost a fortune in mechanics time to fix simple things.
My TT bike an Argon 18 E-112 bought 2010, raced TT’s for three years. Dug out From under the bed in 2009 Pressed Into Service for Triathlon. This year Swansea 70.3 I passed a guy walking a £10k ish DI2 with a dead battery up a hill. My mechanical groupset was bombproof (unlike the legs) . I can’t see an upgrade until my FTP is worthy.
Is old bike ‘tech’ really obsolete?
I have a 2000 iMac to watch DVD’ when on the turbo. Yes, I’m getting old. I just can’t be doing with Zwift. I hear there’s a nice system called TrainerRoad available!
All my cycling kit is ancient too, but still fits…… just
Saying all that, it is nice to get nice shiny things.
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Literally a bug in the system 
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Very good, I like it. 
The clutch is very much rusted. I reckon I can revive it, but haven’t had the time yet. Fortunately, the winter in the new place is very mild.
Chains and cogs last like 5x longer once you go to some form of immersion waxing.
Immersion waxing still seems to be on the fringe of cycling, probably because it’s a bit of a PITA - the extensive stripping of factory grease from the chain and then needing to setup a hot dip system (though drip on wax is really good).
To me having one’s $500-600 worth of high end gears and chain last 5X or more longer is an absolute no brainer but bike companies don’t ship bikes with waxed chains, and few shops offer the service.
It’s also clear from the data that waxed chains are faster.
And mine needed service but it wasn’t designed to be serviced. Nice one… 
PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE!!
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You can get a Bluetooth transmitter to plug into headphone socket or the iPod cable port.
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I think the biking industry is VERY different. You can keep quite old Shimano drivetrains running with still-made parts, for instance. My venerable Garmin Edge 500 bike computer still works and is still supported by Garmin’s software (that is, you can upload to Garmin Connect). The only thing truly obsolete are my Speedplay X-series pedals (because you can’t get cleats for them any more).
If it still works for its original purpose and you can still get consumables and “wear parts” for it, it’s not really obsolete.
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My Computrainer is still going strong after nearly 30 years and over 1,000,000 miles. Expensive at the time, but best cycling investment ever. What are the odds a Wahoo Kicker would last this long?
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HAH!! I had a Kickr Bike that only lasted a week! Okay, it was a refurb but still…
The original lasted a couple months, and it was new. I actually found the receipt for the first Kickr Bike I bought today. I save far too much stuff…