the propietary bullshit also seems to make a comeback in a bad way. It's annoying. I dread the day all the inter-compatible Shimano 8-Speed Stuff isn't around anymore, that allowed you to jury rig together so much stuff. Maybe Microshift keeps making shimano compatible stuff.

and even decent replacement tyres for the old sizes, which means I’m basically probably going to be forced to upgrade my whole bike, just as they planned. It disgusts me, I just want to ride.

For a 26"? Those still seem pretty ubiquotous from where I sit, even the odd gravel bike has them