Closure and Stabilization: Rear Suspension and the High Wheeler
The last two requirements of sociotechnical change are closure and stabilization. This is where the technology of rear suspension and the high wheeler must be defined separately and in doing so shed light into the disappearance of the high wheeler and the general acceptance of the rear suspension.
The closure of the high wheeler meant the ceasing of interpretive flexibility. In the waning days of the high wheeler, riding one was a target for mockery. No longer could the Macho Bicycle exist, leaving only the unsafe bicycle. Closure for the rear suspension meant the general acceptance of the downhill bicycle. This is not to say that every rider has a rear suspension on their bike, it just means that it is recognized that a bike with a rear suspension will generally be considered a downhill bicycle while a bike without one is a cross-country bicycle.
This brings up the interesting point of stabilization. For the case with the high wheeler, this means that the safety bicycle was the universal choice now. The high wheeler could no longer distinguish itself in any category that it once could. Safety bikes with appropriate gear ratios where faster, they were safer, and the better condition of roads meant that people did not have to ride high off the ground anymore. However, the rear suspension has developed itself into its own artifact. The rear suspension has made possible an extremely different genre of biking, downhill racing. So much has the interpretation of the "users" been accepted, that it has wholly taken over in some cases. For example, it is possible to go to a ski resort in the summer and take ski lifts up to top of mountains and ride down. Weight is no longer a factor, pedaling is minimal, and all riding is downhill.
Example of a Cross Country
Bike
Example of a Downhill Bike
From the above pictures, the separate artifact of downhill bike can clearly be seen. The rear suspension, larger front suspension, beefier frame, and larger tires are all clear on the downhill bike.
As with the pneumatic tire, which was originally designed for anti-vibration, ended up changing the sport of bicycle racing because it also made the bike faster; the rear suspension has done the same. It was originally meant for a more comfortable ride but evolved and created an entirely new genre of bicycling altogether.