At 4:13 PM -0400 9/15/02, Stephen Barner wrote:
>Personally, I don't see why riding position should change
>significantly between performance
>riding and touring. I can understand different bends in the handlebars,
>front end geometry, chainstay length and wheelbase, but the rider's body
>doesn't change.
I can't speak for Schwinn in specific, but I can make some leaps of logic in reference to why they have longer TTs. First is the desire for a longer wheelbase without lengthening the chainstays too much, a little longer in both places and you get the really long wheelbase folks seem to like on touring bikes. Also many touring bikes has slacker ST angles thus making the TT and CS' longer . A bigger factor I think has to do with the use of shorter stems on touring bikes compared to racing bikes. I remember a fear of using handlebar bags on long stems. By making the TT 1' longer you can get the same bar position using a 95mm as you would on the shorter TT with a 120mm stem.
This is just speculation, but it makes sense from what I've seen in
touring designs. I'm sure Tony Oliver's "Touring bikes" would have
something to say on the subject of longer TT touring bikes. Alas
it's not one of the books I own. If anybody has a copy that they
don't need and would like to sell or trade for a reasonable amount
drop me a line.
enjoy,
Brandon"monkeyman"Ives
SB, CA
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