In a message dated 3/4/2003 4:46:42 PM Eastern Standard Time,
tullio@TheRamp.net writes:
>I had a customer with a Reparto Corse Bianchi built with Columbus EL (not
>EL/OS). The rider was around 190 pounds, and the frame was a 59. He
>encountered significant flex whenever out of the saddle and felt quite
>uncomfortable riding the bike. Bianchi's product manager confessed to me
>that anyone needing a size 59 frame was inherently too heavy for the frame
>and that the frame probably shouldn't have been offered in larger sizes.
No free lunches right? "Light, strong, cheap, pick any two." (Keith Bontrager really say that?) If the manufacturer wants to try and sell a steel frame to compete with aluminum and plastic than it's got to be thin and something loses out. My only bike that ever went into a bad shimmy was a Bianchi 61cm SLX frame and I was 210 or so. That's a light frame but not silly light like they make now. After this winter's weight gain it stays in it's box! I'll leave the hi-tech ultra light stuff to the skinny guys.
Pete Geurds
Douglassville, PA