Re: [CR]RE: CRIT BIKES or WHYS THIS BIKE SO TALL?

(Example: Framebuilding:Technology)

To: dartley@co.ba.md.us
Date: Fri, 14 May 2004 08:00:57 -0400
Subject: Re: [CR]RE: CRIT BIKES or WHYS THIS BIKE SO TALL?
From: "Richard M Sachs" <richardsachs@juno.com>
cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org

snipped: " I believe it was Richard Sachs back then who's philosophy was that the one frame that was perfect for you and most of your riding was the best bike for whatever you wanted to use it for, criteriums included (probably a terrible approximation of a quote)."

yup - that sounds like me in my pre-selfabsorbed era trying to diplomatically state that all the specs that made up the so-called crit frames (back in that era...) were a joke and - if a bicycle was in fact designed that way it would handle 180 degrees from what you really needed in an event as specific as a crit. imo, crit frame design is a 70s u.s. bike boom phenomenom concocted by that era's cyclo-journalists who may never ever have raced. my bad. e-RICHIE aka Richard M Sachs Chester, CT

On Fri, 14 May 2004 07:49:05 -0400 "Daniel Artley" <dartley@co.ba.md.us> writes: I've had my share of crit frames and one was enough. My second Woodrup around 1974 was a pretty face I couldn't say no to. I'd just had my last Woodrup wrecked by a truck, and this one was a beautiful black with creamy chrome long point lugs, stays and fork with a Cinelli style sloping fork crown. The fact that it had about a half inch of fork rake, 75 degree head and seat angle, high BB and was 24-1/2" tall with a 38-1/4" wheelbase didn't stop me for a second. It handled like thought and felt a bit tippy when braking hard, you had to pay attention every second. One day I was standing up passing traffic in the curb lane on my daily commute and the next thing I knew I was airborne ... for too long. I didn't even find out what had happened until I was out of the hospital and examined the bike and the road. The bike was fine except for a bent front brake centerbolt. I'd hit a particularly nasty chunk of macadam that had been sluffed up by braking city buses when the pavement is hot and soft and it just snapped the handlebars away from me. I stay away from crit bikes now. I believe it was Richard Sachs back then who's philosophy was that the one frame that was perfect for you and most of your riding was the best bike for whatever you wanted to use it for, criteriums included (probably a terrible approximation of a quote).

Happy trails,

Dan Artley
Parkton, Maryland