There's only three things that make a bike fast.
1) the rider. 2) gravity. 3) not feeding it.
On Thu, 19 Feb 2004 15:17:50 -0500, Grant McLean wrote
> Tom,
>
> You're nuts.
>
> Buy a cycle computer, and go for a ride.
>
> Grant McLean
> Toronto.Ca
>
> O \O/
> _< \_ _< _
> (_)>(_) (_)>(_)
>
> Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2004 14:00:52 -0500
> From: "Tom Sanders" <tsan7759142@comcast.net>
> To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Subject: [CR]What makes a bike fast?
> Message-ID: <005c01c3f71a$b29167f0$aebe0b18@C1921978A>
> Content-Type: text/plain;charset="iso-8859-1"
> MIME-Version: 1.0
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
> Precedence: list
> Reply-To: Tom Sanders <tsan7759142@comcast.net>
> Message: 2
>
> Marcus Helman commented on his Tom Ritchey bike that he never felt
> fast = on it. I have had about twenty nice bikes in the last few
> years, but = three were much faster than the others, or so it felt
> to me. Some bikes = just lunge forward like they are being yanked
> by a rope tied onto them = when you mash down, others do not. This
> is not to say that the others = are not great bikes, they just do
> not feel as fast or responsive to a = good mash on the pedal.
> Originally I thought that it was a smaller = chainring, but the
> fastest bike I ever rode, a Masi 3v, had a 42 tooth = inner ring and
> a 53 tooth outer...actually somewhat higher geared than I = had
> thought. Folks have suggested to me that it might be an artifact of
> = a stiffer bottom bracket (whatever that means) or geometry. I
> rather = suspect the latter. Perhaps some interaction of all of the
> above. = Tires? Dunno. Surely some of you out there have noted
> that some bikes = you own are a lot faster than others. Cost does
> not seem to be it. I = had a relatively expensive Battaglin that
> seemed to amaze many who rode = at how fast it was. I realize that
> some will just think I'm nuts and that it's all in my =
> imagination...perhaps it is. I have heard others remark about how
> fast = some bikes they rode were...especially 3 Renshos. If anyone
> has a good = idea on it, I'd sure love to hear it. Tom Sanders
> Lansing, Mi _______________________________________________
--
Steven L. Sheffield
stevens at veloworks dot com
veloworks at worldnet dot ay tea tee dot net
bellum pax est libertas servitus est ignoratio vis est
ess ay ell tea ell ay kay ee sea aye tee why you ti ay aitch
aitch tee tea pea colon [for word] slash [four ward] slash double-you
double-yew double-ewe dot veloworks dot com [four word] slash