Kurt and Dale wrote:
<< Look at that fork rake. There must be a mile and a half of offset! The curve starts low and continues through to the drops. This is very attractive to me. >>
What about that? I really, really like the look and the idea of soaking up some bumps but all the theories would say that it would ride like poo poo. What say you, gang?
Dale Brown Greensboro, NC
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I know this subject has been discussed before on the list... but in light of the foregoing...just how big a deal is a little more fork-rake? Seems to me that Hirose would ride very nicely, assuming everything else was properly designed.... maybe you wouldn't want to ride a frame like that in the Manhatten Beach Criterium series, but for nearly any other kind of riding, I imagine it'd be very fine.
All by way of saying that "ride like *&^%" is a relative description. One person's "*&^%" is another person's perfection, within reason.
I know people who hate the way Masi GCs handle. And, yes, geometry of those frames is rather lax compared to what came later, but, to me, GCs handle very nicely, and are very pleasant and refined to ride. I prefer the early Colnago Super by a modest amount... but both are refined, aristocratic rides...
seems to me that racers tend to exaggerate small differences..usually though, differences among the best frames are small, and just take a little getting-used-to...heck, for collectors it's a good thing there are differences, or riding all those bikes could get boring..
Charles "to quote that old dude in South Pasadena: 'my favorite bike is the one I'm riding at the moment'" Andrews SoCal