[CR]Re: blind tests, was lots of other things...

(Example: Framebuilders:Doug Fattic)

In-Reply-To: <44BA990C.80901@cox.net>
References: <44BA990C.80901@cox.net>
Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2006 13:03:16 -0700
To: sachshm@cox.net, freesound@comcast.net, Classic Rendezvous <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
From: "Jan Heine" <heine94@earthlink.net>
Subject: [CR]Re: blind tests, was lots of other things...

At 3:52 PM -0400 7/16/06, Harvey M Sachs wrote:
>In short, I think this is a hard experiment to do. Actually, the
>first trial would be two bikes of one set of tubing, and another of
>a different. Just to see if a series of riders can reliably tell
>which one is different... That could be scary.

There was an experiment that was mentioned in passing in the very first Rivendell Reader. They built three bikes, one with much stiffer chainstays. Otherwise they were identical. They had 13 or 14 riders, and all but one could tell that one bike was different from the others. However, when asked which one was stiffer, the answers were split 50:50.

The author concluded that stiffness does not matter. However, that interpretation is incorrect. If all but one rider can feel the difference it matters. The exeriment shows that "stiffness" cannot be felt per se, and that different riders have a different idea of how a stiff bike might feel. For example, if I didn't know that my Singer was made from lightweight, flexible tubing, I might think it was "stiffer" because it climbs and accelerates so well. Conversely, the overly stiff bikes that I can't move might be interpreted as "flexible noodles" that sap all my energy.

But asking about stiffness is asking the wrong question. I would have liked to know which bike the testers felt was easier to ride fast, which accelerated better, and which climbed better.

So if a bunch of random riders can tell when a frame has different chainstays, I believe a totally different tubeset would be even easier to tell. -- Jan Heine Editor/Publisher Vintage Bicycle Quarterly c/o Il Vecchio Bicycles 140 Lakeside Ave, Ste. C Seattle WA 98122 http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com