>
>I'm not vouching for the accuracy of the seller's description, but the
>common belief back in the day was that the flat fork crown provided the
>most forgiving ride, the full sloping Cinelli crown was the stiffest and
>the semi-sloping crown was somewhere in between. I never could tell the
>difference, but I don't doubt that Mr. Merckx could feel it. Before
>computer simulation and wind tunnel testing, it was his feedback and the
>feedback of other top echelon racers that dictated bicycle design.
>
>Kevin Ko
>Eugene, OR
>
>
>
>I have no opinion on whether fork crowns significantly affect ride, but the
>old "wisdom" was that >since the legs proper were slightly longer on flat
>crown forks, they would be more resiliant. At >least the added length
>would be on the end with the greatest bending moment so it seems >possible
>perhaps. I've read onlist that essentially all the flex actually happens
>in the steerer tube
>(though the bottom HS bearing should constrain that to a large degree I
>would have thought).
>
>In any case the actual geometry would (surely?) have greater affect than
>the fork crown.
>
>Kurt Sperry
>Bellingham WA
>USA
>
>
Aw, come on guys, I know all about the conventional wisdom about flat vs semi-sloping vs full-sloping crowns. I admit to being a shameless Eddy worshiper and have no doubt he could feel the bicycle equivalent of a pea nineteen mattresses below. Just having a laugh over the hyperbole found in a lot of eBay auction descriptions. Some seem to be aimed at the ignorant and some seem to be penned by the ignorant.
Sorry for decreasing the signal-to-noise ratio, I'll come back when I have something to say.
Jerry Prigmore
Clovis, California, USA