I think that front end trail must play a role in the suitability for a given bike to be ridden "no hands". I have a late 60's Dawes that I can ride no hands for as far as I want. I can fairly easily steer it ; within reason, by shifting my weight on the seat. It is definitely a sport tourer with a good deal of forward sweep to the forks. I also regularly ride a 1977 Raleigh International that I find much more difficult to ride in a similar fashion. It is I think the last model of the International produced and is more of a racing geometry than the earlier Internationals. The forks have noticeably less forward sweep than the Dawes. The two bikes are set up in a similar fashion except the Dawes has 27" wheels and the International has 700C. I suppose I should try swapping the wheels around to make the comparison more equal. I have always felt however that the difference in inbuilt stability was primarily dependant on the forks and head tube angle.
Greg Lone Langley B.C. Canada
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