With more than due respect for all parties, I think this thread somehow spun away from describing how various bikes handle, including no-hands, into a (somewhat silly) discussion about the relative wisdom of riding no-hands...
I would say of course it is unwise to ride no-hands much, especially in crowded or trafficky circumstances, etc. But sure there can't be much harm in a solo rider occasionally taking his hands off the bars for a special, brief purpose?
But getting back to the original topic, riding no-hands has frequently been a reliable test for a bike's handling... ? I am of the opinion that almost any bike (and geometry) with any properly aligned frame & fork, dished wheels, and adjusted headset, should run straight enough and true enough to allow no-hands riding.
As a sort of test to that theory, I built a few frame sets with pretty radical "Rigi" style angles, etc. All could easily be ridden no-hands.? There is a DB track bike owned by a fellow in here Greensboro that had 76-77 degree angles...
This bike (currently owned by Ken Toda) was super steep:
http://cyclesdeoro.com/
Ditto for Dr. Chip Duckett's:
http://cyclesdeoro.com/
I am convinced that the tracking is the major component to this directional stability. Sure angles, trail, tire fatness, weight distribution add to a bike's "personality" but the ability to ride no-hands (versus diving for the ditch) is all straightness of key components.....
Dale Brown cycles de ORO Bike Shop 1410 Mill Street Greensboro, North Carolina 27408 USA 336-274-5959 http://cyclesdeoro.com http://www.classicrendezvous.com http://www.carolinacup.com http://www.greensborovelo.com http://www.bikegso.org http://nbda.com
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